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I took part in a moth trapping expedition last night with a colleague from the Entomology Society. For those unaware of what this entails, a little explanation now follows.

In order to sample the local moth population at a given site, so that biological record data can be compiled, entomologists take special devices out into the field called 'moth traps'. These consist of a container into which the moths are lured, with a funnel at the top, positioned over which is a light source that attracts the moths. The moths head for the light, then drop into the funnel, and at the end of the session, the contents of the container are identified and the moths released. A secondary trap, known as a sheet trap, consists of just a white sheet with a light on top, which allows entomologists to sample instantly what moths are in the area, which can then fly off of their own accord if they so wish.

Well, last night was pretty spectacular. We had an Elephant Hawk Moth Deilephila elpenor and TWO Lime Hawk Moths Mimas tiliae attracted to the sheet trap, and I now have video footage of a Lime Hawk Moth fluttering its wings as it crawled up my hand! The expedition also managed to record numerous other species, such as Clouded Silver and Common Marbled Carpet, plus several female Ghost Swift moths that were absolute juggernauts size wise.

All in all, a fun evening. When I sort out all the still and video footage, I can mail the video to anyone interested!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

sounds exhilerating

I bet that was cool I had a lunar moth outside my window the other evening. What a huge moth, really beautiful.