Insects Don't Swarm at LED Lights

As outdoor lights switch from incandescent to LED technology, insect populations are no longer attracted to them in significant numbers because LEDs do not emit ultraviolet (UV) light that insects mistake for moonlight, which they use for navigation. This shift has ecological consequences—for example, fewer insects around LED lights means fewer food sources for animals like geckos that relied on insect swarms. A 2016 University of Bristol study confirmed that LED lights attract substantially fewer insects than traditional incandescent or fluorescent lights.