Homeostatic migrations are two-way movements with migrants or offspring returning to breeding areas, hence the need for navigational abilities. Weather appears to be an important factor for the majority of insect migrations. They then fly down to ground when they encounter suitable habitats. Scopoli also disperses with local winds. After several hours of flight and often many kilometers from their takeoff site, the aphids begin to descend, now attracted to yellow or green colors.
Some insects can rise above lower air turbulence by wind currents or powered flight.
Migratory flights at these altitudes can allow insects to disperse against wind directions found at lower altitudes. The desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria inhabits the dry areas of northern Africa. However, recruitment and die-off of individuals making the entire trip from start to finish was not mentioned or recorded. These individuals were arriving with a sub tropical wave of low pressure that later spawned a hurricane. The distance traveled from the west coast of Africa to islands in the West Indies was 4500 km.