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, search in HantsMoths, Suffolk
Moths(most notably the "Flying Tonight" pages there) or 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).
Our moth pictures were originally taken using a Nikon CoolPix
4300 on the standard macro
setting and latterly with the wonderful Canon G9 on 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
