TY - JOUR
T1 - Lethal effects of short-wavelength visible light on insects
AU - Hori, Masatoshi
AU - Shibuya, Kazuki
AU - Sato, Mitsunari
AU - Saito, Yoshino
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by a grant entitled ‘‘Elucidation of biological mechanisms of photoresponse and development of advanced technologies utilizing light’’ from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan, and by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 25660261. We wish to thank Earth Chemical Co., Ltd. and Fuji Flavor Co., Ltd. for kindly supplying insects for use in our study. We wish to thank for Dr. Yoshihara (Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University) for kindly advice on statistical analyses.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - We investigated the lethal effects of visible light on insects by using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The toxic effects of ultraviolet (UV) light, particularly shortwave (i.e., UVB and UVC) light, on organisms are well known. However, the effects of irradiation with visible light remain unclear, although shorter wavelengths are known to be more lethal. Irradiation with visible light is not thought to cause mortality in complex animals including insects. Here, however, we found that irradiation with short-wavelength visible (blue) light killed eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults of Drosophila melanogaster. Blue light was also lethal to mosquitoes and flour beetles, but the effective wavelength at which mortality occurred differed among the insect species. Our findings suggest that highly toxic wavelengths of visible light are species-specific in insects, and that shorter wavelengths are not always more toxic. For some animals, such as insects, blue light is more harmful than UV light.
AB - We investigated the lethal effects of visible light on insects by using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The toxic effects of ultraviolet (UV) light, particularly shortwave (i.e., UVB and UVC) light, on organisms are well known. However, the effects of irradiation with visible light remain unclear, although shorter wavelengths are known to be more lethal. Irradiation with visible light is not thought to cause mortality in complex animals including insects. Here, however, we found that irradiation with short-wavelength visible (blue) light killed eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults of Drosophila melanogaster. Blue light was also lethal to mosquitoes and flour beetles, but the effective wavelength at which mortality occurred differed among the insect species. Our findings suggest that highly toxic wavelengths of visible light are species-specific in insects, and that shorter wavelengths are not always more toxic. For some animals, such as insects, blue light is more harmful than UV light.
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U2 - 10.1038/srep07383
DO - 10.1038/srep07383
M3 - Article
C2 - 25488603
AN - SCOPUS:84923326818
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 4
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
M1 - 7383
ER -