Smaller, vaster, better, faster
Insects migrate. In a GRAND way. Forget the migration of the wildebeest across the Serengeti. The painted lady butterfly, found all over the world, migrates from as far North as the arctic circle to the tropics and back – a 14 000 round trip. Individuals fly several thousand kilometres! Dragonflies migrate between India and Africa, flying several kilometres up in the air, over open ocean. How is this even possible? The mind boggles.
In my opinion humans always underestimate insects. Because they are small we don’t take them seriously, we don’t appreciate them, we don’t give them the respect they deserve. Even when we are finally made aware of some amazing feat, we are still missing something even more amazing.
The vagrant emperor dragonfly, also featured in the header, is a known migrant. It is a spectacular animal, one of the largest dragonflies that exists. It occurs in Durban – this individual strayed into our house.
The painted lady butterfly completes its migration over the course of a few generations. The offspring can’t learn the route from their parents. So how do they know to stop flying South, but turn around and head back North? This is a mystery worth solving!
Read the whole article in Leopard’s Echo, a bi-annual online magazine of Kloof Conservancy.
EASTERaction 