"The Mystery Unraveled: The Science Behind Insects' Attraction to Lights"

Researchers have used high-speed tracking techniques to uncover the reason behind insects circling lights at night. They found that insects consistently point their backs toward nearby artificial lights, a behavior known as the dorsal light response, which alters their flight paths and causes them to circle but rarely collide. This response, which helps keep insects in the proper orientation to fly, may be due to their reliance on the brightness of the sky for orientation. The proliferation of artificial lights at night, particularly with the introduction of bright LEDs, has led to detrimental effects on nocturnal ecosystems, disrupting circadian rhythms and physiological processes in various organisms. Restricting outdoor lighting to targeted warm light, no brighter than necessary, can greatly improve the health of nocturnal ecosystems and help restore views of the night sky.