To probe for the real reason, the team carried out a first set of experiments in an insect flight arena at Imperial College London. The researchers used eight high-speed infrared cameras equipped ...

As bugs are attracted to white light, ... professor at Rockefeller University, told The New York Times that bug zappers aren't necessarily attracting the bugs that are annoying you.

Why are bugs attracted to light? Published. 30 April 2023. comments. 11 Comments. Image source, PIER / getty. Image caption, Does the phrase 'like moths to a flame' really hold true?

Flying insects are known to make a beeline for lights in the dark, as the saying goes, "like moths to a flame." Now, scientists have figured out why insects are so keen on light, but it's not ...

Notably, insects seem to only be attracted to artificial light sources. It’s not like they fly upwards towards the moon. No, instead they congregate at the light by your front door.

But, based on new data, scientists report that the insects aren’t attracted to the light, really; rather, they use light sources to orient flight and artificial disorients them, often to fatal ends.

The researchers used high-speed infrared cameras to track the flights of insects including moths, dragonflies, fruit flies, and hawkmoths – under a range of light conditions.

But most insects around a light are not in this category, and cool lights attract them quite well. Another thought was that insects were just directly attracted to light, a response called phototaxis.

Moths and other insects are drawn to lights at night as reliably as planets orbit stars. Entomologists have long exploited this fact by setting out light traps whenever they want to collect insects.

Long-held belief that bugs are attracted to light disproved in new study By . Allie Griffin. Published Feb. 7, 2024, 10:13 p.m. ET. Explore More ...

May 23, 2023 06:00:00 ``Why are insects attracted to light?'' Is clarified by research using a high-speed camera. In Japan, there is . a saying, ``Summer bugs that fly into the fire. It has long ...