Surely each of you at least once noticed how many moths swarm in the dark near some bright light bulb. But why does a moth fly into the light, does it not understand that it is choosing a course for its destruction?
Only hypotheses
Experts in the field of science so far have not been able to find and give a definite answer to humanity, which could accurately explain why the moth flies into the light. There are only a few theories and hypotheses that experts adhere to, explaining this natural phenomenon. Let's look at the most popular of them.
Light bulb instead of the moon
The most common explanation for why a moth flies into the light is the hypothesis associated with the moon. As you know, many insects in flight are guided precisely by this heavenly luminary. A moth traveling at night takes the usual bright light for the moon. Have you noticed that there are a lot of moths in the light bulb when the moon is shining weakly or even hid behind night clouds?
The pursuit of a dark area
There is a theory that insects are not torn to the moon or bright light. Many scientists explain why moths fly into the light at night by the need to find the darkest place. They say that insects have no desire for light, but for darkness.
This optical illusion is also called the "Mach strip." Imagine that before you are two stripes: white and gray. Scientists say that if you carefully peer into these stripes, then after a while you will certainly see a black dark area between them. In fact, she is not there. So the moths - rush to the light in the hope of finding this Mach strip. But for what they need it, experts have not been able to explain it for many years.
Phototaxis
A phenomenon such as phototaxis can also explain why night moths fly into the light. It turns out that many insects (including cockroaches, ants, etc.) have an innate motor reaction associated with bright light. The light stimulus is well observed not only in moths or butterflies, but also in cockroaches. Have you noticed how quickly these insects scatter when the lights come on?
Light bulb instead of the sun
There is another version explaining why the moth flies to the light. According to some scientists, the main role in this hypothesis is played not by the Moon, but by the Sun. A light source, ultraviolet light, a heat source - this is what attracts insects. If a butterfly, for example, enters an enclosed dark space, it begins to beat and tries to break out to where the light is, where the Sun is.
Jean-Henri Fabre, a famous scientist, conducted many experiments at one time, trying to understand why butterflies are so attracted to light bulbs. Experiments have shown that insects have their own specific sequence of actions performed during daylight hours. For each type of insect, it may differ. But even with human intervention in the course of daytime insect events, they still restore it and follow the path outlined by nature.
Some scientists have come to the conclusion that such behavior of butterflies is associated with some kind of natural malfunction that they had in connection with the appearance of a person. It is believed that after a few hundred years, moths may no longer strive at night to the bright bulbs hanging from our homes. Over time, there is a scientific opinion, moths will understand what threatens them with such a journey to the "Moon" or the "Sun" created by man.
This theory holds, because cockroaches have long been unresponsive to sugar and glucose. Somewhere in a tiny section of the brain of these insects, information was deposited that sweetness is the first sign that somewhere nearby is a bait with poisonous poison. Maybe after some time the moths will become much smarter and acquire at least some instincts of self-preservation.