We Don't Know Why Moth Wings Glow

[@journeytomicro]

Memberships to Nautilus seldom go on sale, but you can go to Nautil.us/microcosmos to receive 15% off your membership.

[@haseo8244]

Indian meal moths. Do you have birdseeds?

[@goronska]

I love how other hosts are helping when Hank cannot be here. This episode was my fav sub so far, because I haven't realized how soothing, and therefore matching for this series, Sarah's voice could be. Please, let her narrate a few episodes here and there

[@SophiaAstatine]

It's practically tradition. Even on Vlogbrothers when I think John was sick, Wheezywaiter and others came on to fill in.

[@mmseng2]

Agreed. Sarah really nailed the calming experience that got me hooked on this channel. I've been missing that recently as it is sometimes secondary to content. Not that the content isn't great either way, but I especially love this style.

[@bone8352]

​@@mmseng2she's freaking everywhere now!

[@Acq49]

She does the soothing voice every other bizarre beasts episode

[@senorbinario2855]

I like her voice a lot. I hope she makes more videos with you

[@NewMessage]

The liquid movement makes this pretty trippy.

[@heavymetalbassist5]

Great narration. Thanks for letting Hank take a nap.

[@stax6092]

Love Sarah. So good to have her here.

[@Dylan-vd6rz]

"they're not the most vibrant or dazzlingly critters to our eyes" Pink Lemonade Moth and Luna Moth: are we a joke to you?

[@joemyers5302]

There are thousands of pretty moths out there.

[@livfuji]

that’s what i was thinking 😭

[@AndreaCrisp]

The Atlas Moth. Gorgeous and large.

[@MH-ms1dg]

Royal walnut moth: you rrraaannggg????

[@jajssblue]

Great job Sarah!

[@Nyan_Kitty]

I love how relaxing your voice is, narrating this

[@noahabraham4273]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 I love your voice so much on bizarre beasts, but honestly it’s just not content I want to listen too. I would love to hear you again on Journey to the Microcosmos.

[@shawnholbrook7278]

Thanks Y'all for another wonderful journey. 😊 The way you all present the science, visuals, writing, and sounds is just lovely. "There is so much more to learn."

[@reportedstolen3603]

Perfect timing! I just watched a video on iridescence and pigment in feathers and scales. Peak curiosity!!!

[@seanarcher1079]

so many frames of this video I just want as background art!

[@terrynewberg5732]

So cool, I had no idea about the acoustic camouflage - fascinating! Thank you. 😍

[@sunnyjim1355]

Moths have sonic cloaking defences to foil bats!!?? 👏 👏 👏 As a mammal myself, I shouldn't really applaud the opposing team, but I'll certainly express my new-found respect. 😂

[@jeffreywilliams3421]

After reviewing this video in depth, I have decoded what the moths were trying to communicate: "Oh crap! A cat!"

[@joemyers5302]

Moths can be just as colourful, if not more so than Butterflies, and there are Butterflies that are drab and brown. There are nearly 10x more Moths than Butterflies, so even if 90% of Moths are 'dull' then that still leaves 10% which are as beautiful as Butterflies, which means there are a similar amount of species. Even the Hummingbird Hawk Moth that's on screen has a bright orange underwing.

[@noeldenever]

Lovely to hear your voice here, Sarah. This episode is a psychedelic trip.

[@miriamrosemary9110]

Just the other day my roommate noticed a gorgeous white and slightly rainbow-fluorescent moth on our ceiling. We took some awesome photos of it. Great timing for this video! Now I wish I had a microscope to put its wings under :)

[@MBMCincy63]

I think 🤔 a possibility for your 'store': posters of these beautiful scales, rich colors. Extremely cool Art to hang. Thanks for the episode 😄.

[@exploremicroscopy]

Damn. I've seen a lot of micro images of moth and butterfly scales, but this is a whole new way of looking at them. Wonderful microscopy James!

[@Yezpahr]

Woah, mind = blown. Now I'm glad I saved the moths that invaded my home in the past decade. Before that I treated them just like the bloodsucking flies or poop flies... The way it grows is mesmerizing. Looks like crystals liquefy when hit with UV, filling nanopores already in the structure, then re-crystallizing. It's actually possible that the heat of the light is enough to alter its chemistry and that this looks even better when infrared is completely blocked from reaching it. This is so pretty and magical. I hope this gets a follow-up by other microscope wielders. Maybe you can collab with Breaking Taps, figuring this out is right up his alley.

[@Droopysmine]

Bizarre Microcosmos - the crossover I didn't know I needed!

