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Carpal Tunnel
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I found a collective noun for butterflies, but I think it stinks: a rabble of butterflies. A flutterby of butterflies would be a bit more descriptive.
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Carpal Tunnel
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wow (and bill (and all you rabble)),
many of these collective nouns are not just fanciful, but rather have some etymological basis. to wit, the first sense of rabble:
†1. A pack, string, swarm (of animals). Obs.
13+ Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1703 [The dogs] runnen forth in a rabel. Ibid. 1899 Renaud com+& alle þe rabel+ryŠt at his helez. 1513 Douglas Æneis xi. ix. 29 The rawk vocit swannis in a rabyll. a1529 Skelton P. Sparowe 1313 He brought out a rable Of coursers and rounses. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 909 Flies, Butterflies, Gnats, Bees, and all the rabbles Of other Insects.
-joe (i am a member of the rabble in good standing) friday
2. a. A tumultuous crowd or array of people, a disorderly assemblage, a mob.
...and an array of butterflies is certainly a disorderly assemblage.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Your explication of "rabble" is as usual entirely sound. However, "rabble" just does not to me in any way suggest the beauty or behaviour of butterflies.
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Carpal Tunnel
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If this is a question of first impression, I'd vote for "flutter".
However, it must be admitted that a poster framed on my wall, collecting such terms, says "a rabble of butterflies". (Googling this term produced many lists that include it, but I've found none that cites a primary authority.)
note to paulb: I too checked Lipton's book, without success. However, Lipton cites The Book of St. Albans, 1486, as the seminal authority. Any idea how to find that, or any reprint, to check for butterflies? My weak googling skills aren't up to the task.
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addict
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Hi Keiva:
re Book of St Albans: We may have to ask one of our English colleagues to check out the original edition which should be in either the British Library or the Bodleian Library. Any takers?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Since they are apparently not Congregational, perhaps you would call them a catholic (small c) of butterflies.
TEd
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Welcome to the board, Tim! A timely query. Here in Cape May, New Jersey, we are descended upon every Fall by swarms of migrating monarch butterflies (we always called them swarms), they love the nectar of a certain kind of goldenrod that flourishes on the dunes and sandy soil here (along with milkweed), and it's always an inspiring sight to see the beauty of thousands of orange monarchs draped over the yellow blossoms along the beach! We always said "swarms" here...but I like "flutter" the best of all the suggestions posted here! Migration clusters...hmmm, "cluster"...we use that sometimes, too...can number up to the millions, I think, on their way to the mountains of Mexico and a certain new wintering spot in Florida (though not large enough to sustain the monarchs if they continue to lose their Mexican habitat). I have the figures somewhere...I'll post them when I can be more exact. I attended a Monarch seminar last year at The Wetlands Institute here given by a scientist who is the foremost expert/researcher on Monarch butterflies, so I'm sure the proper term is somewhere in the literature I filed from it. I'll look and get back if I find it.
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Carpal Tunnel
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a response to the first, last and only post of Tim_Morton.
Tim was just a flutterby, never a part of our rabble.
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Carpal Tunnel
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>A timely query yes; well it was, after all, an anniversary thing. 
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Hi Paulb:
re Book of St. Albans: We may have to ask one of our English colleagues to check out the original edition
An original may not help; I gather it's in a very ornate, hard-to-read print. More art than writing. A transcription though? (Beineke Rare Book Library at Yale may have one, but I can't seem to get it loaded up.)
Apparently the Book of St. Albans was quite significant: my info is that it's repeatedly discussed in histories of printing, and that OED cites it over 800 times. So something should be available.
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