If You Love Moths (and You Should), Replace Your Porch Light With Something Better
If you care about the environment, you should care about moths. 'Without them, we would disappear from this planet in short order,' says Doug Tallamy, entomologist and author of several books about creating insect-friendly backyards.
That's because insects, including moths, pollinate plants and feed other animals, especially birds and bats, which makes them a key part of the ecosystem. Moth caterpillars make up most of the diet of young birds, so without moths, there would be fewer chickadees, robins, and bluebirds in yards and parks. Bird populations are on the decline already; the United States has lost about 3 billion birds in the past 50 years.
The world, meanwhile, is experiencing a massive decline in insect populations. 'Light pollution is one of the major causes of insect decline,' said Tallamy, alongside other factors including habitat loss and pesticides.
Scientists believe that in nature, nighttime insects orient themselves to the ultraviolet light from the moon. In artificial lights, it's the blue wavelengths that mislead them. Left: My porch lamp at full white brightness. Right: Adjusting it to a warm yellow or orange doesn't impact how clearly I can see but saves a lot of moth lives. Grant Clauser/NYT Wirecutter
So simply changing your lights from white and blue wavelengths to yellow ones can save countless insect lives. After I switched my front and back porches from bright white to orangey-yellow, I stopped seeing insects swirling around my lamps like a mosh pit. And there's evidence to back up the theory: A 2016 study presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference showed that warm-toned LED lights attracted significantly fewer insects than incandescent or fluorescent lights.
Smart bulbs allow you to turn down the blue wavelengths, offering your moth friends a yellow light that is still bright enough for you to see by but won't turn your lamp into a Death Star. You can opt for either white tone-adjustable bulbs, which allow you to tune the light from cool white to warmer hues, or 100% color-adjustable bulbs, which are capable of producing millions of colors. The color-adjustment feature looks slightly different in each smart-bulb app. Choose either a warm yellow or a white that's less than 3,000 K. WiZ app for iOS, LIFX app for iOS, Wyze app for iOS
Not all smart-bulb apps display color temperatures (as the app for our top-pick WiZ bulb does), but if yours does, it's best to select 3,000 K or lower, as the DarkSky Project, an advocacy group focused on the effects of light pollution on humans and wildlife, recommends.
However, a warm yellow or orange light isn't the best for reading. When I want to sit outside in the evening to read a book, I use the Wirecutter-recommended Glocusent Bookmark Style Reading Light for supplemental light and leave the porch light in bug-safe mode.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Lawmaker says public, private schools play a role in educating foster children in WV
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — The West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy found in 2023 that West Virginia places children in foster at the highest rate of any state in the country, four times the national average. The study found that while West Virginia had only 0.5% of the national population, 2.2% of American children entering foster care were from West Virginia. The study also found that the number of children in foster care in West Virginia jumped by 57% between 2012 and 2021, despite an overall population decline of 4%. Additionally, the study found that parental rights of West Virginia parents are terminated more often than that of any other state, at a nearly 40% higher rate of speed. West Virginia Delegate Elliott Pritt, a Republican lawmaker who represents District 50, said the foster care system and needs of foster care children and others is now a strong consideration in the state education system. 'The foster care system is inundated with kids, and I think our public schools are inundated with kids that have problems, societal problems, familial problems, and it's not just foster kids,' said Pritt, adding that a number of children in family living situations have needs which require special support from the education system.' Data on public state websites showed around 6,292 foster children were enrolled in public schools in West Virginia in 2023. Ten interesting facts you might not have known about West Virginia Christy Day, spokeswoman for the West Virginia Department of Education, said that 2,142 foster children had an Individualized Education Plan, or an IEP, to meet special educational needs, in the 2023-2024 school year. The data shows that around 35% of students in foster care in 2023 required special education, compared to 22% of students who were not in foster care during the same year. It was unclear on Thursday, May 29, 2025, if the percentage accurately reflected the number of foster children who were in need of an IEP. Pritt said on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, that, due to recent legislation, state law now requires public schools to maintain a certain ratio of counselors, in order to meet students' special needs. Day said that the West Virginia Schools for Diversion and Transition employ professionals who solely provide support to students in foster care, adding that the title of Education Recovery Specialists had been transitioned to a new name, Foster Care Education Specialists. 'This program is a referral-based program and provides services to foster and kinship youth as needed,' Day wrote in an email. 