It travels at the speed of a racehorse and can fly at altitudes close to the height of Ben Nevis.
But it is not a bird, or a plane. It is in fact, the humble ladybird.
New research has, for the first time, revealed the remarkable aerial capabilities of the common or garden insect.
Scientists have recorded the creatures travelling at heights in excess of 3,600ft and reaching speeds of 37mph.
The study also monitored the stamina of the insects and established that they were able to remain airborne for up to two hours.
It means that ladybirds are able to travel up to 74 miles in a single flight. Until now, scientists had considered anything over 7ft as long-distance flying.
The research involved an analysis of data recorded over more than a decade by a monitoring device at Rothamsted Research, an agricultural research institution, based in Harpenden, Herts.
The equipment sends radar signals vertically up in the air, in a cone shape, to an altitude of almost 5,000ft. It is able to detect the speed, direction of flight and altitude, of all objects that pass through this airspace. It can also detect the size and shape for each item passing through, allowing the team on the ground to distinguish between insects.
The study covered the two most numerous ladybirds in Britain, the seven-spot (Coccinella septempunctata), and the invasive harlequin species (Harmonia axyridis), and involved an analysis of around 9,000 individual flights detected by the monitoring equipment.
The highest recorded were at around 3,600ft, although the greatest number were found at lower altitudes, between 500ft and 1,600ft. The fastest ladybirds were seen at the highest heights, where they were able to take more advantage of stronger wind speeds. The average speed recorded was nearer to 20mph.
The monitoring equipment was not able to establish how much of their flying speed was “wind assisted”, but high velocities were also observed in a second strand of the research, which involved studying the insects’ flight in a Perspex box in a laboratory.
Dr Lori Lawson Handley, from the University of Hull, who led the study, said: “When we saw them in the flight cubes, we could barely keep up with them. They were so incredibly quick. They are very active, fast fliers and are built to fly very well.”
This laboratory-based aspect of the research, published in the journal PLOS ONE, was to establish the stamina of the insects. Average flight time was found to be around 37 minutes, but to the surprise of the researchers, they were able to remain airborne for up to two hours.
Dr Lawson Handley added: “We were expecting them to go for about 15 minutes. It means that if they are flying at their maximum speed of 37mph for two hours, they can cover 74 miles. Whether they are doing that in the field, we don’t know. But we now know they have that capability. This is another side of ladybirds that people don’t see.”
Ladybirds fly by pulling out their distinctive red and black shell casings – or elytra – and holding them out wide. These are used as static forewings, to protect the insects and help keep them stable, while the thinner hindwings are used to power them. These wings beat around 85 times per second, continuously throughout the flight. The insects rely on a protein rich diet of aphids, to obtain enough energy to remain airborne.
The altitudes they are able to reach are governed by temperature, so on warmer days, the insects are able to fly higher. Once air temperature drops to below around 53F (12C), they are unable to fly and drop back to warmer parts of the sky.
Ladybirds are not the highest flying insects recorded. Night-flying moths like the Silver Y (Autographa gamma) have been observed at altitudes of around 3,900ft, where they are able to fly - at even higher speeds of up to 60mph - in pockets of warm air.
The researchers believe the study will help them learn more about the spread of invasive species, such as the harlequin ladybird, which settled in the UK from Asia in 2004 and has rapidly spread across the country.
A citizen science project – the UK Ladybird Survey – which is calling on members of the public to send in photos and locations of sightings, has helped scientists to build a picture of the spread of the invasive species. The results suggest that the harlequins’ progress has slowed as they have encountered the obstacles of the Pennine and Cambrian mountain ranges.
There are 46 different ladybird species in Britain. They have long been a favourite of children, as well as gardeners, who value them for their aphid-eating capabilities. In different parts of the country, they have gone under many regional names, among them lady-cows, may-bug, golden-knop, golden-bugs and bishy barnabees.
Some more of nature's high - and some, not so high - flyers
Rüppell’s Vulture (Gyps rueppellii)
37,000ft, 22mph
Bar-headed goose (Anser indicus)
29,000ft, 50mph
Common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)
21,000ft, 30mph
Silver Y moth (Autographa gamma)
3,900ft, 60mph
Seven-spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata)
3,600ft, 37mph
Painted ladybird (Vanessa cardui)
3,280ft (while migrating), 30mph
Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
3,000ft (but usually far lower), 35mph
Carabid beetle (Notiophilus biguttatus)
2,600ft, 16mph
Lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea)
2,000ft, 22mph
Common eider (Somateria mollissima)
300ft, 47mph
Honey bee (Apis mellifera)
100ft – unless caught by warm rising thermals, 20mph
Common guillemot (uria aalge)
6ft (apart from when returning to nesting ledges – which rise above sea level), 50mph
Speeds and altitudes given are maximum, and, in some cases, estimates by experts. A typical cruising airliner flies at around 33,000ft
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