When a butterfly takes off, it becomes airborne in less than a quarter of a wing beat and can experience a vertical acceleration of about 10 g! (1). Butterflies use a so-called ‘fling’ mechanism to achieve these rapid take-offs: the opposed wings are ‘flung open like a book’, thereby creating aerodynamic lift and allowing air circulation over the wing in anticipation of the down-stroke (2, 3). Complex stuff! The legs of the butterfly are also important in generating an upward force and in raising the body of the insect above the substrate – the leaf surface – so that the wings can be fully flapped! (4). So that’s: jump, fling and flap! All in the blink of an eye.

This was the position of the same butterfly before it took-off (below).

The shutter speed I was using – 1/250th of a second – was way too slow to freeze the butterfly as it launched itself into the air but the blurred effect does at least give an impression of movement. At first sight it looks upside down, but it is just that the wings are in the full down-stroke position and the abdomen is showing.