Insetos migratórios voam em 'pista' de alta velocidade

Migrating Insects Fly in the Fast Lane

ScienceDaily (Feb. 8, 2010) — A study published inScience, by researchers at Rothamsted Research (an institute of the BBSRC), the Met Office, the Natural Resources Institute, and the Universities of Exeter, Greenwich and York, sheds new light on the flight behaviours that enable insects to undertake long-distance migrations, and highlights the remarkable abilities of these insect migrants.

A new study sheds light on the flight behaviours that enable insects to undertake long-distance migrations, and highlights the remarkable abilities of these insect migrants. (Credit: iStockphoto/Karel Gallas)

Many insects avoid cold British winters by migrating south in autumn to over-wintering sites around the Mediterranean. Migrant insects then return to the UK in spring. How such small insects undertake journeys of several thousands of kilometres has long fascinated scientists.

The reported study was funded by BBSRC and used two sets of specially-designed radar equipment to observe migrating butterflies and moths flying several hundreds of metres above the ground, and to describe the sophisticated flight behaviours that they have evolved. These insect migrants have a compass sense that enables them to select winds which will take them in their chosen direction, and to travel at speeds of up to 100 km per hour. The fast speeds of winds aloft mean that insects travel more-or-less downwind, but they make subtle adjustments to their headings so that they partially correct for wind-induced drift away from their preferred direction of travel.

Dr Chapman said "Migratory butterflies and moths have evolved an amazing capacity to use favourable tailwinds. By flying at the heights where the wind currents are fastest, migratory moths can travel between their summer and winter grounds in just a few nights."

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Journal Reference:

Jason W. Chapman, Rebecca L. Nesbit, Laura E. Burgin, Don R. Reynolds, Alan D. Smith, Douglas R. Middleton, and Jane K. Hill. Flight Orientation Behaviors Promote Optimal Migration Trajectories in High-flying Insects.Science, 5 February 2010 DOI: 10.1126/science.1182990

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