Winged nomads:

The incredible journey of migratory butterflies

The so-called migratory butterflies are still puzzling researchers.

(Bild: Bluemel Christa)

Some butterfly species travel long distances across several countries every year. What exactly causes them to do this and how they find their way around is still not fully understood.

Migratory birds sometimes travel thousands of kilometers to get from their wintering grounds to their breeding grounds. What is far less well known is that there are also species of insects that travel great distances to move from one area to the next. Such long-distance migrants can be found among butterflies, for example, which are accordingly referred to as migratory butterflies. These include the butterfly species that occur in Vorarlberg, such as the lady butterfly or the admiral, as well as nocturnal representatives, including the death's-head hawk-moth and oleander hawk-moth. "However, the migratory movements are very complex and it is still not entirely clear who moves where and when. Above all, this behaviour is very species-specific and is therefore difficult to generalize," explains Georg Friebe, an expert at inatura Dornbirn.