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| Ladybirds - high speed travellers! |
We hear lots nowadays about the remarkable travelling feats
of migrating birds, but now insects are also making the headlines. Research has
discovered that ladybirds can travel at heights of up to 1,000 metres or more
above the ground and at speeds of up to 60 km/h (37 mph). This means that in
theory, ladybirds could travel from London to Birmingham in little more than
two hours! (So, they won’t be needing HS2
then!)
Most of the ladybirds were found at heights between 150 and
500 metres above the ground, flying at an average speed of 30 km/h (18 mph).
But some were found at even higher altitudes, travelling even faster.
In
separate experiments, the team at Rothamsted research centre in Hertfordshire, also
recorded the flight times of ladybirds in a Perspex box. The average flight
lasted 36.5 minutes, with some going on for as long as 2 hours. This would mean
that if ladybirds managed to do the same outside the laboratory, they could
travel up to 120 kilometres (75 miles) in a single flight!
In fact, migrating birds could learn a thing or two from
insects! Researchers used radar to carry out the first comparative analyses of
the flight behaviour and migratory strategies of insects and birds under nearly
equivalent natural conditions. Contrary to expectations, moths such as the
Silver Y, attained almost identical ground speeds and travel directions
compared with small birds, despite their very different flight powers and
sensory capacities. Moths achieved fast travel speeds in seasonally appropriate
migration directions by exploiting favourably directed winds and selecting
flight altitudes that coincided with the fastest air streams. By contrast, birds
were less selective of wind conditions, relying on self-powered flight in their
seasonally preferred direction, often with little or no tailwind assistance.
Mind you, the tiny money spider takes some beating! They use
a little strand of gossamer to lift them up into the sky when they need to move
on - weather balloons positioned thousands of metres above the Hawaiian islands
which are the remotest island group in the world, have recorded money spiders
drifting by!
Quite humbling isn't it. We have SO much more to learn about
our amazing world.
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