Death’s-head hawkmoths can scream when provoked. Their backs feature a pattern that resembles a human skull, which landed them a deadly cameo in the film The Silence of the Lambs. And now, the infamous insects have helped scientists do something once thought impossible.

By fitting the moths with tiny temporary backpacks containing radio-transmitters and releasing them at night, scientists were able to follow along in a small airplane as the moths performed their annual southward migration.

The most striking flight path was a moth that flapped its way from an airport in Konstanz, Germany, more than 55 miles south into the Swiss Alps—the longest insect flight ever continuously tracked.

The newly recorded, one-night flight represents just a small portion of the death’s-head hawkmoth’s