Moffers cf. Birders

[Todd Redhead]

Hey Tony,

Still got snow on the ground here in Toronto.  Haven't seen a moth flying for a good 3
months now.  Unlike bird 'watching' - mothing requires (for the most part) a
collecting system - and that system is mostly composed of lights.  When we are unable
to collect - we fight the cabin fever by studying/mounting stuff caught in the past
season and (surprise, surprise) working on our light systems.  What I have been doing
is repairing my lights, designing a new reflector and a new mounting bracket for my
larger UV light.  If someone has some moth sightings - lets hear them - otherwise
please let the rest of us discuss what we are currently working on (i.e. getting ready
for the next collecting season.)

Note: I disagree with your "location, location, location" statement regarding the 3
most important aspects of mothing.  Location is only one aspect of mothing - without
lights - your best location will get you nothing.

If you want lists of sighted/collected species, have patience - we will have plenty to
list in a few months time.

Todd

P.S.  You might want to ignore my next post as it is a question about lights.


Tony Thomas wrote:

>         My local nature list server is inundated with birdwatchers recording every
> robin, finch, duck, etc. that they see; quickly gets boring. They rarely
> mention the type of binocular or scope they use. In contrast, moth
> collectors on this list seem more intent on the theoretical designing of a
> better mousetrap with little or no reporting of moth species collected.
>         As in bird watching, and real estate, the 3 most important aspects of moth
> collecting are location, location, location.
>         Moffers have progressed little since Southwood's astute observation, 25
> years ago, that the 'explosive speciation' in diversity indices is "perhaps
> only rivalled in ecological methodology by 'new designs' for light traps"
> with the added footnote " the purveyors of 'new' light traps seem
> completely oblivious of the burgeoning literature that testifies to the
> parallelism in human thought!"
>         Let's take a leaf from the birders and report more on species distribution
> in time and space and less on MV vs. BL.
>
> Tony T.
>
>
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