By studying aphids' every move - British scientists have revealed an intricate pattern in how they walk. They say the finding will help scientists understand the movements of other animals and has important implications for conservation of endangered species.

The team from the University of Holloway and Imperial College London filmed the intricate movements of aphids as they roamed about in Petri dishes in the lab. Using a mathematical law called a power law they analysed the behavior of the bugs. They discovered that what might seem like random wanderings to the untrained eye, was in fact an intricate pattern of movement in which episodes of fast walking were interspersed with periods of little movement.

"This research demonstrates that animal movement contains an intricate pattern which makes dispersal of animals very different from simple processes such as diffusion of molecules," said Vincent Jansen, co-author of the paper.

Understanding animal movement patterns is important in forecasting dispersal of animals, for instance to predict and control pest infestations or to protect rare species.

 "By studying the walking behaviour of tiny aphids, rather than the movement of mammals or birds, we were able to reveal this pattern in much more detail than is usually possible," Jansen added.

These elaborate patters have characteristics which have also been found for other foraging animals, such as albatrosses and jackals and could have evolved as an adaptation to allow foraging animals to effectively find unevenly distributed food sources.