This is the real reason why insects fly around lamps

Washington- Like moths around a flame, many scientists and poets Considered for a long time Flying insects They are simply and irresistibly drawn to bright lights.

But it didn't go well, According to a new study.

Instead of being attracted to light, researchers think Artificial lights can disrupt the innate navigation system of flying insects if they are turned on at nightThey flutter in confusion around lanterns, streetlights and other artificial lights.

“Insects have trouble navigating”said Tyson Hedrick, biologist University North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was not involved in studies. “They're used to using the light as a clue to know which way is up.”

Insects don't fly directly toward a light source, but actually “tilt their tips toward the light,” entomologist Sam Fabian said. Imperial College London and co-author of the study published this Tuesday Journal of Nature Communications.

This makes sense if the most intense light source is in the sky. But in the presence of artificial lights, the effect is mid-flight confusion, not attraction.

For the study, the researchers attached tiny sensors to moths and dragonflies in the lab to film “motion capture” videos of the flight.

They used high-resolution cameras to capture insects hovering around lamps at a field site in Costa Rica.

This allowed them Read in detail how dragonflies fly in circles around light sources, placing its upper part towards the rays. They also observed that in the presence of lights shining slightly upwards, such as spotlights, some insects turned on their backs and often fell to the ground.

The insects' flight was less disturbed when the lights were shone directly downward, the researchers found.

“For millions of years, insects have orientated themselves by sensing that the sky is light and the ground is dark.” Until humans invented artificial lightingsaid Harvard entomologist Avalon Owens, who was not involved in the study.