Why are moths drawn to light?

Billy Chyldyshe said:
How do oysters know what phase the Moon is?
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From http://www.fintalk.com/resources/moons/lunar_article.html:
There have been numerous scientific experiments conducted on the subject, but one of the more convincing was when Dr. Frank A. Brown, a biologist at Northwestern University, had some live oysters plucked from their home off the seashore of Connecticut and flown to his lab near Chicago. Oysters are known to open their shells in tune with each high tide, and Dr. Brown wanted to see if this was due to the change in ocean levels or to a force from the moon itself. He placed the oysters in a shallow pan of water and shut them off from sunlight. For the first week, they continued to open their shells in tune with the high tides in Connecticut. But by the second week, they adjusted their shell-openings to each time the moon was overhead and underfoot Chicago. Dr. Brown theorized that this had to be a direct force from the moon, and that it was probably electromagnetic energy, which interacts with the electromagnetic fields surrounding the oysters.
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Enmos said:
But you see what i mean right ? Getting lost when your eyes are covered is not an indication you use the moon to navigate.

The theory is the same one i linked to earlier ;)
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You're assuming that the moths use the same system we do. I think I read somewhere that they have specific eye pigments that are "activated" in some way by light, so covering their eyes is not the same as covering my eyes.

Also, if I was driving in pitch black with my eyes open, how do you suppose I would navigate?

edit: apparently the pigment migrates; fascinating

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0006-3185(194106)80:3<275:PMITEO>2.0.CO;2-Q
 
S.A.M. said:
You're assuming that the moths use the same system we do. I think I read somewhere that they have specific eye pigments that are "activated" in some way by light, so covering their eyes is not the same as covering my eyes.
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I was just being annoying. Your post in itself was incorrect but i knew what you meant :p

S.A.M. said:
Also, if I was driving in pitch black with my eyes open, how do you suppose I would navigate?
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Well, i guess you would not be navigating unless you wanted to take your chances :) (Pitchblack = no moon)
 
S.A.M. said:
:mad:



Yeah I was just reversing the conditions.
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Forgive me :)

Fact is that scientists have developed some hypothesis about the phenomenon but there is no standing theory about it. We simply dont know yet.
 
Enmos said:
Forgive me :)

Fact is that scientists have developed some hypothesis about the phenomenon but there is no standing theory about it. We simply dont know yet.
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;)
I know, but its nice to speculate while looking.
 
Enmos said:
Maybe their pigment becomes fixed in the "light" position due to the brightness of the streetlight, making them blind for everything but the streetlight ?
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Hmm but that would make no sense, since the moon is always there as well?

Probably its the way the light is available, if they use a parallel light source (like the moon) then a light source like a lamp may confuse them?

edit: why would they stay close to the light source though? Does that affect their migratory patterns?
 
S.A.M. said:
Hmm but that would make no sense, since the moon is always there as well?

Probably its the way the light is available, if they use a parallel light source (like the moon) then a light source like a lamp may confuse them?
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Hmm yes, but streetlights are much brighter than the moon.

I have read another theory (of which i lost the link) which states that.. darn im going to find it hang on..
 
moths are attracted to light because they think the light is a mate, the female moths have a light (thats what i've been told)
 
Found it:
"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." ~From "It's Raining Frogs and Fishes" by Jerry Dennis.
 
S.A.M. said:
Do moths fly towards the moon?
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The article speaks of a bright moon. I guess that means that when the moon is especially bright the moths start flying towards the moon to disperse themselves.
Ofcourse, the streetlights are always that bright and thus the moths are tricked into dispersing behaviour. :shrug:
 
Nope, none of you are correct. Moths go towards light because of their instinct to fly out of a confined space. Confined spaces are darker, and the opening is usually lighter.
 
spidergoat said:
Nope, none of you are correct. Moths go towards light because of their instinct to fly out of a confined space. Confined spaces are darker, and the opening is usually lighter.
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I like the simplicity of it.. i like it ! :D

Best explanation so far.
 
spidergoat said:
Nope, none of you are correct. Moths go towards light because of their instinct to fly out of a confined space. Confined spaces are darker, and the opening is usually lighter.
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So where do they go in the day?
 
From http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/Moths:
First, moths sense the light in their immediate vicinity and turn toward the direction where the light is greatest.

Second, moths compare the light immediately ahead of them with the light at their current position. If the ratio of 'light just ahead' to 'light here' is below a threshold value, then the moths fly forward toward the light. If the ratio of 'light just ahead' to 'light here' is above a threshold value, then moths turns away from the light. The threshold is determined by the moths' sensitivity to light.

If the moths do not detect any light, or if there simply are no lights in the space where the moths are flying, then the moths flutter about randomly.
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