Why do the ephemera head into light?

Whether it's the light of a fire, a light bulb, or a television, a cell phone, ephemera do not hesitate to rush in.

In the natural world, the animals still exist today because they have experienced thousands, thousands of years of evolution to be able to adapt to the life of their surroundings.

The evolution of each species is different, however, it relies on two main goals: Foraging - Survival . Some will optimize their hunting abilities such as speed (leopard), strength (tigers, lions) or the ability to camouflage, venom .

There are also species that simply exist and fulfill the mission of nature to sustain the breed! Such species have the ability to hide, camouflage or sense incredible danger to evade predators.

Does it seem that throwing yourself towards light is the instinct of ephemera?

However, regardless of the evolution, most of them have evolved towards maximizing survival in the natural world, which makes it easy to understand which species needs to survive. However, there are a few that are not like that!

A typical example is the ephemera . They have the scientific name Ephemeroptera ( duodenum ), which usually occurs mainly during mating season and then immediately dies.

The reason for the death of an ephemera is very unique, right from the name, we can understand somewhat.They are often "fascinated" by the light that rushes into it, for light sources such as fire or lights (high heat buildings), the ephemera will die instantly .

So, why do you know that you will die when your body burns into the light?

In fact, the ephemera can fly and live on the shore very short, only a few hours, most of the life cycle, they exist in the form of larvae, live underwater, this time can last from 1- 3 years!

So far, the most accurate answer has not been given, although many assumptions and predictions have been made. Therefore, this is considered as one of the biggest questions for entomologists.

The time of ephemera can fly and live on the shore very short.

1. Assumption of eyes

The largest and most scientifically accepted hypothesis still comes from the eyes of the ephemera. Saunders, a professor of entomology at Penn State, explains: " Ephemera often use the moon to navigate during their flight at night . "

Accordingly, the moon is considered to be optical infinity , which is the light source far enough for the rays of light to come parallel to the Earth. In fact, it's a great way of navigating by using the light from the moon as the base, they can move in a certain direction.

But this "technology" has one fatal flaw. That is, the artificial light sources are much closer, brighter and more attractive than the moon. When that happens, the ephemera will be " very confused" .

Those rays enter one part of their eye, causing the directional system to become disturbed. Since then, the ephemera have lost their original orientation (from the Moonlight), spiraled in a spiral, and then gradually stabbed into the fire.

Is ephemera rushing into fire due to instinct, being lured, fascinated or "lost"?

2. Assumptions about children

Besides the reasons given above, many scientists have other explanations. Philip Callahan, an American entomologist, said: "The infrared light spectrum emitted by a burning candle can contain the exact same frequency as the light emitted by a female, so the males encounter sex hormones so do not hesitate to rush. "

That explains why so many males die in the heat of the fire. However, this assumption still has many holes as well as quite a number of mixed opinions.

Until now, the most accurate cause has not been found, but scientists, especially entomologists, are continuing their fight to explain the seemingly simple phenomenon. This same mystery of nature.