ELi5: If (most) nocturnal insects are attracted to light sources, why aren’t they just out and about during the daytime?
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They don’t go towards light sources because they like light, they go towards them because they think it is the moon, and flying at a constant angle to the moon will make them go in a straight line. Flying at a constant angle to a lightbulb will either make them circle it, spiral outwards away from it, or spiral inwards towards it. It’s this third group that ends up gathered around it, and leads to the misconception that they are attracted to the light itself.
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