'It also supports those youth identified by schools.' Day said the program assists foster care students and foster parents with document retrieval, enrollment, post high school college planning, programs and support referrals, and transcript analysis. Beckley attorney fears Senate bill could have negative effect on mental health services for at-risk transgender youth in the state Pritt said that private schools also play a role in addressing the educational needs of the state as it relates to students who are in foster care. He said that state law did not grant tax breaks to private schools which admit foster children, but he pointed out that the Hope Scholarship program, which takes money from public school coffers to allow parents or guardians to transfer a child to a homeschool or private school, provides tax dollars to private schools. 'I would hope that now, taking public money, that many of these schools would loosen up requirements or understand that there's a need in our communities, especially religious private schools,' said Pritt, 'that they are serving a community that has needs and that they would accept the applications of some of these kids.' Lawmaker aims to abolish alimony in West Virginia Pritt added that if foster children disagreed with the philosophy of a specific private or public school or homeschool curriculum, they could notify their caseworkers and request a change of educational setting. Day said that the WVDE Office of Special Education oversees the progress of disabled students in public and charter schools. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Work underway on THREE big-name chains at Basildon's Festival Leisure Park
AN AMERICAN fast food chain famous for its 'legendary' wings has announced it is opening at Festival Leisure Park as work begins on site. Wingstop, which sells chicken wings across the world, will open in July in the former Frankie and Benny's and workers are already carrying out a renovation. It comes as work progresses rapidly to build new Costa and Wendy's drive-thru restaurants on the car park. Both coffee giant Costa and American burger chain Wendy's are due to open in Autumn, while Wingstop will open 'at the end of July'. Upgrades - Construction well underway on the Wendy's and Costa drive-thrus on the same site. (Image: Oliver Partridge) The three big name chains will join Cineworld, Hollywood Bowl, Slim Chicken, Nandos and more at the popular leisure park. Known for their signature chicken wings, the Wingstop plan is already generating a buzz among residents. Jake Critoph, a resident who was at the leisure park yesterday, said: 'I'm buzzing for this to open, there's only a few in like Lakeside, Chelmsford and I think Southend, so a closer one is great news.' Couple Alfie and Leah Turner also praised the latest addition to Festival Leisure. Alfie said: 'Wingstop sounds banging, we can't wait.' Change - The iconic Wingstop iconography slowly replacing the former Frankie & Bennies. (Image: Oliver Partridge) Lilian Eldridge and her daughter Daisy are frequent visitors to the cinema and looking forward to more food options. Lillian said: 'We come here a fair bit for the cinema, so more food options will be cool - but I don't think we've ever tried Wingstop.' With Wingstop joining other popular chicken restaurants like Slim Chicken and Nando's on the site, both Wingstop themselves and the Festival Leisure Park are promising to deliver a unique experience to visitors. Malachy O'Keeffe, head of marketing at Wingstop, said: 'We're bringing bold, unforgettable flavours to Festival Leisure Park this July, from our crave-worthy wings to our range of milkshakes, our menu is built for those who don't settle for ordinary. 'Get ready, flavour is on its way.' Matthew Chambers, centre manager at Festival Leisure Park, added: 'We're thrilled to announce Wingstop's upcoming arrival to Festival Leisure Park, it's set to be a must-visit on your trip to us this summer.'
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Marketing to Gen Alpha: How brands can win over the next generation
This story was originally published on Marketing Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Marketing Dive newsletter. Winning over young generations is key for marketers in the chase for relevance and as those groups' purchasing power rises. In the coming years, no cohort may be as valuable to reach as Gen Alpha, which is estimated to wield about $28 billion in direct spending power — not to mention a good deal more in indirect spending — despite its young age. A new report from Horizon Media's Why Group and Blue Hour Studios, 'The New Media Multiverse,' analyzes strategies that could help brands connect with Gen Alpha consumers, along with their typically millennial parents. Among the highlights is Gen Alpha's gravitation toward interest-based content and community-driven discovery. Household dynamics between Gen Alpha and millennial parents could also inform marketing plans as nostalgia helps parents and their children connect and millennials embrace screens in a new way. However, the Gen Alpha landscape isn't easy to navigate, not only due to regulatory complexities but also intense competition. Gen Alpha, defined in the report as those born between 2010 and 2024, is exposed to more content than older generations, allowing them to refine their interests from an earlier age. Millennial parents cited over 250 brands that their kids ask for by name, according to Horizon Media, underscoring the challenge in cutting through the clutter. 'These kids are almost like mini-media planners — they're extremely brand aware, they're extremely marketing savvy and they have more purchasing power than any generation before them, and within their family too,' said Matt Higgins, head of strategy at social and influencer agency Blue Hour Studios. 