Editing Moth (section)

==Attraction to light==

[[File:Moth near lamp (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Moths circling an electric lightbulb]]

Moths frequently appear to circle artificial lights. The reason for this behavior (positive [[phototaxis]]) is currently unknown.

One hypothesis is called celestial or transverse orientation. By maintaining a constant angular relationship to a bright celestial light, such as the moon, they can fly in a straight line. Celestial objects are so far away that, even after travelling great distances, the change in angle between the moth and the light source is negligible; further, the moon will always be in the upper part of the visual field, or on the horizon. When a moth encounters a much closer artificial light and uses it for navigation, the angle changes noticeably after only a short distance, in addition to being often below the horizon. The moth instinctively attempts to correct by turning toward the light, thereby causing airborne moths to come plummeting downward, and resulting in a spiral flight path that gets closer and closer to the light source.<ref>{{cite news | title=Why Are Moths Attracted to Flame? | work=[[npr.org]] | url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12903572 | date=18 August 2007 | access-date=5 April 2018 | archive-date=8 January 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108215236/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12903572 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Studies have found that [[light pollution]] caused by increasing use of artificial lights has either led to a severe decline in moth population in some parts of the world<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=van Langevelde|first1=Frank|last2=Braamburg-Annegarn|first2=Marijke|last3=Huigens|first3=Martinus E.|last4=Groendijk|first4=Rob|last5=Poitevin|first5=Olivier|last6=van Deijk|first6=Jurriën R.|last7=Ellis|first7=Willem N.|last8=van Grunsven|first8=Roy H. A.|last9=de Vos|first9=Rob|date=4 January 2018|title=Declines in moth populations stress the need for conserving dark nights|journal=Global Change Biology|language=en|volume=24|issue=3|pages=925–932|doi=10.1111/gcb.14008|pmid=29215778|issn=1354-1013|bibcode=2018GCBio..24..925V|s2cid=205145880}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/the-state-of-britains-moths|title=The State Of Britain's Moths|website=butterfly-conservation.org|language=en|access-date=4 November 2018|archive-date=4 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104165943/https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/the-state-of-britains-moths|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Boyes|first1=Douglas H.|last2=Evans|first2=Darren M.|last3=Fox|first3=Richard|last4=Parsons|first4=Mark S.|last5=Pocock|first5=Michael J. O.|date=August 2021|title=Street lighting has detrimental impacts on local insect populations|journal=Science Advances|volume=7|issue=35|pages=eabi8322|language=EN|doi=10.1126/sciadv.abi8322|pmc=8386932|pmid=34433571|bibcode=2021SciA....7.8322B}}</ref> or has severely disrupted nocturnal pollination.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Macgregor|first1=Callum J.|last2=Evans|first2=Darren M.|last3=Fox|first3=Richard|last4=Pocock|first4=Michael J. O.|date=12 July 2016|title=The dark side of street lighting: impacts on moths and evidence for the disruption of nocturnal pollen transport|journal=Global Change Biology|language=en|volume=23|issue=2|pages=697–707|doi=10.1111/gcb.13371|pmid=27251575|issn=1354-1013|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Knop|first1=Eva|last2=Zoller|first2=Leana|last3=Ryser|first3=Remo|last4=Gerpe|first4=Christopher|last5=Hörler|first5=Maurin|last6=Fontaine|first6=Colin|date=2 August 2017|title=Artificial light at night as a new threat to pollination|journal=Nature|language=En|volume=548|issue=7666|pages=206–209|doi=10.1038/nature23288|pmid=28783730|issn=0028-0836|bibcode=2017Natur.548..206K|s2cid=4466564|url=https://hal.science/hal-03947729/file/nature23288.pdf|access-date=13 June 2023|archive-date=27 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527212730/https://hal.science/hal-03947729/file/nature23288.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>