Mothing addiction and the meaning of mothing

I acquired yet another moth trap to go alongside my old second-hand, home-made Robinson with the 40W actinic UV fluorescent U-tube, the portable 20W UV fluorescent Heath, the LepiLED, and, of course, the pheromone trap for the Emperor moth and the clearwings. The day-flying Yellow-legged Clearwing moth has evolved to resemble a wasp in order to avoid predation I crammed it with the usual stock of roosting options for the moths, a load of empty cardboard egg cartons and lit up. Skinner moth trap It was 11 Celsius last night, a degree cooler than a recent lighting-up session, but the new trap brought a fairly good haul, 28 moths of 18 species, with several new for the year (NFY), although no new for me or new for the garden (NFM or NFG). These are the highest numbers of the year so far, although the good numbers on nights of a similar temperature recently have not been far short. The Shears moth, so-called because a detail in the pattern on its forewings resembles a pair of sheep shears The Skinner trap is basically a box with slots in which two Perspex sheets are slid to form a groove with a narrow gap. A UV light is held above. Moths (and a few other nocturnal insects) are attracted by the light and with luck fall through the slot and on to the pile of egg cartons where they settle for the night. In the morning, preferably before dawn when insectivorous birds awaken, the diligent mother-er will check the contents of the trap. Not species and number, perhaps take photos, and t...
Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Lepidoptera Source Type: blogs