How death’s-head hawkmoths manage to fly straight for miles in the dark
The nocturnal insects appear to chart flight paths with the help of an internal compass
![an ecologist releases a hawkmoth at dusk](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/081722_ao_hawkmoth_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
Ecologists in Germany have revealed the secret navigational skills of the death’s-head hawkmoth (one shown being released after a tiny tracker was placed on its back). All it took was tagging and chasing the nocturnal insects with an airplane.
Christian Ziegler/Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior