Nocturnal distraction

The widespread use of artificial light at night is joining climate change, pesticide use and invasive species as the most recent threat to pollinating insects. New research published in the journal Nature found that nighttime illumination reduces visits of nocturnal pollinators to flowers by 62 percent. The moths, beetles and bugs that are the leading pollinators after dark are easily distracted from their duties by the allure of bright lights, according to lead researcher Eva Knop of the University of Bern in Switzerland. She and colleagues made the discovery by comparing insect-plant interactions in naturally dark meadows with those in areas that are illuminated.

Tropical cyclones

Former Category 5 Typhoon Noru tore through the heart of Japan’s main island of Honshu with high winds and torrential rainfall that left at least 51 people injured. Tropical Storm Franklin drenched Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula before striking the country’s Veracruz Coast as a Category 1 hurricane.

Sumatran eruptions

The recent high activity at Sumatra’s Sinabung volcano was punctuated by 19 eruptions in rapid succession in one day. Some of the mountain’s strongest blasts in months spewed ash high above the island and sent lava flowing down Sinabung’s slopes.

Earthquakes

An earthquake in central China’s Sichuan province killed at least 20 people and left about 165 others injured in a remote but popular tourist destination. As many as 45,000 tourists had to be evacuated. Earth movements also were felt in the far southern Philippines, northwestern Australia, southwestern Turkey and western Scotland.