Finding a magnetic compass when butterflies

Written By ديانا الحموري on 2014/06/28

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.

<p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr">AabiaWeather.com - The American magazine &quot;Nature Communication&quot; said that <strong>the butterfly</strong> that migrates every year between the United States, Canada and Mexico is able to navigate by means of a magnetic compass.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <span style="line-height:1.6em">After several experiments conducted by scientists, they found that there is a hidden mechanism for navigation that enables the butterfly, which belongs to the class &quot;Danaus plexippus&quot;, to adhere to the required path even in rainy weather.</span></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <span style="line-height:1.6em">This butterfly, which starts from the eastern United States and southern Canada to fly towards the southeast, is famous for the long distances it travels to reach the forests west of Mexico City, where it spends the winter.</span></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <span style="line-height:1.6em">Scientists also recently discovered the existence of a solar sensor that enables the butterfly to orient, in its sensor horns, but they did not know how it could maintain the desired direction in rainy weather, hence the assumption that the butterflies possess a compass-like device that measures magnetic declination.</span></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <span style="line-height:1.6em">Scientists have placed some butterflies in basins equipped with an artificial magnetic field, to find that after changing the magnetic declination, the butterflies flew in the direction of the north, not the south, as usual.</span></p>

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.


Browse on the official website



Watch the video | Strong winds and creeping sand displace the inhabitants of a modern Emirati village, and hide its featuresWhat do you do when an earthquake occurs? How do you protect yourself from the dangers of earthquakes?A very cold air mass of polar origin is reaching the eastern Mediterranean. Will it be accompanied by snow?The return of winter weather.. Monitoring a low pressure system affecting the Levant, with its effects concentrated on Syria and Lebanon at this timeA cold and humid air mass affects the Levant, with showers of rain concentrated in Syria and Lebanon, with snow falling over the peaks.Rain and hail accompanied by a low pressure system affecting 12 Arab countries, taking an unusual pathA cold air mass will affect the Arabian Gulf at the beginning of 2025The Levant coasts will receive heavy rainfall and snow showers on the peaks of Syria and Lebanon in the coming daysA cold air mass affects the Arabian Gulf and a drop in temperatures at this time