The Reason Why Insects Are Attracted to Artificial Light

The Reason Why, Insects Are Attracted , to Artificial Light.

Gizmodo reports that researchers believe they finally know why insects seem to be drawn to lights.

New data suggests that bugs are not attracted to the light, as is commonly believed.

Rather, researchers now believe that based on insects' use of light sources to orient flight, artificial lights disorient bugs.

The team's findings were published in the journal 'Nature Communications.'.

This has been a prehistorical question.

In the earliest writings, people were noticing this around fire.

, Jamie Theobald, Biologist at Florida International University and co-author of the study, via Gizmodo.

It turns out all our speculations about why it happens have been wrong, Jamie Theobald, Biologist at Florida International University and co-author of the study, via Gizmodo.

Researchers note that insects' "seemingly erratic" flying patterns are really their failed attempts to understand the artificial light.

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Rather than steering toward the light, bugs were seen turning their dorsum, or their backs, toward the light, attempting to steer by it.

Under natural sky light, tilting the dorsum towards the brightest visual hemisphere helps maintain proper flight attitude and control, Study authors, via Gizmodo.

Near artificial sources, however, this highly conserved dorsal-light-response can produce continuous steering around the light and trap an insect, Study authors, via Gizmodo