I've Googled this subject extensively but couldn't get an answer: My country is full of butterflies and moths, I've seen a lot of butterflies performing what looks like some kind of fight or mating ritual: Two butterflies of the same species flying together and 'hitting' each other, and when they do that a noise can be heard, I don't know if it's from the actual 'impact' or a noise they produce, but sometimes it's very loud and resembles an electrical arc. I'm extremely curious on what that is all about. I thought they were actually mating but I've seen so many species doing that, including some that I know don't mate like that. I live in Brazil - in the humid southeast region. Any help or clue is really appreciated. I'm putting a link to a YouTube video below which shows more or less what I'm talking about, but strangely the butterflies in the video aren't of the same species: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpRQLtyIRog Thank you for your time.
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3$\begingroup$ They both appear to be eastern swallowtails (the females can be black or yellow); the yellow one definitely is an ES. I can't speak to your Brazillian butterflies, but butterflies can be aggressively territorial with mid-air fighting. Like birds. $\endgroup$– anongoodnurseDec 9, 2015 at 1:17
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