Why Are Moths Attracted To Lamps?
Why Are Moths Attracted to Lamps?
Apologizes for my inactivity! In the spirit of getting this blog back up and running, may I present: Snazzy Science Saturday.
So why the snickity snook are moths so attracted to lamps? We're not entirely sure (when are we sure about anything in science?), but we have a pretty good guess. First, you get to learn a funky new vocabulary word...
PHOTOTAXIS
"Phototaxis is the scientific term for any kind of directional movement that responds to a light source. Scientists consider moths and other common winged insects positively phototactic because they fly toward light sources." -Plunketts.net
So when you move your laundry basket only to see a cockroach scuttle out, bounded to get away from the light, this would be a negatively phototactic organism. As would be vampires.
ANYWAYS GREAT we have a name for it. Moths are positively phototactic. But why do moths behave this way?
The reason may lie in everyone's favorite: evolution!
According to National Geographic, moths implement something known as Transverse Orientation. This is a process of orientation that allows moths to navigate by the light of the moon. The moth thinks (creative liberty taken): the moon will always reflect off my beady little eyes at the same angle. If I know where the moon is, I can then roughly gauge where my fuzzy body should be in order to navigate in a straight line. Pretty nifty!
BUT THEN:
LAMPS.
So now we've got LAMPS and that's no fun because LAMPS are not the MOON. Now, instead of the top picture, you get something more like the bottom one (CREDIT: Zenodo).
The moth's evolutionary impulses go haywire when bombarded with artificial light. Sadly for this little guy, this attraction to lightbulbs is not so bright. It makes them fairly easy to spot by predators (and by particularly mean humans...just kidding it is okay).
But as with all things in science, this is just a theory a game theory. According to Plunketts.net:
"Light bulbs didn’t exist while moths evolved, but manmade fires have existed for some 400,000 years. Given that moths usually die when they’re attracted to light, it seems like they should've evolved out of the habit."
So who knows!
Do you have any other ideas as to why moths may be attracted to light?
Here is a cute lil moth for reading the whole post:
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Actively trying to become a mad scientist. (20, she/her).
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