# Moths and light sources: What's the deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 25, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moths-and-light-sources-whats-the-deal/261380 "2004-08-25T02:09:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moths-and-light-sources-whats-the-deal/261380/1 "2004-08-25T02:09:29Z")
I have a twofold question. After sitting on my patio tonight, watching the moths bump against the outdoor lights, I began to wonder. I’ve wondered this many times before, but I decided to actually see if there are any facts on this: 1. Why do moths fly repeatedly against a light source, and; 2. If they are so attracted to light, on a moonlit night, why don’t you see any trying to fly towards the moon? In any case, the bats around our place probably think that artificial lights are the best invention _ever_ . 😃 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moths-and-light-sources-whats-the-deal/261380/2 "2004-08-25T02:47:15Z")
The Master speaks: Why are moths attracted to bright lights? URL: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a890127.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a890127.html) Why are moths attracted to bright lights? URL: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_038.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_038.html) Why are bugs attracted to light? URL: [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbugligh.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbugligh.html) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moths-and-light-sources-whats-the-deal/261380/3 "2004-08-25T03:04:45Z")
The best answer, really, is that at this point no one actually knows. Note that Cecil’s answer contradict’s Veg’s staff report. I asked an entomologist friend of mine about it a few months ago when he was attracting in moths at night with a light to photograph them, and he thought the best explanation was the moon-orientation one. Here’s another answer from _How Stuff Works_ > **[Why are moths attracted to light?](https://animals.howstuffworks.com/insects/question675.htm)** > > I always see moths circling around and landing on my porch light. Why do they do this? Is it somehow advantageous to them? USA Today says that some moths use the moon for orientation, and others don’t: [http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/wonderquest/2002-09-12-wonderquest\_x.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/wonderquest/2002-09-12-wonderquest_x.htm) Ask Yahoo cites USA Today, Cecil, and the BBC for various positions on the subject, but unfortunately the BBC link seems to have disappeared: [http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20030708.html](http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20030708.html) So take your pick. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moths-and-light-sources-whats-the-deal/261380/4 "2004-08-25T03:24:47Z")
And here’s another [**theory:**](http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec96/843354316.Ev.r.html) > [@](#): > > \*\*But generally speaking moths that prefer the day are attracted towards light. Moths that are active at night prefer darkness… > Moths that are attracted to light are phototropic. Generally, light coming from the sun and from an artificial light have very much the same properties. \*\*