Give A Shit About Nature@giveashitnature
After the bees go to sleep, the night shift pollinators emerge. You may be accidentally killing them.
Nocturnal pollinators pollinate hundreds of plant species that bees never touch: night-blooming flowers that evolved specifically for them, with pale petals visible in moonlight and scents that intensify after dark.
Then we turn the lights on.
A 2017 study by ecologist Eva Knop found that meadows illuminated by artificial light at night had 62% fewer nocturnal pollinator visits than dark meadows, and as a result, produced 13% less fruit.
A separate study found moth abundance was halved at lit sites, species richness was more than 25% lower, and 70% of moths near streetlamps flew toward the light instead of the flowers.
The problem isn't just that moths die at lights. It's that they get stuck orbiting them, burning energy, never reaching the plants that need them.
Your porch light is doing this. So is your floodlight, your landscape lighting, and your neighbor's security lamp.
What actually helps:
💡 Turn off outdoor lights you don't need after dark
💡 Put lights on motion sensors
💡 Switch to warm-toned bulbs
💡 Shield fixtures so light points down, not out
We already know to plant for pollinators. Now let it go dark enough for them to do their job.
