Why are bugs attracted to light?

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An illustration showing three types of erratic insect movement around artificial lights: orbiting behavior (circling the light), stalling behavior (hovering or moving erratically below the light), and inverting behavior (flipping or spiraling near the light), each with labeled diagrams of the insects' body orientation.

Night moths flying toward the glow of a vintage lamp against a dark background

How Does Light Pollution Impact Ecology and Human Health?

Why are bugs attracted to light?: Media

Videos

How Does Light Pollution Impact Ecology and Human Health?

How Does Light Pollution Impact Ecology and Human Health?

Ecological effects of light pollution.

Video: Science in Seconds (www.scienceinseconds.com) (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Images

An illustration showing three types of erratic insect movement around artificial lights: orbiting behavior (circling the light), stalling behavior (hovering or moving erratically below the light), and inverting behavior (flipping or spiraling near the light), each with labeled diagrams of the insects' body orientation.

Insects are frequently seen flying in erratic patterns around artificial lights.

Research from 2024 found that this was due to confusion, not attraction to the light....

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Night moths flying toward the glow of a vintage lamp against a dark background

New research suggests that artificial light confuses insects

The light interferes with their orientation, which is controlled by insects' instinctive...

© Pavlo Romanchenko/Dreamstime.com