fatal attraction: moths find modern street lights irresistible - solar street light design

Researchers have found that brighter white lights mounted increasingly on roads around the UK attract moths more than traditional orange street lights.
They say moths find white or bluish light unstoppable, and they fly around the light rather than mating or looking for food.
Predators also find it easier to remove insects from trees because of the large crowds gathered around modern street lamps.
Professor Richard Ferrange-
"Like butterflies, we've seen a dramatic decline in moths, but because they are nocturnal, we know less about them," said Konstant, a biologist at the University of Exeter who led the study.
"Habitat loss does play a role in the decline in moth populations, but we found that different species of moths are attracted to different wavelengths of light.
The moth that engulfed the rare moth in Madrid first arrived in Britain. Now the number of moths has decreased. "If you use white light or a broad-spectrum lamp, it will attract more moths, which will completely destroy their natural behavior. "
"They don't mate, they don't feed on flowers.
They often turn around the lights until they are exhausted and fall to the ground.
There are about 2,000 moths in Britain, compared with 52 butterflies.
They play an important role in helping pollinate, and also provide a key link in the food chain of bats and birds.
Recent studies of large common moths in the UK have shown that two-thirds of moths have declined by about 28% over the past 40 years.
Some species, such as-
According to the Butterfly Conservation Association, a wildlife charity, the number of moths once common in gardens has dropped by 99%.
Although habitat loss is believed to be one of the main causes of their decline, the shift from traditional orange street lights to whiter ones has also been blamed.
It's not clear why moths are attracted to street lights, but some theories suggest that they use natural light, stars and the moon, to navigate, while artificial light can cause them to lose their sense of direction.
Traditional street lamps use high-pressure sodium lamps to emit orange or yellow light, while modern lamps use metal halide lamps, which produce a shorter wavelength of light with white or slightly blue color.
Professor Falunge-
Robin Summers, a permanent doctoral student-
Yeats's research, published in the Journal Biology Letters of the Royal Society, found that more species were attracted to new light.
They also found that the light attracted more individuals than the moth.
Professor Falunge-
Continent said turning off street lights at night as much as possible would help reduce their impact on moth populations.
Astronomers and wildlife activists have been working to reduce light pollution at night because of concerns about the impact of light pollution on the environment.
Professor Finch-
He adds that the use of new LED bulbs in street lamps may help reduce their impact on moths because they produce a single color of light.
"Moths are important indicators of biodiversity and habitat health," he said.
They are a particularly important source of food for bats and play an important role in pollination.
"This may be because it is safe to allow enough darkness between lights, even to turn off the lights after 2 a. m. , which helps to reduce the damage.