This is how nature reacts to a solar eclipse

Humans are not the only animals that we are guided by circadian cycles. Many other animals, and even some plants, undergo ordered physiological changes in 24-hour cycles. Here, light is of great importance. There are animals that increase their activity in the dark, while others do the opposite. There are also plants that close their flowers and fold their leaves at night, while others, especially in drought conditions, prefer darkness to open in all their splendor. Therefore, it is actually not strange that one of the most curious effects of a solar eclipse are, precisely, the behavioral changes in animals and plants.

Although the solar eclipse this August 12, 2026 It will be the first time in which it is studied how it affects the circadian rhythms of people, in the case of animals and plants there are already many records and published studies. In all of them, as well as in the testimonies of those who have witnessed the eclipses, there are some very interesting data.

Nervous, lazy and confused animals due to the solar eclipse

One of the first people to study how a solar eclipse affects nature was the New England entomologist William Wheeler. In 1932, he called on citizens to record all changes in the behavior of animals and plants that caught their attention during one of these phenomena. received more than 500 testimonies about birds, mammals, insects and plants. Among them, for example, the cases of bees that returned to their hives or owls that began to hoot in broad daylight stood out.

The case of bees has been recorded on many more occasions. In fact, during an eclipse in Idaho in 2017 it caught the attention of many people that the bumblebees stopped buzzing. That same year, at a South Carolina zoothe animals’ caretakers were fascinated by their behaviors. They reported that 75% of them had some strange behavior. In some cases it was nervousness and in others it was a change in routines. That is, the nocturnal animals began their activity, while the diurnal animals stopped it. The remaining 25% were quite lazy. They remained as if nothing had happened.

Regarding those who got nervous, The case of giraffes stands out, who began to run in terror. This has been reported in other zoos and, although it is not so easy to measure in nature, the same thing possibly happens, basically because at night they must hide from predators. Seeing that the sun disappears, they realize that they are already too late to flee.

Among the behavioral changes they detected at the zoo, one of the most curious is that of the turtles that began to mateeven without being necessarily nocturnal animals for this type of habits. The darkness of the eclipse must have seemed magical for sex.

Another curious fact is that, during eclipses, crickets usually start singing and? the cattle move to the stables. But, without a doubt, the most curious behavior is that of the birds.

In 2018, scientists verified the global change in their behavior with a curious study. Instead of analyzing bird by bird, they measured the total amount of biological matter in the air during the eclipse. This is done using a signal that a radar emits and measures its return, more or less like sonar. That value, called reflectivity, is different for a bird or bat than for something inorganic, like a storm cloud.

Therefore, global behavioral changes could be measured in all flying animals. On a normal day, this value reaches its maximum at dusk, as this is when most birds begin their nocturnal migrations. However, when they measured it during an eclipse, it plummeted. The birds that were flying They stopped dead and went down to the ground or the branches, possibly to take shelter, as if a storm were coming.

What happens to the plants?

There are also many testimonies of changes in plants and, of course, it has been analyzed by scientists. For example, in 2017 a study was carried out with four plants that normally show measurable changes with changes in light. These were, first of all, mimosa and oxalis, They normally close their leaves at night. The other two were corn and soybeans stressed by drought, since in these conditions they do the opposite: they fold their leaves during the day and open them at night.

During the eclipse, it was seen that there are plants that are “deceived” by this phenomenon and others that do not change their behavior when darkness and temperature changes occur for such a short time. Among the unstressed plants, the mimosa did experience changes and “confused” the eclipse with the night, but the oxalis did not. Of the stressed ones, the corn continued its normal behavior, but the soybeans did open their leaves as if it were dusk.

In short, it seems that all living beings are driven a little crazy by eclipses. But, almost always, crazy in the good sense of the word. That is why there is so much expectation with the Iberian trio that we will be able to enjoy from this very month of August.

Image | Magnificent

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