ELi5: why do moths gravitate toward light during the night, where it’s absent, but nowhere to be found during the day, where it’s plentiful

Question

ELi5: why do moths gravitate toward light during the night, where it’s absent, but nowhere to be found during the day, where it’s plentiful

In: 22

Answer 1

I once heard a theory that moths navigate in part by moonlight, but artificial lights confuse them so they fly in circles. If you think about it, the moon is much more stable in space than a lamp relative to a little moth flying around. It would be confusing to me if I could touch the moon too!