Researchers have discovered an insect highway in the Pyrenees on the border between France and Spain. Every fall, 17 million flies, wasps, butterflies and dragonflies pour into the 30-meter-wide corridor. The migration path was called “one of the great wonders of nature”.
A highway of insects was discovered in the Pyrenees PHOTO: ARCHIVE
According to Skynews, researchers have discovered the route of one of Europe's busiest winter getaways – the annual migration of millions of insects heading south through a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees.
The researchers found that almost 90% of recorded insects have pollen and thus contribute to the expansion of the genetic pool of plants. The insects are heading south. They come from their northern summer ranges, including Britain, and head for southern Europe and northern Africa, where winters are milder.
Using video cameras and butterfly nets, scientists at the University of Exeter have recorded around 17 million flies, wasps, butterflies and dragonflies passing through a single 30-metre-wide pass every autumn on the border between France and Spain.
“To see so many insects purposefully moving in the same direction at the same time is truly one of the great wonders of nature”said Dr Karl Wooton, from the Center for Ecology and Conservation in Exeter, who led the research.
The study found that probably billions of insects pass through the Pyrenees section each year.
