Why do moths like to circle around lights?

Perhaps we can imagine such a scene

On a clear summer evening

On a long trail

It was quiet and deserted.

(Shh...)

Street lights beside the path

It's the only light on this road.

At this time! ! There were bursts of banging sounds above my head.

You feel a little numb at this moment

Although I was scared, I still looked up.

Then....

What caught my eye was a group of silly moths desperately circling around the street lamp...

These stupid moths are not only attracted to lights, but also fire and other light sources.

Therefore, since ancient times.

The ancients likened moths flying into a flame to a great spirit of sacrificing oneself for the sake of light.

It has also been likened to the persistence in love.

It is also referred to as stupidity that does not know one's own abilities.

These meanings are all derived by humans based on what they have seen, but are moths really like this?

Many people believe that the reason why moths like to fly into lights and fire is because insects like to chase light.

This phenomenon is attributed to the phototaxis of insects.

But that’s not the case!

Moths belong to the order Lepidoptera and most of them are active at night.

This shows that moths do not circle around the light because they love the light.

In addition, moths have siphoning mouthparts, which are specialized into straws. Moths mainly feed on plant sap.

They will not go under street lights to prey on small flying insects, so the possibility that moths are attracted to light because of food is also ruled out.

So why do they circle around lights or fires?

In fact, a long, long time ago, humans had not yet invented lights.

Like other insects, moths rely entirely on natural light sources such as sunlight, moonlight or starlight to determine the direction of flight when they are active at night.

Because the eyes of moths are compound eyes composed of many simple eyes.

When it flies, the moonlight always shines into its eyes from one direction.

When it gets around an obstacle or loses its way, it just turns its body.

By finding the angle from which the moonlight was originally projected, you can continue to find the direction to move forward.

This is also the result of biological evolution.

If a light appears in the wilderness, the moths will not be able to tell which is the moon and which is the light.

And the light is much closer to the moth than the moon.

So it was natural for the moth to mistake the light for the moon.

This is probably the legendary face-blind brother "Guangming (blind)".

That's exactly why.

The moth only needs to fly a little in front of the light.

You will feel that the angle of the light has changed, coming from the side or from the back.

So they turn their bodies back until the light is projected into their eyes at the original angle.

So the moth will keep circling around the light...

Even if they don't look carefully, they will pounce on you. (This may be the invisible shackles)