The insects flying in circles around your porch light aren’t captivated by the light. Instead, they may have lost track of which way is up, high-speed infrared camera data suggest. Moths and other ...

For decades, scientists have believed that insects were attracted to bright, artificial light. This has spurred the creation of countless "insect lights" designed to attract and kill bugs. But now, ...

From mosquitoes to moths, insects can’t resist the siren sight of bright light, something humans have noticed since at least the Roman Empire. Drs. Yash Sondhi and Sam Fabian headed up a team to ...

Turn on a light outside at night, and it won't be long before a bevy of insects start careening wildly around it, apparently drawn in "like a moth to a flame," as the saying goes. Now, in a series of ...

WASHINGTON — Like a moth to flame, many scientists and poets have long assumed that flying insects were simply, inexorably drawn to bright lights. But that’s not exactly what’s going on, a new study ...

It’s an observation as old as humans gathering around campfires: Light at night can draw an erratically circling crowd of insects. In art, music, and literature, this spectacle is an enduring metaphor ...

At night in the Costa Rican cloud forest, a small team of international scientists switched on a light and waited. Soon, insects big and small descended out of the darkness. Moths with spots like ...