Caterpillar study changes understanding of LED lighting

Douglas Boyes, a PhD student at Newcastle University and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, spent 400 hours counting moth caterpillars under streetlights in England.

The study, published in Science Advances, found caterpillar numbers were 47% lower in lit hedgerows and 33% lower in lit grass margins compared to unlit sites.

White LED streetlights were associated with a 52% reduction in caterpillars in hedgerows, versus a 41% reduction under high-pressure sodium lamps.