Science News
When Worms Fly: Insect larvae can survive bird guts
Susan Milius
Researchers in Spain have shown a novel way for insects to travel—as larval
stowaways in the guts of migrating birds. "It's the first time insects have
been shown to be carried inside birds," reports Andy J. Green of the Doñana
Biological Station in Seville. He and a colleague examined droppings in a salt
marsh roosting site of waterbirds called black-tailed godwits. The birds were
feeding by the thousands on their way from northern breeding grounds to their
winter homes in Africa.
rest at:
_http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20051210/fob6.asp_
(http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20051210/fob6.asp)
Pete Myers
White Hall, Virginia