The most perplexing phenomenon I've seen. A few weeks ago we had steady 20-25 mph winds with gusts up to 40-50.

While the wind was blowing this hard, I witnessed a tiger swallow-tail butterfly holding it's groun...er...wind and hovering quite well against it.

How?

I'm really curious about the physics of flight that would allow such a phenomenon.

I've sailed a bit and understand tacking (sort of) into the wind. This can't be anything like that. How can something that is virtually a two pieces of folded tissue paper with a lightweight worm in the middle fly against a 25 mph wind?