Buildings mix insects

2009/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Zoologia

Dark, bright surfaces generated by humans, such as buildings and asphalt roads, can be harmful to insects, according to a group of researchers at Michigan State University. In fact, they believe that the way these objects reflect sunlight confuses insects.

The Sun does not follow a pattern to emit rays of light, they leave the Sun in all directions. However, when they traverse the Earth's atmosphere and reflect on the reflective surfaces of the Earth, the rays of light are polarized, that is, all take one direction.

Insects and other animals use polarized light as a reference, as it indicates that there is a bright surface. In nature, reflective surfaces are water wells that look for food and lay eggs in water wells. Buildings become authentic ecological traps for insects, which mix with water wells.