Foo - Why are insects attracted to light?

Think about it.
Its at night, sun is set, but there is some light on. Maybe a front porch light, and insects go swarming around it. You find dead insects in these light fixtures, moths flying all around. What is it that makes insects attracted to light at night?

They know they are going to Heaven. "The light! Follow the liiiiiight!"

www.google.com

:D They are not attracted to the light. They are afraid of the dark!

I'll save you the Google search:
http://ask.yahoo.com/20030708.html

Google takes away all the fun

I wanted to post this story by James Thurber, one of my favorite authors, but it's probably still under copyright:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moth_and_the_Star

An interesting fable about maintaining the status quo or following your dreams.

Think about it.
Its at night, sun is set, but there is some light on. Maybe a front porch light, and insects go swarming around it. You find dead insects in these light fixtures, moths flying all around. What is it that makes insects attracted to light at night?
Same reason you're attracted to porn.

they're horny for the bulb? O_o

LoL

insects to light is like people to porn... hmm...

Are male and female insects equally attracted to light?

Are male and female insects equally attracted to light?
I have a collection of palm sized moths that got caught on my screened-in porch. Of about 8 or so, all have been males.

Good question.

First, you have to understand that light bulbs don't actually EMIT light, they just suck in darkness. The larger the bulb wattage, the greater its capacity to suck up darkness. When its capacity is exhausted, it burns out, and you can see the darkness trapped inside the bulb.

Insects, strangely enough, have a large amount of light INSIDE them. This is most noticeable in the cases of glowworms and fireflies, which are uniquely adapted for using their internal light, but all of these little critters rest during the day, storing light, and then use the light for fuel at night in an odd variation on photosynthesis.

Darksuckers (i.e. light bulbs) exert their pull on the internal lights of these insects, sucking them inexorably towards the light.

Join us next week, when we teach poodles how to fly!

Dr. Science! You can't hide behind that RedhairedScot handle. Glad to see you here. I've always wondered how lightbulbs work. Imagine how much fuel could be conserved if we could harvest all the light stored inside all those insects.