From: Stephen Blackwell <sblackwe@UTK.EDU>
Alas my camera was not to hand, but if you can imagine the sight of a large yellow Swallowtail twirling round and round with its shadow, then you have got the picture.
Happy belated birthday, VN!
Dear Entomologically Inclined List Members,
Stephen Blackwell's post reminds me that the recent sight of a butterfly's darting movements made me wonder if anyone has studied the flight pattern of the insect. Why does it move the way it does? Is there a method to its seeming madness?
Carolyn Kunin
p.s. Little Childe (:>) has asked me to mention that her favorite Nabokovian reply to The Eternal Question was missing from the recent post to the list. She thinks it was something like "Birds of the Future will make way for no cars!" She's a bit flustered at the prospect of bird flu, though, and may not have got it exactly right.