[@brendakrieger7000]

Nice to hear you on this channel🔬🦠🦋

[@Beryllahawk]

Gorgeous. I'm a proponent of the communication theory myself - I feel like "courting display" really fits the way these scales look. Brilliantly colored and intricately patterned - and surely it must take some little extra "effort" biologically to produce glowy scales for your wings, right? Often times mate attraction really IS the reason for the brightest feathers, so it just makes the best sense to me. Though I will say, I've never really thought of moths as drab. They're quietly pretty, and honestly really, really chill little buddies. Not that there are many NON chill lepitoperans, but I really can't imagine many other creatures that would just sit on a human's upper arm for an hour, hangin' out. (A long time ago, it was a warm night in a rural area, and this gorgeous Luna moth just - showed up, hung out for an hour, and left. One of my very favorite memories!)

[@jessehunter362]

Some damselflies will stay for an hour if you sit still enough, and some chill spiders. But moths are among the best insects. My favorites are the petrophilla moths, which use their scales to help them stay dry while they dive underwater.

[@theshuman100]

i love the need find out why something glows. jizz glowing has an evolutionary advantage

[@makaioh]

This is so cool, I never think about how interesting the details of everyday things are under a microscope!

[@JayChuckOnFire]

Sometimes I forget how incredible this channel is.

[@RailfoxStudios]

“We don’t know why moth wings glow” Because moths are rad as hell, next question

[@JohnLeePettimoreIII]

_"Float like a Lepidoptera. Sting like a Hymenoptera."_ -- Niles Crane

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

Moths only get a bad rap cos butterflies are so colorful in comparison. But they're a very successful group in their own right.

[@herbertkeithmiller]

Sarah you would be more than welcome by me to be a regular host of Journey to the Microcosmos

[@curiousfirely]

Thanks! This is amazing and beautiful!

[@stefan.5987]

Amazing. Simply put. I'd normally just flatten them on the spot with a good ol' shoe. Not anymore. Haha. 😅

[@Yezpahr]

Haha, I did too but I stopped when I started living on my own, because the dusty spots they leave behind on the wallpaper are an eternal reminder that it's not a good idea. I just grab a big drinking glass and something flat and thin enough and trap it when it sits somewhere. Remarkably they never fly away when you put something over them. (of course wash the drinking glass afterwards, cuz they'll shed wing scales like mad when they touch anything)

[@Orchids.and.Endlers]

This is mind blowing I’m literally in tears on my bed shaking from shock

[@lilysceeliljeaniemoonlight]

Brilliance makes Brilliance

[@goldentrout4811]

That's really beautiful!

[@EmilyJelassi]

I love that other hosts are helping out and that they’re keeping to the soothing pace and sound. Thanks Sarah!! Such an interesting video! I had no idea that moth wings would fluoresce.. so pretty! I wonder if all insects with wings fluoresce?

[@Elientjepientje.]

This is so cool! I love creatures that glow

[@aalhard]

Welcome to the channel Sarah What about using a non polar liquid on the scale slides?

[@somemagellanic]

glowing moth? yeah, i've played hollow knight

[@jredmane]

Oh wow, Sarah Suta's voice is so good for this narration! She did such a wonderful job. Thank you Sarah, I hope we can have you back sometime under happier circumstances, when you can come narrate just because your narration is lovely and not because Hank can't be there.

[@NoahSpurrier]

Doesn’t Moonlight contain a little bit of UV light? It might not make the wings glow bright enough for humans to see, but moth eyes might be more sensitive. The colors seem to have patterns.

[@Moctipotili1]

Amazing! Thank you for sharing!

[@jredmane]

I think the message is not only that we have so much left to learn, but that nature is beautiful and supremely worthy of our wonder and caretaking, regardless of it's functionality.

[@TheRogueWolf]

Sometimes you just have to wonder how much of the world's beauty is completely invisible to us.

[@glomi__]

Don't birds primarily see in UV light? Could this be a contributing reason to moth wings adapting in this way? As a defensive mechanism against birds?

[@1.4142]

A butterfly would have defeated those cats.

[@ASlickNamedPimpback]

Could the glowing be stimulated by irritation like dinoflagellates? Since they were glowing when in contact with moving water but otherwise less glow-y when not being directly stimulated

[@obieobrien5883]

Fascinating!!

[@paulamostard456]

Your voice is perfect for this channel, so soothing. I hope you become a regular❤

[@WEIRDxGUY707]

Thank you for this awesome video, the content you all produce for us is very appreciated, i love seeing all the micro and sometimes larger things aswell, please do a geckos foot one!? 🦎 💕

[@BritishBeachcomber]

The UK has so many colourful moths. Many of then also have big, fascinating caterpillars. Far more interesting than butterfly larvae.

