Ever noticed how insects are attracted to a house light or a porch light? Ever wondered why they do this? There's not hard evidence as to why insects do this but there are many theories.

The first thing to be aware of is that all insects that are attracted to lights are nocturnal insects. Nocturnal means the insect is active during the night. Moths have the most common attraction to light amongst insects. Moths are migratory insects and fly during the night. The light of the moon gives the moth the ability to fly in a straight line. It works because the moon is so distant from earth the light will hit the eyes of the moth with the same strength of light in each eye, this helps the moths wings beat at the same rate. If the moth gets attracted to a closer light source say a porch light because the light source is much closer than the moon, the strength of the light will be closer in one eye than the other. Causing the one wing to beat stronger than the other. The moth flight becomes unbalanced causing the moth to go crashing into the light.

Another theory is concerned as to why flies are attracted to light. Flies are not like moths but they aim to fly north. For the fly to navigate north they try and fly with the moon of it's right side. But a fly trying to get the right side of a porch light causes it to fly around and around. This causes great confusion for the fly and maniac flight.

The last theory i came across is the idea that flies are nocturnal and are attracted to darkness. When they see a light from a short distance they perceive the area just around the light to be the most darkest space. So they fly straight towards the light and because the light is so close they end up getting confused by the light. They end up circling around the light over and over again.

Unfortunately, there are no answers to this question but there are a few theories. The only way to conclude this is to make a personal preference. Which theory do you believe in?

Profile: http://www.xomba.com/user/artypants

Join Xomba now: http://www.xomba.com/referral/7779669c