Thousands of flies keep landing on North Sea oil rigs then taking off a few hours later – here’s why

By Toby Doyle, Research Associate, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter
Eva Jimenez-Guri, Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter

On a North Sea oil rig several years ago, an engineer noticed a strange phenomenon. A cloud of insects would descend from the sky and land on the upper reaches of the platform.

There were thousands of them, carpeting the superstructure and barely moving. They would sit there for a few hours, then suddenly they would all rise up into the sky and fly off again.

The engineer, whose name was Craig Hannah, was also a keen naturalist and photographer. He saw the same thing happening repeatedly and…

Read complete article

~	In Brazil’s elections, big techs’ transparency and cooperation policies translate as governance washing, according to this expert

~	Two small Arab parties may decide Israel’s election

~	London Film Festival round-up: a five-star weepie, a sweeping Spanish epic and a misspent youth in post-punk Manchester

~	Mexico: Delay in Legal Reform Harms People With Disabilities

~	The Crucible: Arthur Miller’s morality tale was as much a reaction to his own marital failings as it was to the ‘red scare’

~	Unlocking the secrets of the ‘Dragon Man’ skull – and what it reveals about human evolution

~	From aristocracy to ‘assetocracy’ – how wealth has transformed the House of Lords

~	Four ways to help your body adjust to the autumn time change

~	For Andy Burnham, getting closer to the EU could prove as tricky as exiting it – an expert explains

~	How autumn changes animal sexual behaviour – including that of humans