{
  "abstract": "The sight of insects swarming around lamps is ancient and well known, but the reasons for this behavior remain disputed. We propose that attraction to light is not merely a sensory accident, but an adaptive strategy during nuptial flights: under certain conditions, flying toward a light source can be the optimal way to encounter mates, because it aligns flight with pheromone gradients and reproductive dispersal. We developed an agent-based model to test this hypothesis, varying inertia/slip and the acceleration produced by pheromone. The results corroborate that light-oriented flight is strongly advantageous under a broad range of conditions, reaching fixation in over 90% of replicates when slipperiness is high. In addition, the simulations reveal an abrupt transition between regimes in which non-directed flight is favored and regimes in which light-directed flight is favored. This transition is controlled by inertia/slip and pheromone acceleration and is illustrated by phase diagrams. Control simulations without the directional advantage recovered the neutral expectation of 50% blue fixation, confirming that the effect is not an artifact of the model implementation. The primary implication is ecological: if the hypothesis is correct, electric lamps exploit a reproductive strategy and disrupt nuptial flights at the stage when reproduction is most consequential. The transition adds a mechanistic dimension, showing that small changes in flight dynamics can switch populations between radically different behavioral regimes. These findings, if confirmed empirically, would reframe attraction to light as a reproductive trap and add urgency to mitigating light pollution for insect conservation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 1,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Gustavo Gollo"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eemzkax54xpp6.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.32942/x2540j",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "eemzkax54xpp6",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/15404/",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "bepress",
      "Insect attraction to light; nuptial flight; pheromone; light pollution; agent-based simulation; phase transition; insect conservation."
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Life Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2306|Impact of Light on Environment and Health"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221078637",
  "pdf_url": "https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/object/15404/download/26747/",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-09",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eemzkax54xpp6.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:37Z",
      "native_id": "15404",
      "source": "ecoevorxiv",
      "url": "https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/15404/"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "openalex:2306|Impact of Light on Environment and Health",
      "subfield": "climate"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Why are insects attracted to light?",
  "title_text": "Why are insects attracted to light?",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:37Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eemzkax54xpp6",
  "venue": "EcoEvoRxiv",
  "versions": []
}