TY  - JOUR
A1  - Storms, Mona
A1  - Jakhar, Aryan
A1  - Mitesser, Oliver
A1  - Jechow, Andreas
A1  - Hölker, Franz
A1  - Degen, Tobias
A1  - Hovestadt, Thomas
A1  - Degen, Jacqueline
T1  - The rising moon promotes mate finding in moths
JF  - Communications Biology
N2  - To counteract insect decline, it is essential to understand the underlying causes, especially for key pollinators such as nocturnal moths whose ability to orientate can easily be influenced by ambient light conditions. These comprise natural light sources as well as artificial light, but their specific relevance for moth orientation is still unknown. We investigated the influence of moonlight on the reproductive behavior of privet hawkmoths (Sphinx ligustri) at a relatively dark site where the Milky Way was visible while the horizon was illuminated by distant light sources and skyglow. We show that male moths use the moon for orientation and reach females significantly faster with increasing moon elevation. Furthermore, the choice of flight direction depended on the cardinal position of the moon but not on the illumination of the horizon caused by artificial light, indicating that the moon plays a key role in the orientation of male moths.
KW  - animal behaviour
KW  - biodiversity
KW  - conservation biology
KW  - entomology
KW  - urban ecology
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-301365
VL  - 5
ER  -