'The New Media Multiverse' is based on an analysis combining cultural audit and social listening with primary research in addition to qualitative interviews. The audit analyzed over 250 pieces of content to identify emerging narratives, while proprietary research leveraged a panel of 1,000 American millennial parents aged 28-48 with Gen Alpha children aged 7-13 in February 2025. Gen Alpha, described by Why Group and Blue Hour Studios as the first algorithmically native generation, and millennials, the first digitally native generation, are reshaping how families function. Notably, 77% of millennial parents believe that their children are more influential than they were over their own parents in determining purchases, a shift credited to algorithms and the role they play in helping kids build their interests. Simultaneously, 82% of parents agree they share more interests with their children than their parents did with them. More specifically, nostalgic content is the 'connective tissue' between generations, per the report. Eighty-four percent of respondents reported they gravitate toward nostalgic formats when they are seeking out shared experiences. For brands, that insight provides a valuable opportunity to consider rebooting or recreating older intellectual property for today's consumers, according to Higgins. A number of brands have recently revamped iconic taglines, mascots and characters in the hopes of reaching younger audiences. 'The way that Alphas are taking in nostalgic content with their parents, they see it as new content, and they're bonding with their parents over it,' Higgins said. 'One of the kids that we spoke to was saying how they love this show called 'The Office' — they talked about it like it just came out — because they watch it with their parent.' The predicted shift from hyper-personalization back toward community-driven discovery underscores the need for shared content experiences. Gen Alpha's exposure to content is welcomed by millennial parents, who have adopted an alternative attitude to screen time than the parents who came before them. Instead of restrictive thinking, millennials are instilling independence among their children, accepting digital life as inevitable and working with their kids on how to navigate a complex landscape. As a result, 71% of parents believe their children are better equipped for today's world because of their screen exposure. However, 65% of parents curate and edit their children's online feeds through actions like watching videos they feel will make a positive impact while signed into their child's account, another signal brands should broaden their appeal to the wider family unit. YouTube is the top-used platform within the Alpha-millennial household and could be the main platform for the family unit broadly in the future, experts said. YouTube ranks as the only destination across the 13 social media and gaming platforms analyzed in the report with both high usage among Gen Alpha (94%) and high feelings of control among parents, who have a longstanding familiarity with the 20-year-old video site. A deeper focus on YouTube and its various content formats can help marketers tap into co-viewing moments, Higgins said. 'Obviously focusing on YouTube, and seeing it as kind of this social platform meets traditional streamer — almost like an everything app for the family — is really important,' Higgins said. 'That doesn't just mean long-form, it means Shorts, it means other kinds of integrations.' Some behaviors from Gen Alpha could further accelerate existing social trends, including the rise of microinfluencers, or those with follower counts between 10,000 to 100,000. The majority of millennial parents (76%) report that, for their children, content relevance outweighs creator popularity when being influenced. Additionally, 70% of parents agree that their children don't have strong attachments to individual creators, and instead just watch whatever interests them. For brands, that doesn't mean macro influencers should be forgotten, but the day-to-day interactions Gen Alpha has with microinfluencers will be what moves the needle. 'When we started thinking about what that means going forward, there's still going to be the Alix Earle's, but they're probably going to be more connected to the type of content that they make, or an interest they're attached to versus our traditional understanding of influence or even fame,' Higgins said. Gaming is a key part of Gen Alpha's routine, but not just for play. The cohort views titles like Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite as social media platforms in their own right, using the experiences to connect with others, both virtually and in real life, per the report. Gen Alpha's passion for gaming also goes beyond the console to include related movies, TV shows and physical items like books and toys. Gen Alpha's relationship with gaming will require brands to advertise in ways that feel native to the ecosystem rather than disruptive, Higgins said. 'That doesn't just mean a branded space, it means as a brand you're participating on Roblox, you understand, you get it, you're working with influencers and creators that are in those spaces too, you're bringing lore and pieces of Roblox into your brand and how it shows up on a TV spot or an [out-of-home] ad,' Higgins said. Higgins also emphasized the importance of following regulatory guidelines when crafting such experiences. Child safety concerns around advertising within gaming experiences has been particularly difficult to navigate, though platforms like Roblox have attempted to curb concerns with stricter guidelines. Though Gen Alpha is young, the cohort's habits on channels like gaming and social media could signal what's to come for how consumers on a broader scale will interact with brands down the line. Marketers that begin to understand the generation now will supply themselves with a competitive advantage for the years to come, according to Maxine Gurevich, senior vice president of cultural intelligence at Why Group, Horizon Media's in-house research unit. 'It's really important to understand that even if you're not marketing to Gen Alpha today, or your target is not the family, this is something that you really need to take on and think about as a brand marketer — what the future is going to look like for your brand — because these are sort of early markers and early indicators of real digital shifts that are happening,' Gurevich said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
