Flies keep landing on North Sea oil rigs

13 hours ago

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An engineer named Craig Hannah observed clouds of insects, mainly hoverflies, landing on a North Sea oil rig.
Hoverflies are important pollinators and pest controllers, second only to bees in pollination importance.
Unlike bees, hoverflies can travel long distances, with some migrating seasonally from southern Spain to Norway.
Research showed marmalade hoverflies carried pollen from as far as 500km away, indicating their role in long-distance pollination.
The pollen found on hoverflies came from over 100 plant species, highlighting their effectiveness as pollinators.
Future research aims to determine if long-distance carried pollen remains viable for pollination and to study hoverfly migration physiology.
Collaboration between researchers and the public, like Craig Hannah, is proving fruitful in studying insect behavior.

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