In the west this lovely butterfly flies in the woods and brush along streams, circling lazily in the sun or dropping down to luxuriously stretch its wings upon a leaf. Try to catch it, however, and it flies off with great speed, dipping up and down in flight or even flinging itself skyward in a great leap that may take it out-of-sight. Often the orange tips of the wings flash in the sunlight in a way that must be confusing to a bird trying to catch the butterfly, for the movement of the wings causes this flashing of color to appear and then disappear.