Have you ever wondered what moths did before artificial light was invented? Those delicate, fluttering insects seem drawn like magnets to any illuminated bulb or candle flame.
But moths have existed for over 150 million years – long before Thomas Edison patented the first commercially viable light bulb in 1879. So what exactly attracted moths before artificial light?
What Did Moths Do Before Light?
Before human-made light sources, moths relied on natural light from the moon, stars, and lightning to navigate and feed. They were doing their moth business in nighttime’s dark or dim natural light.
Moths likely rested during the day and became active at dusk when the natural light faded. Under cover of darkness, moths would begin seeking food sources like flower nectar, tree sap, overripe fruit, and other sugary plant secretions. Some species pollinated night-blooming flowers as they fed.
Moonlight provided a familiar beacon for nocturnal moths to orient themselves during nightly activities. On moonlit nights, moths likely congregated around bright moonbeams for orientation.
Cool flashlight fact – moonlight is actually reflected sunlight! The full moon reflects only about 12% of the light from the sun, but it still offers moths enough pale light to find their way.
So in an era before artificial lighting, moths followed nature’s nocturnal cues like moonlight, star shine, and other ambient night time light. Their lives revolved around far dimmer light conditions than we experience today.
Why are Moths Obsessed with Light?
These days, moths appear fanatically drawn to artificial lights from lamps, ceiling fixtures, flashlights, candles, and even phone screens. So why are they so obsessed with these human-made light sources?
Moths use light from the moon and other celestial objects to navigate during flight. Their eyes detect dim light and direct them in straight paths as they search for food, mates, and places to lay eggs.
But introduce an artificial light source, and it throws moths completely off course! The brightness overwhelms their visual senses and knocks their whole navigation system out of whack.
Confused and disoriented, moths end up spiralling closer and closer to the compelling glow. They become trapped in an obsessive attraction they cannot escape, at the mercy of the mesmerizing light waves.
Additionally, many moths use point sources of light at night as orientation cues during flight. A bright candle flame or bulb looks like an ideal focal point. As moths zero in toward the steady glow, it tragically ends in a sizzling demise.
So while moths appear fanatically obsessed with artificial lights, they’re just struggling to navigate at night as our unnatural illumination messes with their natural senses and cues. Their love affair with light comes from an instinctive attraction gone haywire in our modern world.
Are Moths Attracted to Candle Lights?
Flickering candlelight sets a romantic mood for people. But for moths, that warm glow spells nothing but trouble. The dancing flames attract confused moths like bears to honey.
You might think moths are mesmerized by the beauty of candlelight. But they’re not admiring the atmosphere or ambience. They’re actually fatally pulled in by the steady source of luminescence.
Bright candle flames overwhelm a moth’s visual senses and disrupt its ability to travel in straight paths. The moth ends up spiralling ever closer to the flickering fire.
Additionally, many moths use point sources of light to orient themselves at night. To their brains, a candle’s pinpoint glow looks like an ideal navigational beacon. But as moths zero in on the flame, it lures them to a fiery doom.
The candlelight triggers their obsessive attraction to steady illumination and throws their internal compass totally off whack. As moths desperately try to orient themselves, they get trapped in a death dive toward the dancing flame.
So while candlelight sets a warm mood for humans, for moths it creates a vortex of confusion and fatal attraction. The pretty glow attracts the helpless insects like a magnet to their ultimate demise.
Why Do Moths Fly Into Fire?
It seems downright suicidal – what makes moths dart directly into flames and incinerate themselves? It turns out they’re not on a kamikaze mission. The poor creatures are just struggling to navigate artificial light sources.
Their eyes have receptors that detect dim light, guiding them at night. But introduce a bright firelight, and moths lose all sense of direction. The intense glow overwhelms their visual senses.
Desperate to reorient themselves, moths end up in a death spiral toward steady illumination sources. The beacon-like flames draw them ever closer, even as it kills them.
Plus, fires emit infrared radiation, which moths can detect. As they zero in on this long-wavelength light, it leads them tragically into the lethal blaze.
The infrared waves don’t heat the surrounding air, so the moths don’t perceive the danger until it’s too late. The heat, instead, rapidly radiates and roasts them as they approach the deadly flames.
So while it appears moths are intentionally diving into fires, they’re just fatally confused. The steady glow, coupled with infrared light, knocks their navigation systems haywire. As they fruitlessly try to orient themselves, the hypnotic flames lure them to a scorching demise.