Bugs or Ghost Orbs?

by: Dr. Mark Farley

Bugs captured under camera flash can be mistaken as orb activity.

Spring is around the corner, which means the weather is warming up, and the chance to do outdoor investigations.   But investigating outdoors poses a whole new set of challenges.  With the increase in temperatures comes an increase in bugs.   Every investigator knows that bugs love to show up in your photographic evidence as orbs.  Also, every investigator knows that skeptics love to point out the possibility of bugs posing as orbs when debunking your evidence.

          I’m not against orbs; I believe that orbs are legit paranormal phenomena, but they are also the most common and, therefore, the easiest to mistake.  If you are getting a lot of orb storm photographs, you must rule out the possibility of bugs.  Besides being bit, I have developed two easy methods to determine if bugs are flying around in your investigation site and contaminating your evidence.

          The first method is to take your UV flashlight and shine it into the darkest area of your investigation site.  Bugs, especially flying ones, are attracted to UV light.  In about a minute, if you start to get swarmed, you have to seriously consider that the orbs you are getting in your photographs are bugs.

          The second method uses your digital camera.  Turn on your digital camera’s flash and hold it close to your chest.   Point yourself in the direction of the darkest area of your investigation site.  Stare out into the darkness and snap a photo.  The light given off by your flash will, for an instant, illuminate any pesky critters flying around.  You can also gauge the amount of bug activity at your site. 

          Is there any method for controlling the amount of bug activity at your investigation site?  Not really.  Some methods may ward off the bugs for a short time and limited in area, but as for eliminating bugs altogether, I do not know of anything other than freezing cold temperatures.

          So, if you are investigating outside, bugs are always a consideration, but hopefully, these two methods should help you gauge the bug activity and the probability of these pesky creatures contaminating your evidence.