Science Information courtesy of OnlineFuture.co.uk


Why Dont Moths Fly to the Moon?


Surely, in the days before man invented artificial light, moths would have been attracted to the only light source at night - the moon. Wouldn't they have just kept on flying until they dropped from exhaustion? In fact does this not happen today in sparsely populated areas, where the moon is still the only night-light available?

Navigation
Sorry to disappoint you, but there is no concrete answer - only theories. The prevailing theory of the moment is that many moths do not directly fly to light - and therefore wouldn't try to make a trek to the moon. No, what they do is use the moon as a navigational aid. If you wanted to keep moving in one direction and the moon was your only reference point, you would keep the moon at a particular angle to your direction of travel. For instance, you may keep the moon at 45 degrees to your left, and as the moon is relatively static in the sky, you would be sure to travel in the same direction.

"The Moon Just Moved!"
Now, to a moth, with its poor eyesight and fairly simply outlook on life, a street lamp that is only 3 feet away may look pretty much like the vast moon that is thousands of miles away. I guess that moths have never heard of the term "perspective". So, the moth makes its way past the lamp only to find that angle of the lamp is changing rapidly. So it corrects its flight to try to keep the lamp to its left. Just as it does so, the lamp has moved again? and so the moth just circles around the lamp.

Collision Course
The above covers the "circling" moths. There are, however, other species of moth that fly directly to light. I have not uncovered any accepted theories about this (please email me if you have any!). One possible explanation is that the moon is once again used as a navigational aid, but this time these "direct flyers" simply keep the moon in front of them in order to fly in a straight line. As there is no prospect of bumping into the moon this is as good a way as any to travel forwards. Remember that a moth's main purpose in life is to mate - and not to mate with the moon - so they would only use this navigational aid for limited journeys (until they found a mate). How are they to know that what they thought was the moon is actually a street lamp - no wonder a collision is inevitable!

General Moth Information
There are numerous species of moth and they can be a problem for stored food products, mainly through the risk of foreign bodies. Most moths are attracted to ultra violet light, although green light is often an even stronger attractant.

More information about moths can be found here. If you just think that moths are a nuisance you may want to look here for an insectocutor at http://www.eeeee.co.uk


MORE RESOURCES:

Iowa receives $500000 science foundation grant
Chicago Tribune, United States - 1 hour ago
AP IOWA CITY, Iowa - The University of Iowa has received a more than $500000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant, which was announced on ...
US Sen. Grassley: $512460 to the University of Iowa from the ... IowaPolitics.com (press release)
all 12 news articles


DePaul University opens $40 million science building
Chicago Tribune, United States - 3 hours ago
By Lauren R. Harrison | Tribune reporter DePaul University unveiled a new $40 million science building this week that it says is a tangible manifestation of ...


At the Stove, a Dash of Science, a Pinch of Folklore
New York Times, United States - 18 hours ago
“The cells are falling apart and leaking,” said Ms. Corriher, who dissected the science of recipes in her books “Cookwise” and “Bakewise. ...


Washington Post

Mars Rovers Are Alive at Five
New York Times, United States - Jan 5, 2009
A prototype of the Mars Science Laboratory. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) NASA had planned another mission to Mars for 2009 with a new rover, called the Mars Science ...
Mars Rovers Celebrate Fifth Anniversary Inside Self-Storage
NASA rovers survive five years on Mars Register
Mars rover mission reaches 5th anniversary The Associated Press
New York Daily News - Xinhua
all 321 news articles


Not exactly Rocket science
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - 3 hours ago
The 76ers turned on the jets as they rode 29 fastbreak points to blow past Houston. By Kate Fagan With a smile on his face, Lou Williams said the way to ...


Five Texas teachers named Presidential Award finalists
North Texas e-News, TX - Jan 6, 2009
By TEA AUSTIN — Five Texas teachers have been named finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). ...
Austin teacher finalist for presidential award Austin American-Statesman
Austin teacher named national award finalist News 8 Austin
all 4 news articles


New York Daily News

New Report Describes Systematic White House Effort to Manipulate ...
Coastal Post, CA - 4 hours ago
By Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report The evidence has been overwhelming for quite a while that, when it comes to climate-change science, ...
Video: George W. Bush: The Presidential Report Card AssociatedPress
Standing up to Bush Las Vegas Sun
all 1,440 news articles


Earthtimes (press release)

Altium Supports the Next Generation of Robot Designers
MSNBC - 5 hours ago
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a not-for-profit organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people's ...
Altium Sponsors Robotics Competition Printed Circuit Design & Fab
all 16 news articles


KPIC

Inclusive Science
Hawaii Reporter, HI - Jan 6, 2009
Patrick J. Michaels is a senior fellow of environmental studies at the Cato Institute and a research professor of environmental sciences at the University ...
Climate Change versus Global Warming Muncie Star Press
Obama’s radical environmental strategy Reuters
Think Again: Climate Change Foreign Policy (subscription)
Louisville Courier-Journal - Austin American-Statesman
all 60 news articles


Execs & Accounts: Epsilon, ClickSquared, Revenue Science
ClickZ News, NY - 6 hours ago
Revenue Science named a new account executive in New York. Sara Weinstein became part of the New York sales team as account executive. ...

Science - Google News

home | site map
© 2007