Insects are attracted to lights at night, why don't they just fly up towards a full moon in rural areas?

Question

So, what's the answer?


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http://georgiadis.googlepages.com/

For those that say that they do fly up towards the moon, use it for navigation etc,: cite your evidence!

I spent many months camping out in remote areas of the Australian outback. Sometimes on a clear moonlit night I would turn on a camping light and almost immediately be surrounded with moths, beetles and other seekers of the light. They were obviously hanging out, oblivious to the full moon, but instantly attracted by the electric light (or candle too). And when I turned off the light and went to sleep I would often awaken to find the same moths still sitting on my screen tent.

The only theory I could think of is that bugs have some way of judging the light source' proximity and can tell that the moon is hopelessly far away. But how??
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http://georgiadis.googlepages.com/

Answer 1

There seems little reason a moth should be distracted from its
business of sipping nectar and avoiding predators by something as
dangerous as an artificial light. Yet, porch lamps and streetlights
are irresistible beacons to moths. Moths circle the light as if mes-
merized, in frenzied, dizzy orbits. Once caught in their blind orbits,
moths become easy prey for bats and nighthawks, or they batter
themselves to death, or singe their wings to uselessness on hot
surfaces, or die of exhaustion. And nobody knows why."

Although nobody knows why, here are a couple of theories (also from
the abovementioned book):
Moths may be naturally attracted to a bright moon, causing them
to fly higher and helping to disperse the species over a wider range.
If this is the case, then moths may be mistaking artificial lights for
the moon.

Another similar idea is that moths navigate by the moon or the
stars. Thus a moth trying to go in a straight line could do so
by keeping the moon always to the same side. This navigation method
would fail for artificial lights, possibly causing the moths to
endlessly circle the light source.

Answer 2

it rather is an factor-effect to their means to orientate themselves (i think you advise moths or something). enable me clarify: - there is plenty extra moonlight and stellar gentle than lamps: we purely see the bugs that fly in direction of our flame/lamp yet there are thousands and thousands others who do no longer. - to discover their way, fantastically to fly their until now they attempt to maintain the attitude with the (organic) gentle consistent. because of fact the have multifaceted eyes this possibly is composed purely of seeing the sunshine interior the comparable part all of the time. - This works while the sunshine is extremely far-off, i.e. while all of the rays from the source are parallel. - In case of a lamp the insect is deceive. attempt watching a concentration (gentle) from a persevering with attitude mutually as you progression, you will describe a proper logarithmic spiral that converges to your concentration. So flying into the sunshine is under no circumstances a suicidal behaviour, it rather is purely a "trojan horse" of their navigation equipment, which we bias with our lamps and fires etc.

Answer 3

They do attempt to fly towards the moon. And they can use it as navigational tool.

Answer 4

What a cool question! I don't know the answer, though. Maybe moonlight is too diffuse or something.

Answer 5

They do. And towards the stars. That's how they spread. The artificial lights confuse them.

Answer 6

good question.
maybe because they still need air, and between here on earth and moon, there's open space. No air in the open space.

Answer 7

They'd explode, as the air necame rarified.

Answer 8

because moonlight is not intense or localised enough to attract them, that's my guess anyway.

Answer 9

they do it all the time, they just can't fly that high

Answer 10

because they're party animals and like to be around people