Experimental light at night has a negative long-term impact on macro-moth populations.

Van Grunsven et al. experimentally test the long-term effects of artificial light on natural moth populations. In the initial two years there was no effect on populations, but in the latter three years population sizes were reduced compared with the dark controls. This shows that artificial light negatively affects moth populations.

• Publication year

  2020

• Venue

  Current Biology

• Publication date

  2020-06-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.083PMID 32574627
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Light pollution is a driver of insect declines

  2020cited by this paper
• International scientists formulate a roadmap for insect conservation and recovery

  2020cited by this paper
• Colors of attraction: Modeling insect flight to light behavior.

  2018cited by this paper
• Declines in moth populations stress the need for conserving dark nights

  2018cited by this paper
• More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas

  2017cited by this paper
• Artificially lit surface of Earth at night increasing in radiance and extent

  2017cited by this paper
• Experimental illumination of natural habitat—an experimental set-up to assess the direct and indirect ecological consequences of artificial light of different spectral composition

  2015cited by this paper
• The biological impacts of artificial light at night: the research challenge

  2015cited by this paper
• Range of attraction of a 6‐W moth light trap

  2014cited by this paper

• Light Spectra and Photoperiods Interactively Influence Growth, Development, and Reproductive Traits of Ostrinia furnacalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

  2026cites this paper
• Dimming streetlights in urban areas reduces insect attraction but pipistrelle bats forage more in darkness

  2026cites this paper
• Evolution, genomics and conservation of butterflies and moths

  2026cites this paper
• Left in the dark: nocturnal pollinators and the flowers they service in a brightly lit world.

  2026cites this paper
• Ecosystem-specific moth attraction to warm-coloured LED simulating road lighting conditions

  2026cites this paper
• Severe and widespread reductions in night-time activity of nocturnal moths under modern artificial lighting spectra.

  2026cites this paper
• Moth communities are shaped by season, weather, elevation, and landscape composition

  2025cites this paper
• Female moths call in vain: Streetlights diminish the promise of mating

  2025cites this paper
• Artificial night light intensity modulates herbivory and phytochemistry in European beech

  2025cites this paper
• Negative effects of forest edges and canopy opening on moth communities

  2025cites this paper
• Blended-red lighting partially mitigates the cost of light pollution for arthropods

  2025influential citation
• Artificial light at night reduces emergence and attracts flying adults of aquatic Diptera

  2025cites this paper
• Artificial light at night consistently impacts avian physiology and behaviour: a meta-analysis

  2025cites this paper
• Habitat and land‐use intensity shape moth community structure across temperate forest and grassland

  2025cites this paper
• Mitigating light pollution impacts on arthropods based on light‐emitting diode properties

  2025cites this paper
• Heortia vitessoides Infests Aquilaria sinensis: A Systematic Review of Climate Drivers, Management Strategies, and Molecular Mechanisms

  2025cites this paper
• Artificial light alters spatial and temporal habitat use by a crepuscular aerial insectivore

  2025cites this paper
• Special Issue - Sensory pollution by artificial light: implications for ecology and evolution

  2024cites this paper
• Shedding light with harmonic radar: Unveiling the hidden impacts of streetlights on moth flight behavior

  2024cites this paper
• Artificial light at night drives diel activity patterns of synanthropic pipistrelle bats and their prey.

  2024cites this paper
• Towards a standardized framework for AI-assisted, image-based monitoring of nocturnal insects

  2024cites this paper
• UV-LEDs outperform actinics for standalone moth monitoring

  2024cites this paper
• Behaviour and landscape contexts determine the effects of artificial light on two crepuscular bird species

  2024cites this paper
• Dose–effects in behavioural responses of moths to light in a controlled lab experiment

  2023cites this paper
• Marvellous moths! pollen deposition rate of bramble (Rubus futicosus L. agg.) is greater at night than day

  2023cites this paper
• Dim light pollution prevents diapause induction in urban and rural moths

  2023cites this paper
• Artificial light impairs local attraction to females in male glow-worms

  2023cites this paper
• Forest insect pollination ecosystem services and climate change: A review

  2023cites this paper
• Patterns of high-flying insect abundance are shaped by landscape type and abiotic conditions

  2023cites this paper
• How artificial light at night may rewire ecological networks: concepts and models

  2023cites this paper
• Mitigating the impacts of street lighting on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning

  2023cites this paper
• Long-term exposure to experimental light affects the ground-dwelling invertebrate community, independent of light spectra

  2023cites this paper
• Metabarcoding dietary analysis in the insectivorous bat Nyctalusleisleri and implications for conservation

  2023cites this paper
• A plea for a worldwide development of dark infrastructure for biodiversity – Practical examples and ways to go forward

  2022cites this paper
• Streetlights affect moth orientation beyond flight-to-light behaviour

  2022cites this paper
• Moth light traps perform better with vanes: A comparison of different designs

  2022influential citation
• Inconsistent results from trait-based analyses of moth trends point to complex drivers of change

  2022cites this paper
• DEVELOPMENT OF A CONTROL SYSTEM TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT MODULATION ON INSECTS

  2022cites this paper
• OSpRad: an open-source, low-cost, high-sensitivity spectroradiometer

  2022cites this paper
• Reproduction of a field cricket under high-intensity artificial light at night and a simulated heat wave

  2022cites this paper
• Towards a mechanistic understanding of the effects of artificial light at night on insect populations and communities.

  2022cites this paper
• Living with Biodiversity: the butterfly dimension

  2022cites this paper
• The rising moon promotes mate finding in moths

  2022cites this paper
• Even low light pollution levels affect the spatial distribution and timing of activity of a "light tolerant" bat species.

  2022cites this paper
• Lack of local adaptation of feeding and calling behaviours by Yponomeuta cagnagellus moths in response to artificial light at night

  2022cites this paper
• A Systematic Review for Establishing Relevant Environmental Parameters for Urban Lighting: Translating Research into Practice

  2022cites this paper
• Moths are strongly attracted to ultraviolet and blue radiation

  2021cites this paper
• Wavelength-dependent effects of artificial light at night on phytoplankton growth and community structure

  2021cites this paper
• Insect decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a thousand cuts

  2021cites this paper
• Towards Insect-Friendly Road Lighting—A Transdisciplinary Multi-Stakeholder Approach Involving Citizen Scientists

  2021influential citation
• 11 Pressing Research Questions on How Light Pollution Affects Biodiversity

  2021influential citation
• Erratum: The Impact of Light Pollution on Bats Varies According to Foraging Guild and Habitat Context

  2021cites this paper
• Street lighting has detrimental impacts on local insect populations

  2021cites this paper
• Artificial light at night disrupts species interactions and changes insect communities.

  2021cites this paper
• Artificial nighttime lighting impacts visual ecology links between flowers, pollinators and predators

  2021cites this paper
• Light pollution impairs urban nocturnal pollinators but less so in areas with high tree cover.

  2021cites this paper
• Keeping light pollution at bay: A red-lines, target values, top-down approach

  2021cites this paper
• Assessing long‐term effects of artificial light at night on insects: what is missing and how to get there

  2021cites this paper
• Pollination and fruit infestation under artificial light at night:light colour matters

  2020cites this paper