Massive insect migration

In the journal post, written on December 23, 2016 it informs how scientists recently finished a 10-year study of insect migrations in the southern part of the United Kingdom. 3.5 trillion aphids, moths, flies and other arthropods (including spiders) were migrating high overhead each year. The total weight of all those critters flying over the United Kingdom alone is equivalent to some 30 blue whales swimming high in the sky.

Migrations of insects do not look the same as bird migrations. Birds usually make roundtrip flights, from one location to another and back, each year. Insects have much shorter lives. As a result, their migrations usually are a one-way trip from their home to a new destination. The next generation of insects might make a return trip back to their parents’ home. 

Scientists showed medium-size and larger insects could migrate seasonally in the same direction, regardless of wind direction. These animals have specialized body parts that give them an advantage when flying against the wind.

Hu, Gao, Ka S. Lim, Nir Horvitz, Suzanne J. Clark, Don R. Reynolds, Nir Sapir, and Jason W. Chapman. "Mass Seasonal Bioflows of High-flying Insect Migrants." Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science, 23 Dec. 2016. Web. 19 June 2017.