This tiny dragonfly makes record-breaking flights around the globe

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Imagine being just an inch and a half long and flapping your wings all the way across the ocean.

This week, we're all buzzing with news of astronaut Scott Kelly's record-breaking flight on the International Space Station. But here at home, a much smaller organism may be circling the globe time and time again without accolades: According to a new study, the itty bitty dragonfly Pantala flavescens could take longer flights than any other known insect, putting it in the ballpark of larger migratory animals like birds and whales.


The estimated 4,400 miles or more traveled by members of this tiny species smashes the previous record for insect migration of 2,500 miles, held by monarch butterflies.

The study, published Wednesday in PLOS ONE, couldn't rely on GPS trackers to figure out flight durations for the little bugs – they couldn't support the weight of such devices.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/03/03/this-tiny-dragonfly-makes-record-breaking-flights-around-the-globe/

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