Are Bugs More Attracted to LED Brightness?
As you all have noticed in the evening, when you turn on indoor and outdoor lights, there are always bugs swarming towards the source of brightness from nowhere and ending up on the light bulbs or shades.
LED lights constitute 70% of outdoor and residential lighting for the global market. Research funded by National Environment Research Council (NERC) and Integral LED and conducted by a team from the School of Biological Sciences divulge that LED lights are much less attractive to bugs than their traditional counterparts.
Other experimental studies connect the attractiveness of LED lights among the bug family.
Shorter wavelength
It is mentioned that the color emission from the light source is essential to attract bugs. Insects perceive a shorter wavelength of light (UV, green, and blue). The light’s UV output is more critical when it comes to bug attraction. LED Pole lights and LED Parking Lot lights which produce a shorter wavelength of light, are more attractive to bugs than the others.
Phototaxis
It is the scientific term for how an organism’s body is attracted to the light source. Many flying insects are favorable to phototaxis. It’s become natural for insects to hover around a light source. Mostly insects like moths, beetles, and stink bugs are more attracted to light sources.
Warmth
Whether it’s Incandescent or halogen lights, they waste a lot of energy while consuming power in the form of heat. Insects are thermal receptors and sense the release of heat from these light sources. LED lights do not have the same power consumption as the traditional lights but do emit warm illumination. LED lights do attract a few numbers of insects rather than the older lights.
Finally, it is proven that most of the insects are attracted to warmth and a shorter wavelength of light and use it for nocturnal navigation. LED Pole lights or parking lights, which produce less heat and No UV, are not at all favorable to insects. The best way to forestall insects’ swarming over a light source is to install bug lights in places where they are more active.