National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Photo: Invasive Bugs, Plants Prefer Summer Plane Flights, Study Finds


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An analysis of all incoming flights to London's Heathrow Airport in April 2006 shows the most likely sources of invasive foreign species for the month. Flights from destinations with similar climates to London's are shown in red, while routes from moderately similar climates are depicted in orange and from dissimilar locales are traced in yellow.

The complete study, which used rainfall, temperature, and humidity data from across the globe, revealed that alien insects are most likely to successfully stow away on airlines during the summer months.

Image courtesy Andrew Tatem