Bright lights in certain areas may be driving the flying insect population down, ultimately resulting in changes in the natural ecosystem.

A team from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) have discovered that regions that have experienced a sharp decline in flying insects are plagued by high levels of light pollution.

A 2017 study analyzing trends in the biomass of flying insects in selected protected areas within agricultural landscapes shows that the biomass of flying insects has decreased by more than 75 percent in the last 27 years.

The study concluded that changes in climate and habitat likely caused the decline in insect population. However, these impacts alone are unable to explain the drastic decline.

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