[@jess53nz]

Absolutely loving how the new hosts are keeping the slow pace! So much better than other channels.

[@ilgainis]

Thank you for this beautiful film! Last week got confused after macro photographed Drinker (Euthrix potatoria) moths have iris in their eyes. I tried to search but couldn't find any information on insect having iris disk with the rest of an eye arranged over few hundred if not thousands pixel size small lenses similar to house fly eye. Wondering if anyone may know more about iris in moth eyes? Any links would be much appreciated

[@zelenpixel]

yoooo the bizarre beasts crossover

[@barkmaker]

Aliens. 👾

[@anthonyiodice]

I think it’s a weird push and pull. If you focus on sound reduction, you have to take points away from uv excitation. Evolutionary rpg character sheet.

[@Graphomite]

It's fascinating that some moth wings are audio camoflauge.

[@geminikutie6141987]

I approve of this host. I like bizarre beasts, but she also makes a great journey to the microcosmos host too!

[@christianhunt7382]

Ohhh Sarah! Thanks for helping out the microcosmos crew, it's always a pleasure!

[@Disc_11]

When life gives you lemons, you dissect them and put them under a microscope lol

[@angeliquenichelle]

What if moths have been so attracted to light because they were made out of light?

[@MrNegative101]

Probably because they see an ultraviolet… come on people let’s get serious here

[@kyokoyumi]

The creatures the light scattering moths are bedazzling are probably birds since birds can see in UV.

[@andrewsun4385]

Cool!!!🌟🌟💯💯

[@karifoto]

Absolutely awesome!

[@hherpdderp]

Does the moon reflect UV?

[@TraitorVek]

Everything is Alien

[@IstasPumaNevada]

What's up with what appears to be bubble generation on the scales? Do moth wing scales dissolve in water and give off a gas? Is there some sort of acid added to the solution the scales are in to bring out more of the fluorescence?

[@technopoptart]

like they said in the video itself; mothwings are water repelent

[@hellomynameisname4270]

We must start to acknowledge that error correction, genetic innovation, and observation of and reaction to environmental stimulus is a form of intelligence. Nature is conscious of its self through DNA.

[@BritishBeachcomber]

Moths are a favourite food of nocturnal bats. Many bats can see ultraviolet light. So the moths glow under UV to enable the bats to see them. Just a theory.

[@matthewwelsh294]

We love you Sarah

[@TIR4NO]

Perhaps the shinning wings are due to the tagmatization process, the same as some scorpions

[@Brieperalta]

❤❤❤❤

[@Yezpahr]

Send my best wishes to Hank.

[@anahigajardo7200]

maravilloso

[@kilianconn5091]

Well that was certainly padded for time

[@wfthkttn]

But the truth is, we simply don't know. For now at least, the beautiful mystery of this moth wing light-show reveals just one clear message: FROM OUR SPONSOR, SKILLSPARE!

[@wjansen3276]

😁

[@mukunthannarayanasamy4773]

Gods one provision to an organism,especially insects, may serve more than one purpose to aid in survival, procreation etc. Nocturnal moths may identify their mates in the vast darkness amidst thousands of other insect species either as long distance or medium distance or close contact distance besides or along with pheromones.

[@nightthought2497]

SARAH CAMEO FTW!

[@nightthought2497]

Also, moth scales are scifi as heck

[@jowi_24seven43]

Hank, love your female AI persona ! (jk good work Sarah) great episode, cheers

[@porteroliver]

Hear me out, look at old bongwater, I need to scare some sense into my friend. Like bro please change it regularly

[@mrseriousv1]

I still miss hank

[@dovidsafir7085]

Ummm move Sarah to this show permanently.

[@CrimSang420]

COuld we please just admit that this is either a simulation or evolution happens way quicker than we thought (Plastic-eating organisms. How long have we had plastic?) or living things just appear or that beauty is an evolutionary trait or that maybe this is all a dream? Lovecraft got it, he just focused on the negative. It's all about that damn Duality, Tao. Whatever, scienceheads, I was a life-long one of you some six months ago, thought I knew *everything* about everything. Nope.

[@catzkeet4860]

Science never pretends to know everything about ANYthing. The one thing that science truly shows is that we don't know nearly as much as we think we do, but that's what science is FOR ...... to discover new questions

[@technopoptart]

we've had plastics for about a century and a lot of organisms will have hundreds of generations of offspring in a year. it isnt about quicker or slower so much as it is a numbers game