Effects of artificial light on the arrival time, duration of stay, and departure time of nocturnal flying insects

Abstract

Insects with positive phototaxis fly to artificial light sources at night, stay there for a certain amount of time, and then fly away. Although many studies have been conducted on the arrival time of flying insects at artificial light sources, little is known about the time at which they fly away (departure time), duration of stay, and staying time zone. This information is important to protect phototactic insects from the fatal attraction to light that is known as a serious ecological light pollution. In this study, we aimed to identify the duration of stay and staying time zone for various insect species by marking them with light traps. Among the 63 species belonging to 11 orders observed at the study site, cluster analysis focused on 27 species for which 5 or more data points were obtained, highlighting three predominant stay patterns. Type 1 species arrived approximately 1.3 h and flew away approximately 4.1 h after sunset and stayed for a short period of approximately 2.6 h. Type 2 species arrived at approximately 1.2 h and flew away for approximately 9.6 h, with an 8.4 h stay. Type 3 species arrived later than Types 1 and 2, were attracted for 5.4 h, and flew away approximately 13.5 h with an 8.2 h stay. These results suggest that conservation biological countermeasures against light-attracted flying insects need to consider the stay patterns of insects that remain under outdoor lighting.