Insect mortality: Is the light pollution to blame?


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The end of 2017 published study of the Entomological Association Krefeld has delivered unmistakable numbers: more than 75 percent fewer flying insects in Germany than 27 years ago. Since then, people have been working feverishly on the cause - but so far has found no meaningful and valid reasons. A new study now indicates that the light pollution caused by insect killing is also responsible.

Reasons for insect killing

The cause of insect killing is usually called agriculture. The practiced intensification as well as the cultivation of monocultures and the use of poisonous pesticides are said to have devastating effects on nature and the environment. However, according to the researchers of the Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin, the death of insects is also linked to increasing light pollution in Germany. Year after year there are fewer areas that are really dark at night and are not illuminated by artificial light.

Course of the study of the ITUC

Over a period of two years, the scientists of the ITUC investigated the occurrence and behavior of insects in different light situations. A drainage ditch in the Westhavelland Nature Park in Brandenburg was subdivided into individual plots. One section remained completely unlighted at night while regular street lights were installed on the other. With the help of insect traps, the following results could be determined: In the illuminated plot, significantly more aquatic insects (for example mosquitoes) slipped than in the dark section, and flew directly to the light sources. There they were expected by a disproportionate number of spiders and predators, which immediately decimated the number of insects. Furthermore, it could be observed that the number of beetles in the illuminated section also declined significantly and their behavior changed in some cases severely: Thus nocturnal species suddenly became diurnal. Her biorhythm was completely out of balance due to the light pollution.

street lights

The study examined the influence of artificial lighting such as street lamps on insects

Conclusion of the study

The ITUC concluded from the results that the increase of artificial light sources has a not insignificant part in the insect killing. Especially in summer, a good one billion insects would be led astray by light at night. "For many, that ends fatally," the scientists say. And there is no end in sight: Every year, artificial lighting in Germany increases by around 6 percent.

Nationwide monitoring

The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) has been planning an extensive and extensive insect monitoring for some time in order to finally obtain reliable information on the background of the massive insect killing. The project was launched as part of the "Nature Conservation Offensive 2020". Andreas KrĂĽĂź, Head of the Department of Ecology and Protection of Fauna and Flora at the BfN, is working with his colleagues on an inventory of insect populations. Throughout Germany, the stocks are recorded and found the causes of insect death.

Insect mortality: Is the light pollution to blame?

FAQ - 💬

❓ How does light affect insects?

👉 Moths may lose essential defensive behaviors when near artificial light, making them vulnerable to predators. Billions of moths and other nocturnal insects are killed each year just by sheer exhaustion at being unable to escape the light if they are not immediately killed by a hot light source.Cached

❓ What is the main cause of light pollution?

👉 The primary cause of light pollution is outdoor lights that emit light upwards or sideways. Any light that escapes upward, except where a tree or building may be blocking it, will scatter throughout the atmosphere and brighten the night sky, thereby diminishing the view of it.

❓ What are the negative effects of light pollution?

👉 Light pollution, or artificial light at night, is the excessive or poor use of artificial outdoor light, and it disrupts the natural patterns of wildlife, contributes to the increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, disrupts human sleep, and obscures the stars in the night sky.

❓ What is one adverse effect of light pollution on animals?

👉 Artificial light at night can disorientate adult and hatchling sea turtles, so they are unable to find the ocean. Birds are also known to become disorientated by lights, resulting in higher bird mortality due to collisions with artificial structures such as buildings.

❓ Do insects hate light?

👉 Plus, “not all insects are attracted to light,” says Doug Webb, a board-certified entomologist and manager of technical services at Terminix International. The attraction to light is called phototaxis, he explains. Some bugs, like cockroaches, are actually repelled by light and thrive in the dark.

❓ Are insects scared of the light?

👉 For some insects, light is a negative stimulus that they avoid. But for moths and other insects, light is irresistibly attractive, causing them to seek it out and continue to do so even if it doesn't provide them with food. This might be influenced by their relationship with the sun.

❓ Is light pollution causing insect declines?

👉 A recent study, Light pollution is a driver of insect declines, says habitat loss, pesticide use, invasive species and climate change have all played a role in insect declines globally, but that artificial light at night is another important—but often overlooked—cause.

❓ What are the main drivers and mechanisms of insect declines?

👉 Matthew Forister: Across broad spatial and taxonomic scales, the drivers of decline include climate change, habitat loss, and habitat degradation including light pollution, pesticides and invasive species.

❓ Is light pollution a threat on the same level of pesticides?

👉 Not everyone is convinced that light pollution is a threat on the same level of pesticides. “Light pollution could have significant ramifications at the insect population, species or community level,” Nigel Raine, a pollination researcher from Guelph University in Canada, not involved in the study, tells Carrington.

❓ Are insect declines a symptom of human pressures on the environment?

👉 Charlotte Outhwaite: The evidence base for considerable insect declines is now substantial, which is no surprise given the magnitude and extent of human pressures on the environment and the declines seen in other forms of biodiversity 8.

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