Insect-friendly street lights

In order to reduce the mortality rate of insects in the environment (such as moths, which are often attracted to lights and are sucked out of their habitats), scientists at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB) have developed an insect-friendly street lighting system and tested it in the Westhavelland Nature Reserve as well as in three other German cities.

Insect-friendly streetlights tested with an insect trap hanging from the lamp body. Photo: AUBE

The four selected sites covered a large area of ​​Germany and were representative of a range of environmental conditions (urban, peri-urban, rural) and existing light pollution. The new LED luminaires provided more focused light, reduced spillage, and were shielded above and on the sides to reduce light pollution. These technical solutions proved to be effective in reducing insect mortality. Surprisingly, reducing the brightness of conventional lamps by a factor of five did not have as significant an effect as shielding the light-emitting area.

“This solution should be used especially in sensitive areas such as near nature reserves, freshwater ecosystems or other areas with high biodiversity,” said Franz Hölker, head of the research team, in the journal Communications Biology.

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Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/den-duong-than-thien-con-trung-post744714.html