Good Reason to Turn the Lights Off on Mosquitoes!

Photo taken by Bill McGeeney (c) 2026

This month, I was thrilled to have one great returning guest, environmental activist, Michael Calhoun, and two new guests: Science Communicator and Astronomer, Amy Oliver and from the International Dark Sky Discovery Center in Fountain Hill, AZ, Ted Blank As always, you can listen to July’s slate of shows I Miss My Land Line! and Cosmovision!, over at LightPollutionNews.com or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Research found terrestrial light pollution impacted 52% of observatories, with 60% of those facilities experiencing sustained brightening year over year from 2012 to 2024. This leads us to one of those impacted observatories, the Powell Observatory in Kansas City.

For those who aren’t aware, the Astronomical Society of Kansas City operates the Powell

Observatory, in Louisburg, KS. The observatory features a homemade 30” Newtonian telescope! With the growth in localized light pollution, the club decided it was time to relocate. But the club wanted to remain a resource for the community, so instead of venturing to a dark sky site hours away, they sought to relocate to a different part of Miami County.

During that time, they landed on a site adjacent to Jeff Axmann’s property. Axmann organized local opposition to the proposed Miami County site. The Board initially rejected the permit before Commissioner Paul Scruggs reconsidered. The Commission then voted 4-1 in favor. The real headline centered on reversing not-in-my-backyard sentiment.

Flying termites swarmed in Louisiana as they are attracted to outdoor lights in a similar manner as mayflies. Artificial light accelerated monarch butterfly development with caterpillars growing 16% faster. African waterhole research found gemsboks doubled time at lit waterholes while lions shifted to dark ones.

A study from Ohio found that artificial light overrode temperature effects on dormancy for northern house mosquitoes. Mosquitoes part of the lite group bit at a rate of 70% in September versus 37% for ones not living in artificial light. By October, 59% of the lit mosquitoes remained reproductively active, while the non-lit ones were all in dormancy. Light levels were low as 0.87 lux maintained activity.

Not surprisingly, Hong Kong's skies averaged 43x brighter than the international dark sky standards. Urban areas reached 120x that benchmark. However, post-midnight darkening showed improvement from 2010 to 2023, much of this is attributed to voluntary lighting compliance.

Research on 528 solar eclipse observers found totality path participants showed significantly higher awe. Awe paired with scientific observation enhanced science identity. Studies correlated low light pollution with wonder. And on that line, a 75-study review found research focused on immediate perceptions while deeper values-based factors remained unstudied. People felt safer around 5-10 lux versus standard streetlights at 15-30 lux.

In health news, blue light exposure showed strong diabetes correlation. Ten-fold brightness increases corresponded to 18% higher diabetes odds. Highest blue exposure showed 61% higher odds. Evening light above 1,000 lux between 8 PM and 11:30 PM correlated with 31% higher macular degeneration odds, 18% for cataracts, and 47% for glaucoma.

For listeners of the show, be mindful, often times the show will take a life of its own, and topics/articles slated to be covered on the show will not be, though the website will contain all articles queued up for discussion.