Amber LEDs Drew Up to 51% Fewer Insects, and Six Railway Stations Have Already Switched

A lighting change that does not require a new railway, power network or wildlife barrier has produced a measurable result. At six rural German stations, amber LEDs attracted far fewer flying insects than the cool-white LEDs commonly used today or the older sodium lamps they replace. The stations have now adopted the amber lights.

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Amber 1800 K LEDs drew approximately 39% to 51% fewer insects than cool-white LEDs and high-pressure sodium lamps in the field comparison.

Why does the color of outdoor light matter?

Many nocturnal insects are highly sensitive to ultraviolet and blue wavelengths. Artificial light can pull them away from feeding, mating and movement, trap them in exhausting flights, and expose them to predators. A lamp's ecological effect therefore depends on more than whether it looks “warm” to human eyes.

The amber LEDs tested here emit far less short-wavelength light than standard 4000 K white LEDs. They are also different from high-pressure sodium lamps, which appear warm but have a broader and more complex spectrum. The study found the sodium lamps attracted roughly as many insects as the cool-white LEDs, undermining the shortcut that any yellow-looking lamp is automatically wildlife-friendly.

How was the railway experiment run?

The team worked at six stations in Westhavelland Nature Park, a German Dark Sky Reserve. Across field seasons in 2023 and 2024, it compared 1800 K amber LEDs, 4000 K LEDs, 2000 K high-pressure sodium lamps and unlit control masts under operating railway conditions.

Thirty-six flight-interception traps collected flying arthropods. The researchers measured abundance and biomass, used image analysis, and identified species with DNA metabarcoding. The peer-reviewed Biological Conservation paper reports that the amber treatment consistently attracted fewer individuals and species, including threatened and legally protected taxa.

What changed outside the paper?

The practical outcome is unusually concrete for an ecology experiment. Platform lighting at all six participating stations has been converted to 1800 K LEDs. The lamps complied with the applicable platform-lighting standard, so the test addressed a real infrastructure choice rather than a laboratory color demonstration.

The change also illustrates why spectrum deserves a place beside energy efficiency in lighting decisions. A low-power lamp can still cause ecological disruption if it broadcasts wavelengths that strongly attract insects. NewTqnia's editorial reading is that the deployment is the story's strongest point: the researchers did not prove that amber light restores insect populations, but they identified a lower-impact option and operators used it.

What should cities and operators do next?

The first rule remains to avoid unnecessary light. Where illumination is required, amber spectra can be combined with shielding, lower brightness, motion activation, dimming and part-night schedules. Those measures limit both the wavelengths insects see and the amount of time and space exposed.

Further trials should test more climates, habitats and insect communities, while measuring passenger visibility, color recognition, energy use and maintenance. The 1800 K lamps can have lower color rendering and efficiency than standard white LEDs, so local safety and performance must be tested rather than assumed.

The takeaway

This is not a claim that one bulb can reverse insect decline. It is evidence that infrastructure can reduce a specific, avoidable pressure using commercially available lighting. When darkness is impossible, choosing the spectrum carefully appears to be a practical improvement that can be deployed now and evaluated at larger scale.