The swallowtail butterfly is an excellent, agile flyer. It has a fluttering and gliding flight pattern that resembles the hovering flight of a bird.
The hovering flight of the swallowtail butterfly is a special technique in which the wings beat in a horizontal figure-eight pattern to remain stationary in the air. This enables efficient feeding; the butterfly can thus sip nectar from deep flower calyxes without having to land on the plant.
At the same time, this flight pattern keeps the butterfly ready to take off at a moment’s notice, allowing it to flee in the blink of an eye if danger (such as birds) arises.