Individual tracking reveals long-distance flight-path control in a nocturnally migrating moth

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Association for the Advancement of Science via the DOI in this recordData and materials availability: The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available in the Movebank Data Repository (26). Custom code for extraction of wind variables is available in data S1.Each year, trillions of insects make long-range seasonal migrations. These movements are relatively well understood at a population level, but how individual insects achieve them remains elusive. Behavioral responses to conditions en route are little studied, primarily owing to the challenges of tracking individual insects. Using a light aircraft and individual radio tracking, we show that nocturnally migrating death's-head hawkmoths maintain control of their flight trajectories over long distances. The moths did not just fly with favorable tailwinds; during a given night, they also adjusted for head and crosswinds to precisely hold course. This behavior indicates that the moths use a sophisticated internal compass to maintain seasonally beneficial migratory trajectories independent of wind conditions, illuminating how insects traverse long distances to take advantage of seasonal resources.European Union Horizon 2020Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation