Scientists believe they’ve finally found why moths are drawn to light. The artificial light appears to trap moths and other flying insects in a wonky flight pattern, disorienting them in the process. Read more about the study here.
Over 200 million years of evolution, moths and insects that fly at night needing light to navigate. Initially, this light source was from the stars and moon in the sky. Their instincts learned through millions of years of evolution is why moths find themselves tilting their backs at lamps in the street or fires, and like moths to a flame, they endlessly loop around the streetlamp, never breaking free.
In the study, researchers in the Costa Rican cloud forest captured insect flight paths around artificial lights. They collected over 477 videos and observed moths and dragonflies turn their backs to artificial lights, drastically changing their flight paths. The insects may have thought that the lights were a source of light in the sky and not on the ground.