Ghost moths, perhaps

In response to Matt Salisbury’s very interesting article ‘The Mystery Lights of Suffolk’ [ FT360:46-51], it seems to me the often-touted explanation for such phenomena doesn’t really explain what is usually reported. Will-o-the-wisps are usually described as small points or globes of light moving about above marshes or meadows, keeping a certain distance from the observer, not flickering flames or vague glows coming up from the ground as in the marsh gas and phosphine theories.

It seems more likely to me that insects are responsible for many of the sightings, particularly the ghost moth, though this is now much rarer than it used to be. The males of the species have pure white wings and dance just above the height of grass stalks, among which the females are hidden. The moth’s fast-moving white wings when hovering can resemble a little ball of light mist, presumably sometimes enhanced by moonlight or other light sources. This explanation for will-o-the-wisps was first suggested by Kenneth Gloyne Blair (based on his own observations) at a meeting of entomologists in 1922, and seems to me the most plausible suggestion so far. Other moths and insects may be similarly implicated in the mystery light sightings and offer a more fitting explanation than any of the purely geological or atmospheric phenomena suggested.

I also wonder whether, in electrically charged air, insects’ wings might sometimes generate enough of a static charge to create a glowing St Elmo’s Fire type phenomenon around them. I would be interested to know of any thoughts or experiences readers may have regarding this idea. The faint glow that Matt Salusbury saw on the ground in Dunwich Forest was very probably bioluminescence from honey fungus or similar. Paul Harris By email