Red admiral butterflies fly in a highly irregular fashion, constantly varying their speed, wing strokes, and flight path. While predators avoid poisonous butterfly species, nonpoisonous butterflies like the red admiral need to elude predators to survive. Scientists ttherefore hypothesize that the red admiral' s flight style, which is clearly not energy efficient, evolved as a means of avoiding predators.
 No species of poisonous butterfly has an irregular flight style like that of the red admiral most strengthens the support for the scientists' hypothesis.