Red and Black Lights

[Kaddock]

Is there any definite study on weather or not red/black incandescent bulbs are really that great for night? It seems like they are just filtering the light, not changing it's wavelength... Or are they? Inquiring minds need to know! I need my mantids to sleep well on these cold winter nights!

 

[PhilinYuma]

For what it's worth, kaddock, I agree with you. The bulbs are simply painted to block certain color wavelengths. I agree even more strongly that mantids need their sleep. Mantis labs have timers to simulate daytime (all on), evening /early morning (a few) and night (all off). The trouble with mantids is that it is often difficult to tell if they are asleep or awake!

I have suggested in the past that it would be a good idea to cover the mantis cages with an opaque cloth while the night lights are on,but fortunately that is not an issue for me. Remember, too, that in the wild, the mantids experience a sometimes dramatic drop in temperature at night.

BTW, I am familiar with your signature verse, and it seems to me that if the stars watch our descendants' last steps on earth, we won't pass away unnoticed, not that it will matter much!

 

[Kaddock]

For what it's worth, kaddock, I agree with you. The bulbs are simply painted to block certain color wavelengths. I agree even more strongly that mantids need their sleep. Mantis labs have timers to simulate daytime (all on), evening /early morning (a few) and night (all off). The trouble with mantids is that it is often difficult to tell if they are asleep or awake!

BTW, I am familiar with your signature verse, and it seems to me that if the stars watch our descendants' last steps on earth, we won't pass away unnoticed, not that it will matter much!

Phil,

I guess the better question is which bulb works better for night time heat without disturbing the mantids, black or red?

And as far as being unnoticed, yeah... it's a little bit dramatic. But I just think it's a nice concept. Nothing and everything are one, so notice doesn't really come into play I guess. Plus Swedish metal totally owns! unk:

 

[PhilinYuma]

Oh, sorry. I doubt if the mantids can see anything when the black light is on, and they can't see red at all. They're pretty good at UV, though.

It's good to know about their not being able to see red. Many insects use red, yellow and black coloration as a warning that they taste bad. This works fine on vertebrates, but their poison seldom works on other insects who can't recognize the warning color anyway.*

Yeah it certainly beats death metal! (Please send all hate mail to the admins. Thank you).

Quick quiz question. How can we tell that dinosaurs almost certainly had color vision without ever having seen a live dinosaur? And what does that suggest about dinosaur coloration?

 

[Rick]

You don't need lights at night. If the lights are for heat that is a different story, but they do make heat emitters that do not give off light.

 

[Kaddock]

You don't need lights at night. If the lights are for heat that is a different story, but they do make heat emitters that do not give off light.

Yes I am aware that I don't need lights at night, hence the reason I don't want them to see the light. I looked into several different heating options, but I am kinda broke right now, so I had to go with the filtered bulbs to maintain heat. I just basically wanted to make sure that these bulbs are disturbing them as little as possible.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Lol for some reason when I read this title I was expecting to come in and see a mantis cage lit up with red/black Christmas lights.

 

[Kaddock]

Lol for some reason when I read this title I was expecting to come in and see a mantis cage lit up with red/black Christmas lights.

Teehee