You need a bulb that emits high UV light, hence the mercury vapour bulbs or the actinic or black/blue light bulbs. I catch quite a few on the sheet, and keep them in pots to look at in daylight as my night vision is not too good. If they are too lively, I put them in the fridge.
If you could see if there is a local facebook group for moths, many members will either come and do a trap in your garden, or you could go to theirs to see what they are doing.
I'm so annoyed The trap was swarming with moths last night. There were so many that I decided to stay up late and shut it off while it was still nice and dark so the moths wouldn't end up being an easy feast for the birds in the morning. Every time I decided to pack it in and go to bed a new moth turned up and it was gone 2am by the time I finally decided enough was enough. I should have checked the contents of the trap then and let them all go but decided it was late enough and left it shut to deal with in the morning. Sadly there was a jail break out as soon as the light was turned off. I recorded 50 species outside the trap including quite a few new ones but I'll never know what I missed now
Pied Smudge
Small argent and sable
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I forgot this one. I found it just before lights out and couldn't work out what it was so I potted it up to examine in the morning. I checked my books and the usual online photo lists and there was nothing like it. I was really confused since it's a large and stunningly beautiful moth. The gold and the colours all catch the light like a peacock's feather. But yeah today I learned that the Box Tree Moth has a dark form so this one won't be getting released There's a scant handful of records for Wales and this will probably be the first for my borough but I suspect it won't be the last.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Did you get any dark ones? Looking on iNaturalist about 1 in 20 or so seem to be dark. I put the pot in the freezer as I might pin this one into a frame since it's so pretty.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I just found this one trapped in the house. Probably one of the ones I missed from the trap and a new species for the garden It's known as the Double Dart but the better name is The Soothsayer (Graphiphora augur). One of the many boring brown moths though sadly. The markings are just about distinct enough to make it easier to ID than the others. )
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Well I rigged up a box trap out of scrap bits and pieces. I used a cardboard box as the basis, a compact fluorescent light in my inspection light. Set up last night at SD'S Garden. To my utter amazement it worked. Our young visitor was very pleased with a dozen moths. Unfortunately he checked it all before I could get there so I have no pictures. I may give it a go at home too, you never know might work twice in a row🤞
I'm interested in moth trapping with kids. They are around ten years old and I'm wondering about the timing in the year, if doing it at night. I read that watching moths is best done around two hours after dark. If the best time to do trapping is when its most warm, then I'm thinking it will be too late for younger kids to be up (July/August). I could try setting up a trap and then checking results in the morning but a night hunt would be fun too. I'm a total novice but very up for it.
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