Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 377, Issue 6607, Pages 764-+Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.abn1663
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Funding
- European Union [795568]
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy [EXC 2117 422037984]
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council of the UK
- Marie Curie Actions (MSCA) [795568] Funding Source: Marie Curie Actions (MSCA)
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This article investigates the behavioral strategies of nocturnally migrating death's-head hawkmoths during long-distance flights, revealing that they maintain flight trajectories using an internal compass, allowing them to take full advantage of seasonal resources.
Each year, trillions of insects make long-range seasonal migrations. These movements are relatively well understood at a population level, but how individual insects achieve them remains elusive. Behavioral responses to conditions en route are little studied, primarily owing to the challenges of tracking individual insects. Using a light aircraft and individual radio tracking, we show that nocturnally migrating death's-head hawkmoths maintain control of their flight trajectories over long distances. The moths did not just fly with favorable tailwinds; during a given night, they also adjusted for head and crosswinds to precisely hold course. This behavior indicates that the moths use a sophisticated internal compass to maintain seasonally beneficial migratory trajectories independent of wind conditions, illuminating how insects traverse long distances to take advantage of seasonal resources.
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