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Ted says nobody really knows why moths (and many other insects, such as beetles and bugs) are attracted to artificial light sources. He thinks it could be the interface between light and dark (e.g. at the horizon) that confuses them. The issue is complicated by our not knowing much about moths' spectral sensitivity. Most insects see ultraviolet light (unlike us) and many can detect the plane of polarization of light. What they see may not be (in fact,will not be) what we see.'

The tricky part to this of course is that no one is really certain how insects see or how they interpret vision. Like so many other questions in science, at times the best scientists can manage is an educated guess, and there are some things that will always remain a mystery.

The old theory, which Ted thinks is wrong 'was that, under natural conditions, a moth flies at night at a constant angle to a bright object such as the moon. But if it fixes on a brighter light bulb, maintaining that angle will mean that it will fly in (ever-decreasing) circles around the light bulb, and end up at it.'

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