www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I have often wondered this, more so latley. How fast do different butterflies fly?

I know that weather/ avoiding predators and other factors can change how fast they fly, but I have noticed a few things latley:

A few small tortoiseshells, but flying so fast you can just about tell what they are and no more
A few marsh fritillaries going so fast, I could only just about tell what they were.
Peacocks flying fast, but not too fast.

been finding it hard to get good shots latley when my subjects won't slow down or sit for long enough.

i would say that the fastest butterfly i have come across is the Clouded Yellow

Commas have a fair turn of speed too.

Small Tortoiseshells fly quickly but they have a trick with their wings which makes them suddenly disappear when you are following them !!

charles

A Silver Spotted Skipper on a hot day can move pretty fast!

Felix.

I'd put my money on a Mediterranean Skipper, but one doesn't see too many of those around here

I'd have no idea what butterflies they are, seeing as I only shoot (and so identify) the slowcoaches that're glued to the spot (no, really, works a treat!)

Being a cyclist i am often racing wildlife down country lanes, 20 kmh for a Butterfly is no problem, for Pidgeons 30kmh but the fastest is between a Hare and a Swallow, i have raced both at 40 kmh.
Bees are very fast as well.

It's not just speed that makes butterflies difficult to follow. The brain instinctively extrapolates the movement of an object, but butterflies just don't stick to the rules and jink and turn abruptly. It is quite easy to follow a bird when it disappears behind a tree and predict where it will re-appear. That's virtually impossible with butterflies. I have found that observers in groups of two or more have a significantly higher success rate when following a jinking target.

Jack

Silver washed fritillaries are very powerful flyers, with dark greens not far behind. But you may remember a photo I posted a while back of a DGF that had fallen victim to an emperor dragonfly. That came out of nowhere to knock the butterfly clean out of the sky with an amazing turn of speed, not to mention accuracy.