Page 17 - The Miracle of Migration in Animals

nimals leave their current habitat for suitable envi-
ronments at the most suitable times. Each of the
hundreds of species of migrating animals all over
the world, from smallest to the largest, change
A their habitats in accord with the most hospitable
times and locations. It is a clear miracle that animals always
get to the right place without getting confused or going astray.

Perfect Timing

First, a migrating creature must decide to set off to reach the
right place. Next, it has to establish the most advantageous time to do
this. Animals’ perfect timing varies according to the kind of journey
they undertake. Moving to a new environment with no intention of
returning is called one-way migration, of which the best example is
the honeybee. When the bees in a colony become so numerous that
the hive is overcrowded, they decide to divide the colony—usually at
the end of spring or the beginning of summer. It is remarkable that
these little animals can decide whether the environment they live in
is no longer suitable, that they need to establish a new hive and then
determine out the best season to do this in. Another miraculous as-
pect is that sometimes, tens of thousands of bees manage to decide
without any confusion which of their members should leave the hive.
For the floating larvae of many kinds of crabs and shrimps, it is

problematic to form colonies in their new habitat. These little crea-
tures live in the estuaries of bays and so, to avoid being carried out to