Subject: cardui, atalanta & gamma in DK / 2

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 10 Jun 1996 16:43:37 METDST

Hi Europe

This is today's second message from Denmark. Today I went to Moesgaard Beach
south of Aarhus in E Jutland. The coast line is S to N for about 40 km's so
I thought that there would be some movements of cardui. And so there were!

Here are today's data:

11.30-12.30: Wind WSW 2-3, 0/8, 20 degrees C.
Cynthia cardui: 61 -> N
Vanessa atalanta: 1 -> ENE

12.30-13.30: Wind SE 2-3, 2/8, 20 degrees C.
Cynthia cardui: 47 -> N
Vanessa atalanta: 2 -> ENE

13.30-14.30: Wind S 0-1, 2/8, 22 degrees C.
Cynthia cardui: 29 -> N
Vanessa atalanta: 1 -> NE
Pieris brassicae: 1 -> N
Inachis io: 1 -> W - a little late?
Autographa gamma: 2 -> W

14.30-15.10: Wind SW 0-1, 2/8, 22 degrees C.
Cynthia cardui: 12 -> N

It was quite interesting to note the speed of the migrating cardui's. We
estimated an average flight speed of about 40 km/h with 55 km/h as max. We
only noticed one cardui in south flight, the speed not reaching more than
25 km/h.
It's also worth noticing that while the cardui's were flying along the coast
line, the atalanta's were heading direct out to the sea in their well known
active flight.

Finally, there were thousands of autographa gamma's in the fields but only
two migrating....

Kind regards

***************************************
* Morten D.D. Hansen                  *
* Dept. of Zoology                    *
* Institute for Biological Sciences   *
* University of Aarhus                *
* DK-8000 Aarhus C                    *
* Denmark                             *
* e-mail: [email-masked]                *
***************************************