Abstract
High-flying insect migrants have been shown to display sophisticated flight orientations that can, for example, maximize distance travelled by exploiting tailwinds, and reduce drift from seasonally optimal directions. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the theoretical and empirical evidence for the mechanisms underlying the selection and maintenance of the observed flight headings, and the detection of wind direction and speed, for insects flying hundreds of metres above the ground. Different mechanisms may be used—visual perception of the apparent ground movement or mechanosensory cues maintained by intrinsic features of the wind—depending on circumstances (e.g. day or night migrations). In addition to putative turbulence-induced velocity, acceleration and temperature cues, we present a new mathematical analysis which shows that ‘jerks’ (the time-derivative of accelerations) can provide indicators of wind direction at altitude. The adaptive benefits of the different orientation strategies are briefly discussed, and we place these new findings for insects within a wider context by comparisons with the latest research on other flying and swimming organisms.This article is part of the themed issue ‘Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight’.
Highlights
The sampling of insects migrating high in the air started as early as the 1920s and 1930s [1], but the realization that these insects could exhibit sophisticated ‘in-flight’ behaviour had to wait until the application of radar to entomology in the late 1960s [2,3]
Our original theory [21,22] identified a putative mechanism by which migratory insects could determine the mean wind direction from cues provided by turbulent velocity fluctuations
That nocturnal insect migrants make considerable use of turbulence cues to align themselves with respect to the wind direction
Summary
The sampling of insects migrating high in the air started as early as the 1920s and 1930s [1], but the realization that these insects could exhibit sophisticated ‘in-flight’ behaviour had to wait until the application of radar to entomology in the late 1960s [2,3]. 2–4 m s21) from varying directions but with a distinct upwind component [4] This indicates that the insects involved were using some sort of compass sense, they must still have perceived that the wind at high altitude was light enough for them to achieve this movement, because backwards drift was not observed. 10 years) of data from continuously operating entomological radars have been analysed including, for the first time, extensive records from day-flying migrants [20] These analyses revealed that, where migrants were numerous enough to form analysable events, wind-related orientations were extremely common, almost ubiquitous, in medium-sized We discuss parallels and 2 dissimilarities of the insect orientation cues to those used by other flying and swimming taxa, with special reference to the utility of turbulence in providing cues for different types of organisms, ranging from jellyfish to birds
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
