Organism

Night-Flying Moths

TL;DR

Exemplifies evolutionary traps created by human niche construction.

Insect

Exemplifies evolutionary traps created by human niche construction. Moths evolved to navigate using celestial light sources (moon, stars) as orientation cues, maintaining straight flight by keeping light at fixed angles. Artificial lights create a trap: maintaining fixed angle to close light source creates spiral flight path drawing moths into the light, exhausting or killing them. The trap isn't physical - it's evolutionary: ancient adaptations failing catastrophically in novel constructed environments.

Notable Traits of Night-Flying Moths

  • Celestial navigation
  • Vulnerability to light pollution
  • Evolutionary mismatch

Related Mechanisms for Night-Flying Moths

Related Research for Night-Flying Moths