Watch: Why do insects seem to be attracted to light?

Why do insects seem to be attracted to light? It’s a peculiar behavior that often doesn’t end well for a moth attracted to a flame or a mosquito attracted to a bug zapper. But researchers believe they may have unraveled they mystery. It’s not that insects are attracted to the light. Instead, they seem to end up in a loop trying to turn their backs to it.

“Contrary to the expectation of attraction, insects do not steer directly toward the light,” researcher wrote in Nature.

Using advanced camera technology, researchers writing in Nature captured images of insects contorting their bodies to face away from the light—a behavior known as dorsal light response. Near artificial light, researchers found, “this highly conserved dorsal-light-response can produce continuous steering around the light and trap an insect.”

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