Light-traps re-visited
Tony Thomas
mothman at nbnet.nb.ca
Tue Apr 23 13:34:46 EDT 2002
In what is otherwise a cold Spring, last night, 22 April, was reasonably
mild (well, it was above freezing) and so I ventured out to a local
forest to sample the moths. Normally a fan of the 22 w circline BL I
rigged up one of my traps with a clear 175 w MV.
These lights are BRIGHT! Whereas the 22 w BL gives a point-source of light
with little of it being reflected from the surrounding trees, the 175 w MV
lit up a large area with tree trunks and branches all brightly illuminated.
The trap actually caught 5 moths (best catch of the year!) in the 1 hr
before the temperature went down to freezing. However, I did notice that 2
noctuids never actually made it to the trap but seemed happy to fly around
the brightly lit branches of the maples, no leaves, and the pines,
completely out of reach. With the 22 w BL, most moth seem to end up in the
trap, a few geometrids will sit on the lamp and the vanes and a few others,
including noctuids, will sit on adjacent bushes within about 6 feet of the
trap.
Bottom line seems to be: use a 22 BL in forests and save the 175 w Mv's
for the wide open spaces where there are no reflective surfaces.
Incidentally, when trapping in forests I like to get right in among the
trees rather than selecting an opening or forest track.
The catch: Cerastis salicarum -2, Feralia jocosa -1, Lithophane tepida -2.
When I got home there was a single male Lycia ursaria under the MV lamp at
my local mini mall. For any Brit's reading this, ursaria is almost
identical to your Brindled Beauty (L. hirtaria).
Tony @ Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. ca. 46 N 66 39 W.
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