Why do Bugs fly towards light?
Bugs and moths tend to turn towards light as they find something important over there. Even if the bugs are drinking the nectar and avoiding the predators they seem to not hesitate to go towards the porch lamps and streetlights. Bugs are observed circling the lights as if they are fond of lights. No body knows clearly about the circling of bugs around the lights. Bugs are usually attracted towards the bright moon and they were observed to move towards the moon. This causes them to fly so high as a habit and get distributed in the sky. Some people think that bugs are mistaking the lights as moon.
There is also another version that bugs navigate with the help of stars or moon. When the moths are moving in a straight line, they keep moon as the mark of reference and then move further. In the case of lights bugs move around or circle around the lamps endlessly and cannot move further by keeping the lights as reference.
The other reason behind the movement of bugs towards the light is photo taxis. Photo taxis is the movement of organism towards the light or away from the light. This phenomenon indicates the response of the organism towards light, either positively or negatively. In the case of cockroaches, they move fearfully away from the light while they will move freely in the dark places. This type of response is called as negatively photo tactic movement. Moths and bugs show positive photo tactic movement. The bugs appear to have become attracted towards the porch light, or head lights or campfire. These bugs get destroyed after sometime when they are flying near the sky.
The orientation of moths will be in the night times with respect to the sky as the moon moves in the sky. Their path of flight can be adjusted based on the position of the moon in the sky. The attraction of bug towards the artificial light might be due to its trial to orient itself but gets disoriented. Instead of going to the moon it reaches the light thinking that it is the moon.
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