TheBoySaunders.com

2 Responses to “Riddle Me This”

1. SpongeBob Jimpants Says:
   October 15th, 2007 at 2:31 am

   Most species of moth are nocturnal, but there are crepuscular and diurnal species.

   Moths frequently appear to circle artificial lights. One hypothesis advanced to explain this behavior is that moths use a technique of celestial navugation. By maintaining a constant angular relationship to a bright celestial light, such as the moon, they can fly in a straight line. Celestial objects are so far away, that even after travelling great distances, the change in angle between the moth and the light source is negligible; further, the moon will always be in the upper part of the visual field or on the horizon. Human light sources have not existed long enough to affect the evolution of moth navigation systems. When a moth encounters a much closer artificial light and uses it for navigation, the angle changes noticeably after only a short distance, in addition to being often below the horizon. The moth instinctively attempts to correct by turning toward the light, causing airborne moths to come plummeting downwards, and - at close range - which results in a spiral flight path that gets closer and closer to the light source.
   In 1972, Henry Hsiao, suggested that the reason for moths circling lights may have to do with a visual distortion called a Mach band]. He says that they fly towards the darkest part of the sky in pursuit of safety and are thus inclined to circle ambient objects in the Mach band region. This hypothesis is not scientifically accepted and has never been confirmed.

   Hsaio says that the celestial navigation theory should cause moths to circle lights, not to head directly toward them, as many are seen to do. He conjectures that moths, which are nocturnal creatures, must find a place to hide from predators when daylight comes, but cannot do so in darkness. Their instinct when morning comes is to fly toward the light (presumably up) and then down again, with some probability landing on a surface which matches their camouflage.

   Night-blooming flowers usually depend on moths for pollination, and artificial lighting can draw moths away from the flowers, affecting the plant’s ability to reproduce. A way to prevent this is to put a cloth or netting around the lamp. Another way is using a colored light bulb (preferably red). This will take the moth’s attention away from the light while still providing light to see by.

2. J Says:
   March 17th, 2008 at 1:04 pm

   A man walks into a doctor’s office and says ‘doctor, doctor I think I’m a moth’
   The doctor replies ‘Well I’m a doctor you want a psychiartrist.’
   The man says ‘I know that’
   ‘Well why did you come in here then?’ the doctor replied
   The man looks at him and says ‘oh your light was on’

Leave a Reply