Insect Celestial Navigation by Design

The other day, I went to visit Hammond Suisse at his spread and helped with some odds and ends. Day became night. We were taking a break, looking up at the stars. That always stirs me on the inside. Canada geese were honking and flying in formation, darker areas against the night.

"Do they use the stars to know where they're going?" he asked.

I replied, "Sure do. The Creator gave us the sun, moon, and stars for lots of things including navigation," I replied. "We're not the only ones to take advantage of them."

Male bogong moth (Agrotis infusa), Wikimedia Commons / Birgit E. Rhode (CC BY 4.0)

Down 'Straya way, researchers performed some interesting science on bogong moths. Some of these critters migrate 1,000 km (621 miles) at night. Testing revealed that they navigate by the stars. Since the world turns, so they had to adjust for that as well. It is not a learned or taught behavior, as they do not live long enough to pass along the information to their offspring. Several factors are involved, demonstrating the work of the Master Designer; evolution need not apply.

It has been known for some time that some birds migrating long distances can use the stars to navigate. This is a form of celestial navigation. One type of celestial navigation is to use the star Polaris (the so-called north star) to indicate north. As recently as 2023 a summary of research on animal navigation by Roswitha and Wolfgang Wiltschko indicated that, “So far, a star compass has been demonstrated only in a few species of songbirds that migrate at night.” However, a recent study by a consortium of researchers appears to confirm that a species of moth also exhibits a form of celestial navigation using the stars.

To read the rest of this interesting article, fly over to "Animal Algorithms: Moth Celestial Navigation."