Identification can be fraught when there's so much variation
and the only obvious markings are the ubiquitous one or two darker blobs on
each wing. The way to be certain is to examine the
moths' genitals, but they'd have to be dead for you to fiddle with
their bits and we don't fancy that.
So our identification procedure is:
If we think we might have caught the moth before
browse through our own pictures.
If it's a close-run thing, take a look at our page on confusion
species in case we've been confused previously.
Otherwise, browse the pictures in the book Moths of the British Isles by Bernard Skinner (second edition)
(or equivalent) for the
right kind of wing pattern. The key here is that you can browse the plates
in a book
easily at speed, which you really can't do on the web.
If we find it, type the name into ukmoths
to get a much more useful picture of the resting moth and if it still looks
right we're done.
If we can't find it at all post an ID request on the bird
forum moth ID list (you have to subscribe to join-in, but it's free).
If you happen to be in the South East of England and fancy browsing more
widely, Surreybirder has pointed us at a really amazing site: Suffolk
Moths. It indicates what you are likely to
catch on any one night of the year, the lifecycle of each species, distribution,
pictures and also links to UK Moths and
other relevant sites for further information on each one. Amazingly
useful.
If you are further South you might also try HantsMoths
run by Mike Wall, who has helped us out with identifications of various of our
own catches.
Our moth pictures were
taken using a Nikon CoolPix 4300 on the standard macro
setting. You can view the pictures in two ways:
Use our moth
browser page to see thumbnails of all our catches over the years sorted by calendar
month.
Pick one of the links below for the catches on a particular
day. Note that there can be up to a megabyte of pictures behind
each link, so be patient If you want to find a specific moth rather than
browse, use the search box up above.
Moth traps are straightforward to build - basically a square wooden box with
an open top into which two pieces of Perspex are placed in a "V"
shape with a gap at the bottom of the V. A mercury vapour lamp is placed on top of
all this, the moths are attracted, they fall down the slippery Perspex sides
and end up in the trap where egg boxes have been placed for them to nestle
in. This is called a Skinner moth trap. Set the trap up before dusk,
switch the lamp on and go to bed. In the morning you should find dozens
and dozens of moths hiding under the egg boxes in the trap. They will all be fairly
sleepy, so don't be too concerned about them flying off before you have a chance
to look at them. A digital camera with good macro facilities is an
excellent investment to record your catches. Pictures of moths we've
caught are above.
The moths are not harmed by
trapping, but when you release them from the trap make sure you scatter them
across a largish area of long vegetation as otherwise you're setting up lunch for
all your garden birds.
This design for a moth trap is borrowed from the BBC web site.
It's
since been deleted from there, so I reckoned no-one would mind me propagating it
here as it's a very generic design. The finished moth trap is shown
opposite.
What You Need
One sheet of 4 mm plywood cut into:
one 40 cm square - base,
two 30 cm x 40 cm - ends,
two 30 cm x 39 cm - sides,
one 7 cm x 39 cm - support for light.
One sheet of 2 mm Perspex cut into:
two 30 cm x 39 cm,
one 30 cm x 30 cm for rain cover if desired.
2 cm square baton cut into:
two 35 cm lengths - at bottom of ends,
two 39 cm lengths - at bottom of sides,
four 25 cm lengths - along edges,
four 6.5 cm lengths - two for Perspex support, two for light.
Two egg trays or 6 to 8 half-dozen sized egg boxes.
External light fitting, mercury vapour lamp, insulated electrical cable, plug -
all of these electrics can be purchased in kits from www.pwbelg.clara.net/mercury.
What To Do
Assemble the main box. The trap is held together by the 2cm baton that runs
around inside. The plywood pieces can be glued or nailed to the baton to join
them together. Drill some small holes in the corners of the base to let any
rainwater out. Nail two nails, 2.5 cm apart into two of the 6.5 cm
lengths of baton. These will form the rests for the Perspex. Glue the rests
onto the two ends of the box, 15 cm above the base in the centre. Prop
up the egg boxes inside your trap and slide the two Perspex sheets in so they
are stopped by the nails.
Assemble the lighting. Wire up the external light to the plug following
the manufacturer's instructions. Drill a hole in the centre of the plywood
support to take the external light fitting and screw it into place. Glue the other
two 6.5 cm piece of baton above the Perspex rests, 6 cm down from the
top, these will form the support for the lighting. Glue this plywood lighting
unit on top of the supports and varnish the lot (for outdoor use). You are
now ready to trap.
The only thing missing from this basic design is a rain cover. If you're afraid
it's going to rain on your very expensive mercury vapour lamp, then take the extra
piece of Perspex plus some long straight pieces of thick wire (I used some thin
brass tubing I happened to have spare) and make a cover (which should be removable).Put the trap on the ground or just a foot or two above; very few moths fly
much higher than this. If you put it against a hedge or the edge of a
wooded area it will probably stand the best chance of success.Back to Meades Family Homepage
