Butterflies cross the Sahara in longest-known insect migration

[Still Waters]

A species of butterfly found in Sub-Saharan Africa is able to migrate thousands of miles to Europe, crossing the Saharan Desert, in years when weather conditions are favorable, scientists have found.

The striking Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterfly has been shown for the first time to be capable of making the 12,000-14,000 km round trip—the longest insect migration known so far—in greater numbers, when wetter conditions in the desert help the plants on which it lays eggs.

The international research team's findings increase understanding of how insects, including pollinators, pests and the diseases they carry could spread between continents in future as climate change alters seasonal conditions.

https://phys.org/news/2021-06-butterflies-sahara-longest-known-insect-migration.html

https://www.pnas.org/content/118/26/e2102762118