The small dragonfly was capable of intercontinental migration.
When you see Pantala flavescens next time, know - before you is the greatest traveler in the world.
Photo: Greg Lasley
Dragonflies of the Pantala flavescens species, as it turned out, are the most capable travelers in the world among all the flying animals of the planet. An insect that is barely 4 cm long can fly across the oceans, migrating from continent to continent. This was stated by biologists from Rutgers University. Unfortunately, scientists could not observe the migration of insects directly. Instead, they analyzed the Pantala flavescens dragonfly genome in Texas, Canada, Japan, Korea, India and South America. As it turned out, the genetic profiles of various insects are so similar that there is only one explanation. Namely - insects somehow overcome huge obstacles and intersect with each other across the planet.
“For the first time, someone decided to study the genes to determine the travel distance of these insects,” said Jessica Ware, a representative of the research team. “If Pantala from North America would interbreed with each other, and dragonflies from Japan - with each other, one would expect that the genetic profiles of insects from these regions would differ from each other. But since we do not see this, one may think that the genes are mixed as a result of the global migration of insects, ”she says.
How was a small dragonfly able to move from continent to continent? After all, this is not a bird with strong wings or a whale, which does not care for great distances. It's all about the large area of ​​the wings - insects are able to configure them in such a way that they were carried by the wind. They flap, flap, flap their wings, and then hover for a long time, expending a minimum of energy. It is known, in particular, that these dragonflies fly away from India into drought and move to Africa when it rains there. Dragonflies do this once a year. Humid climate is necessary for breeding insects.
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Some of them do not stop on the way, trying to use the movement of air masses in their own interests. Others stop on the islands encountered along the way, stopping for breeding. And already the posterity of dragonflies continues their way across the ocean.
So far, everything said above, except for the results of genetic studies, is a hypothesis. Scientists do not have reliable factual material that allows us to talk about the migration routes of dragonflies. Scientists would like to do this, but the same tags on a dragonfly cannot be placed; other methods are not suitable for work.
Previously, monarch butterflies, who make a journey of four thousand kilometers (Canada-Caribbean Sea), were considered champions of travel among insects. It seems that the dragonflies of the species Pantala flavescens are much more capable travelers.
Photo: Greg Lasley
Dragonflies of the Pantala flavescens species, as it turned out, are the most capable travelers in the world among all the flying animals of the planet. An insect that is barely 4 cm long can fly across the oceans, migrating from continent to continent. This was stated by biologists from Rutgers University. Unfortunately, scientists could not observe the migration of insects directly. Instead, they analyzed the Pantala flavescens dragonfly genome in Texas, Canada, Japan, Korea, India and South America. As it turned out, the genetic profiles of various insects are so similar that there is only one explanation. Namely - insects somehow overcome huge obstacles and intersect with each other across the planet.
“For the first time, someone decided to study the genes to determine the travel distance of these insects,” said Jessica Ware, a representative of the research team. “If Pantala from North America would interbreed with each other, and dragonflies from Japan - with each other, one would expect that the genetic profiles of insects from these regions would differ from each other. But since we do not see this, one may think that the genes are mixed as a result of the global migration of insects, ”she says.
How was a small dragonfly able to move from continent to continent? After all, this is not a bird with strong wings or a whale, which does not care for great distances. It's all about the large area of ​​the wings - insects are able to configure them in such a way that they were carried by the wind. They flap, flap, flap their wings, and then hover for a long time, expending a minimum of energy. It is known, in particular, that these dragonflies fly away from India into drought and move to Africa when it rains there. Dragonflies do this once a year. Humid climate is necessary for breeding insects.
')
Some of them do not stop on the way, trying to use the movement of air masses in their own interests. Others stop on the islands encountered along the way, stopping for breeding. And already the posterity of dragonflies continues their way across the ocean.
So far, everything said above, except for the results of genetic studies, is a hypothesis. Scientists do not have reliable factual material that allows us to talk about the migration routes of dragonflies. Scientists would like to do this, but the same tags on a dragonfly cannot be placed; other methods are not suitable for work.
Previously, monarch butterflies, who make a journey of four thousand kilometers (Canada-Caribbean Sea), were considered champions of travel among insects. It seems that the dragonflies of the species Pantala flavescens are much more capable travelers.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/368171/
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