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Artificial light at night ALAN contributes to the globally observed insect decline. ALAN attracts nocturnal insects from their native ecosystems and disturbs their functions in the food web. Road lights in this context are ubiquitous and relevant ALAN sources that are often not considered in conservation approaches. In a previous study we showed that shielded LED road lights are suited to be part of conservation measures by effectively reducing the attraction of nocturnal insects. Combining morphological with molecular and phylogenetic analyses, we identified individuals 62 morphotypes of a minimum of 45 genera out of 13 Hymenoptera families.
Further combining knowledge on life history and host appearance from our data and the literature, we discuss potential impacts of ALAN ranging from an influence on nocturnal pollination via parasitoid pressure on moth species and biological control of invasive pest species to tritrophic interactions between primary and secondary parasitoids.
We conclusively think that shielded LED road lights will reduce the ecological impact of ALAN on parasitoid wasps in a large and undescribed number of taxa with different host associations, likely affecting associated ecosystem functions such as biological control. Natural light-dark cycles, defined as daily, annual and lunar cycles that are stable across geological and thus evolutionary time scales, are crucial for synchronisation of many physiological and behavioural processes 1 , 2.
In this context, it is hardly surprising that artificial light at night ALAN has been identified as one of the causes of the worldwide insect decline 3 , 4. While the sparse research in the field of ALAN and biological control focuses on model systems and population dynamics e. Further, many studies investigating direct behavioural responses of parasitoids to light are conducted under confined artificial laboratory conditions 13 and lack reference to field conditions with numerous relevant factors for parasitoids that can influence their behaviour e.
