Scientists have recently identified a huge spring migration of insects that crosses from the Middle East to Europe, making landfall on the Karpaz peninsula on the northeast end of Cyprus.
In the spring of 2019, using a combination of timed counts, cameras and netting, they documented over 39 million day-flying insects from eight orders arriving on Cyprus at rates of up to 5,900 insects per meter per minute.
The most common migrants, making up 86% of arrivals, were the true flies - one species, Delia platura, made up 39% of all migrating insects and was the most abundant species. Another 10% of the migrants were butterflies and moths - over 99% of these were painted ladies Vanessa cardui. The other migrating orders discovered were:
Bees and parasitic wasps (2%)
True bugs (1%)
Dragonflies (0.5%)
Beetles (0.3%)
Bark lice (0.06%)
Lacewings (0.01%)
Analysing vegetation in the Middle East shows that one possible source for many insects were the Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq, which explains high numbers of water-breeding vagrant emperor dragonflies Anax ephippiger and droneflies Eristalis tenax. The conversion of wetlands into crops may have also resulted in the high numbers of Delia platura flies.
This migration could have strong ecological importance. 98% of the migratory species recorded are pollinators, with hoverflies and blowflies captured carrying orchid pollen on their heads and so allowing cross-continental pollination to take place. The insects also play a role in trophic interactions - butterflies were recorded being eaten by ants, vagrant emperor dragonflies were taken by migrating falcons, birds including swifts and wood warblers were seen eating the newly-arrived flies and dissections of stranded green and loggerhead turtles recorded both painted lady butterflies and migratory grasshoppers in their stomachs.
The full paper about the migration, which was released yesterday, can be seen here:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecog.06288
There is also an article about the discovery, including the scientists talking about the sight of the migration - it darkened the sky and at one point they had to shelter behind a car door because of the migrating flies. That article can be seen here:
https://phys.org/news/2022-08-scientists-stunned-vast-insect-migration.html
In the spring of 2019, using a combination of timed counts, cameras and netting, they documented over 39 million day-flying insects from eight orders arriving on Cyprus at rates of up to 5,900 insects per meter per minute.
The most common migrants, making up 86% of arrivals, were the true flies - one species, Delia platura, made up 39% of all migrating insects and was the most abundant species. Another 10% of the migrants were butterflies and moths - over 99% of these were painted ladies Vanessa cardui. The other migrating orders discovered were:
Bees and parasitic wasps (2%)
True bugs (1%)
Dragonflies (0.5%)
Beetles (0.3%)
Bark lice (0.06%)
Lacewings (0.01%)
Analysing vegetation in the Middle East shows that one possible source for many insects were the Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq, which explains high numbers of water-breeding vagrant emperor dragonflies Anax ephippiger and droneflies Eristalis tenax. The conversion of wetlands into crops may have also resulted in the high numbers of Delia platura flies.
This migration could have strong ecological importance. 98% of the migratory species recorded are pollinators, with hoverflies and blowflies captured carrying orchid pollen on their heads and so allowing cross-continental pollination to take place. The insects also play a role in trophic interactions - butterflies were recorded being eaten by ants, vagrant emperor dragonflies were taken by migrating falcons, birds including swifts and wood warblers were seen eating the newly-arrived flies and dissections of stranded green and loggerhead turtles recorded both painted lady butterflies and migratory grasshoppers in their stomachs.
The full paper about the migration, which was released yesterday, can be seen here:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecog.06288
There is also an article about the discovery, including the scientists talking about the sight of the migration - it darkened the sky and at one point they had to shelter behind a car door because of the migrating flies. That article can be seen here:
https://phys.org/news/2022-08-scientists-stunned-vast-insect-migration.html