Silver Y Moth Cruises at 55 m.p.h.

Posted by David in Animal on April 9, 2008 at 9:41 pm


The world of moths is one that we’ll probably never fully understand, but a recent study by Rothamsted Research brings us one step closer:

Moths that fly high above our heads throughout the night are not at the mercy of the wind but use a sophisticated internal compass which can help them travel up to 400 miles in a single flight . . . While it is not clear how the creatures – in this case, the Silver Y moth – actually navigate between sunset and sunrise, researchers from the UK and Germany have found that the insects can judge the best conditions for flight based on direction and windspeed, selecting the fastest moving layers of atmosphere so, with their own speed of 10mph, can cruise at speeds of up to 55 mph.

In other words, moths are smarter and faster than many of us have imagined.

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(Image by Everything is Permuted)


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8 comments to "Silver Y Moth Cruises at 55 m.p.h."

  1. bean
    April 9th, 2008 at 9:48 pm

    Just because they have highly developed instincts does not make them smart. Certain types of jellyfish use tide and wind direction to travel faster, and they don't even have brains.

  2. Thomas
    April 9th, 2008 at 10:11 pm

    Hey, at least they know how to fly without a cavity search and three layovers.

  3. the robot child
    April 9th, 2008 at 10:37 pm

    Where does it have to go in such a hurry?

  4. smp
    April 9th, 2008 at 10:39 pm

    How does this make them smarter?? Ants measure distance by the number of steps they take, but they are not thinking in their heads 'one two three...'

  5. Stella
    April 9th, 2008 at 10:47 pm

    55 m.p.h??? I find that difficult to believe. Think of how fragile moths are and the amount of stress the moth would be under to go that fast. It would explain why though they make such a mess when they hit your windscreen. 80mp car speed plus 55mp moth speed gives an impact of 135mp, very messy :)

    Stella

  6. K!P
    April 10th, 2008 at 2:17 am

    @ stella, the stress is the same as it was moving 10 mph. the surroundings (air) just travels at 45 mph. like running in the train.

  7. fsmarch
    April 10th, 2008 at 9:56 am

    Leave it to Mother Nature...

    Did you know that the monarch butterfly actually flies from New York to South America to breed? Picture something as fragile as a butterfly travelling thousands of miles!

  8. CheeseDuck
    April 10th, 2008 at 2:28 pm

    Mother Nature never ceases to amaze..


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