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The bugs around the streetlight are being tricked to think they are going in a straight line. They are doing the aerial equivalent of an ant death spiral. (www.nature.com)

submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

19 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/14539407

breaking news: light pollution sends bugs to hell

Preexisting research into bugs circling lights was mainly to see what properties of the lights attracted the bugs, which is how we know that certain LED lights can prevent the bugs from flying towards it.

This study, however, showed that the bugs aren't trying to get to the light at all. The light triggers their dorsal reflex, causing them to recalibrate their sense of direction to keep the light at a fixed angle from their perspective. The bugs think they are going in a straight line, forever, and they never get to where they are going.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 6 months ago (5 children)

What part of your history/background made that a common understanding? Its more 'common sense' to claim bugs go to the light for warmth or attraction to light. Are your parents scientists?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 6 months ago

No OP but I read many fun scientific facts type of books as a kid and I've came across lights confusing bugs as a hypothesis before

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I am assuming that somebody in their community saw the bugs going in fairly consistent circles, thought about what they were doing, and used common sense to decide that the bugs were trying to keep the light in one side of their body for some reason.

It does solve the problem of "why don't insects all try to fly into the sun?" which the warmth-seeking hypothesis didn't explain

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Observing the bugs going in fairly consistent circles is a level of observation higher than what most kids do, and is the level of detail needed to start thinking something different than bugs are attracted to light hypothesis when the level of observation didnt include wich detail.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

Tbh if my kid came up with something like that, I would not stop bragging about it to teachers and other people with a psych background

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 months ago

I was always told the bugs use moonlight for navigation, and artificial light of any kind throws them off. But as a kid, I didn't question it and there was no reason to verify or prove it. It was simple and made sense. I'm not saying my interpretation was common sense, but I also never heard someone say bugs fly to light for warmth. My 7 yr old ass would probably question how bugs existed before fire or something stupid.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

Really I always thought, and I don't assume it was my original thought, that they probably were used to keeping the moon at a fixed relative position and they did the same with artificial light.

This is the first time I've heard any suggestion of being attracted directly towards the light. How would that make sense? They'd just fly straight at the moon on a clear night.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Personally, I believe I saw that theory on national television here in Germany...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

The good thing about science is others can try to replicate the experiment to see if they get the same results.