UV light traps - how far above the ground?

[O.G. Marti, Jr.]

> Hello,
>
> Is it possible to run MV lights with a battery?  I've got a great
> setup with 12 volt UV flourescent lights that is completely portable
> and fits into a backpack.  Can I do this with a MV setup?  Would I
> need to use an inverter - how much power will it suck?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Todd
 
If the answer to the question about running a mercury vapor bulb from a
battery is "yes", then I wish I had known that when I trapped in French
Guiana in 1987 and in Guadeloupe in 1996. My French hosts had a
gasoline powered generator used to power the 3 MVs that I mentioned in
the photo that I referred to a couple of days ago:
(  http://sacs.cpes.peachnet.edu/ibpmrl/martphot.HTM  )
 
Success in collecting moths with MV lights varied wildly, even in French
Guiana.  One night along the Maroni river near the coast on a moonlit night
I caught only 1 Sphingidae; another night on Kaw Road deep in the most
humid part of the country produced the results that you see in the picture;
other nights were intermediate, depending on location and the moon.
 
For my Guadeloupe trip, I had to purchase a generator here in the States
and ship it to Guadeloupe (at some expense!) because the French
electrical system is different than ours and their generators would not work
with my bulbs.  Collecting in Guadeloupe was not nearly as good as in
French Guiana. The diversity of Lepidoptera is not nearly as high, and
numbers of specimens were also low. This is partly explained by mainland
vs island faunal differences. And part of the problem was that are several
different types of MV bulbs.  The ones I used in Guadeloupe had been
purchased from a well-know supply house in the States (I had misplaced
my "good bulbs").
 
The bottom line is that there are a lot of variables: bulb type, locality, trap
placement, and moon phase being among the most important.  Also, some
species come to lights better than others.
Cheers,
Dick Marti
 
 
Orville G. Marti, Jr., Microbiologist
USDA, ARS, IBPMRL
PO Box 748
Tifton, GA.  31793
 
omarti at tifton.cpes.peachnet.edu
Phone: 912-387-2328  (office)
Phone: 912-387-2350  (lab)
FAX  : 912-387-2321
WEB: http://sacs.cpes.peachnet.edu/ibpmrl
 
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------
 
   For subscription and related information about LEPS-L visit:
 
   http://www.peabody.yale.edu/other/lepsl