Bats, for example, hunt only at night using echolocation. Migratory birds navigate their passage using the stars in the sky. On the water, insects hatch their larvae at night. They are all dependent on darkness. Darkness protects them from heat and hunters, allows them to search for food in safety, provides orientation, and controls biological cycles – including reproductive cycles as we see with the firefly. Female fireflies emit their gentle light signal to the males. If the surroundings are too bright, the males miss the signal and mating fails.

Artificial light affects the behaviour of our animal habitat. In our webinar we shall be looking at the question of how sustainable exterior lighting can take this animal habitat into consideration and protect it without compromising on light for the safety and well-being of persons. Our experts in theory and practice shall be reporting on current research results and introducing the latest technologies. In a practical example from the TU Berlin, participants will find out how a new insect-friendly street lighting design keeps emission of light into the flight paths of insects to a minimum.

Insects and light
Dr. Sibylle Schroer, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries

On light that takes the animal kingdom into account
Sarah Lassowski and Florian Heine, Selux

Practical example of insect-friendly street lighting
Birte Saathoff and Prof. Dr. Stephan Völker, Technische Universität Berlin