The results of a study using high-speed cameras to analyze the movement of insects in detail in an attempt to elucidate the phenomenon in which insects gather in artificial light such as street lights at night have been announced, and the research team explains why insects ``fly into the fire''. I think it is possible.
It is widely known that insects attract artificial light, but the detailed scientific reasons why they do this behavior are not known.
To solve this mystery, a research team from the UK and other countries used a variety of artificial lights to analyze the flight behavior of insects such as ``gags'' and dragonflies using high-speed cameras.The results were published on the 30th in the scientific magazine Published in Nature Communications.
When the research team examined the footage closely, they found that the insects were not flying toward the light, but were constantly changing their posture as they tried to turn their backs toward the light.
In the natural world, this habit is useful for flight by recognizing up and down based on light such as the sun, but in the case of artificial light such as a light bulb, it changes its posture so that its back is facing the light, so it is useful to fly around the light bulb. This means that it will fly around the .
The experiment also showed that the dragonfly that came to the top of the light bulb turned its back downwards, stalling, and appeared to fall toward the light bulb and jump into the light. It means that it appears to be attracted to light.
The research team says their findings provide a new explanation for the age-old mystery of why insects fly into flames and light.