Hello ,

Have you ever heard of Photophobia?

No, it is not being afraid of photos or having your photo taken. It is having an irrational fear of light!

Cockroaches are one of the best examples of a Photophobic group. As one of my professors so beautifully explained, the best time you witness photophobia is when you walk into a student’s flat at night, you turn on the light and immediately you see the cockroaches scurrying into the first dark place they can find.

When we think of photophobia we often think of cockroaches and crickets, but there are many more insects that are photophobic to some extent.

Termites, or the Dwellers of Darkness as Dr. SH Skaife so aptly named them in his book, are also very photophobic. When you break open a termite nest you will see the termites run and scurry back into their tunnels. A few moments later you will see a few of the termites brave the light, only to start closing the hole and to ensure that the nest is once again dark after the intruder has left.

Ants also exhibit photophobia to a certain extent. This is most clearly seen when the nest is opened and the ants scurry down a dark tunnel to get away from the light. Ant keepers use this to their advantage when they try and move the ants from one nest to another.

Most of these insects move away from light, as the only natural light source they know is the sun. All these insects are at great risk of desiccation (drying out) and death when they are exposed to sun. Since they have weak exoskeletons that poorly maintains moisture.

Ants, however, are capable of surviving in an open nest with only a clear cover over in complete light. It is important, not to confuse survive and thrive with one another. Survival means that an animal can live and won’t die, while thriving means an optimal life with maximum growth and reproduction.

From the questions a fellow ant keeper asked me this week, even though ants are capable of living and surviving in an open nest it is not how we should keep them. The ants will rather move into a less optimal nest that grants them complete darkness than stay in an optimal nest that exposes them to light continuously. The colony growth rate will be impacted very negatively if the nest is not kept dark, and the queen might even completely halt egg laying. All of this is due to the light stress that the ants experience if the nest is not kept dark enough. I believe that the light stress is due to the photophobia the ants have while in their nest, whether it is a diurnal, crepuscular or nocturnal species.

Thus, it is important to always keep a red film or a cover over your ants’ nest to ensure that the ants have as little as possible visible light inside their nest. By doing so your ants will have less stress and be healthier.

 Have you ever witnessed the photophobia of an insect in action? What insect was it and why do you think that specific insect doesn’t like the light?

If you would like to send me a message with your answers, feel free to do so on Instagram @abugmanslife or via email to [email protected].

Weekly Top Shot: The Cape Red Head Roach