Why Are Moths Attracted To Light?

We've all seen those winged creatures fluttering in and around light fixtures or even right into flames but why the heck do they do that?

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[EugeneKhutoryansky]

Just as we are wondering why moths engage in self destructive behavior, there may be extra terrestrials who are wondering the exact same thing about the human race as a whole.

[Garlic_Bread]

A moth flew into my screen while watching this

[NormalChannel]

Yep a bunch of Normies are coming now.

[bloodandwinearered]

Once camping in the deep forest, a moth flew through the thick brush. It landed on a branch near our campfire.  Immediately it turned upside down.  To our shock and amazement, when upside down the pattern on the wings made exactly the face of an owl. We were all in awe.  What an amazing defense!  I had only gotten the words out "a thing of beauty is forever" when the huge moth flew into the campfire.  What a loss.

[jukingeo]

One correction. Most moths do not feed as they do not even have a mouth or digestive system. So that would blow a huge hole in that theory that the light is a food source as all moths go to a light, but not all moths feed. Most moths do all their feeding in their larvae or caterpillar stage. The only purpose a moth has when it emerges is to mate. Consequentially the drive to do so is immediate and frantic. The moth KNOWS it has limited reserves and it acts accordingly. It, sadly, only has about a week to find a mate in the case of a male. The female usually doesn't fly much and she sits and waits releasing a pheromone that the males pick up on. This is the main navigational aid a male moth has...not the moon. After the female has mated, she then flies off to lay her eggs...more then likely never leaving the bush or tree it emerged from. A female barely flies at all and pretty much just uses flight as a means to escape danger and also to distribute her eggs. Females will continue to lay eggs until their reserves run out and then they die. Males could go off and fertilize another female but they too will eventually run out of reserves and die. There are some moths that do have a proboscis like a butterfly does and they can live for several weeks, such as the hummingbird moth. So putting it all together...the above video still doesn't really explain why moths are attracted to light. If it had to do with them being nocturnal, I would think a moth would want to head away from the light so it could rest in a dark shady place away from predators. So the only theory that I am buying is that perhaps light might interfere with a moth's 'tracking system' when they are trying to find a female. More research would need to be done here to see if that is viable. But the rest I do not buy.

[thankunext]

You calling moths dumb the whole time had me dying 😂👏

[privatenumber]

More importantly, why am I fine with spiders and almost any other creepy crawler but hysterical around moths?

[Qrazey]

I opened my window and took off my mesh to clean. stupid me left it open and went down to get a brush and about 15 moths were in my room around my light

[KeaLeonna]

One literally just flew into my eye... Ouch

[HuyNguyen-fnmx]

Like a light
Like a light
Like a light
Like a light 💡

[globe.]

Moths don't migrate, why would they navigate by moonlight?

[MikeJr]

So moths are apparently suicidal because of being stupid.

[bryanarriaga]

Idea for next video:Does soda actually rot your bones

[tejassheth]

Maybe for a new vid u can do "Why is space black?

[zantfluffingtons.]

Light is just a beautiful women, that’s why we love her.

[splashingwateronthingspers]

Water is a wonderful thing too! See it splashed on things on my channel!

[MB]

moths are nocturnal "OH YEAH WHY ARE THEY ATTRACTED TO LIGHT, HMM?" um, because moths think the light is something else... that's why you don't see them in the day

[adambishop]

Moths are not dumb....we are the ones that are dumb for having no idea, still, as to why they are attracted tio light!

[MikyRikker]

The audio is horribly high pitched in this video.

[thiccityd]

0:09 already failing at science, a theory takes tons of evidence to be called a theory, and nothing is higher than a theory in science. So saying it is unanswerable and right after saying there are theories for it makes me feel sad inside. Gravity is a theory.