| Butterflies are easy to spot. All species
fly at daylight and prefere feeding on flowers in sunshine.
Moths, however, are far more difficult to study. Apart from
the day-active moth species, moths are mostly active at night
and are therefore rarely seen by people. Most people encounter
moths by day resting against windows, but rarely encounter
them active at night in their normal natural behaviour.
Noctua comes feeding on Buddleia
Many moth enthousiasts use a 'lighttrap' to
trap moths. Some examples are the Heathtrap, Skinnertrap and
Robinsontrap. Apart from the trapconstruction, they can also
differ in the type of lightsource used. Mainly, there are
two types. The first is the Actinic light. This is Ultra Violet
Light ranging from 5 to 25 Watt. The second is the MV light,
and is generally much brighter, ranging from about 125 Watt
to over 500 Watt. For more information on lighttraps and equipment,
visit the website of Anglian_Lepidopterist_Supplies
or the website of
Vermandel. However, there are many important rules
to moth trapping. Moth trapping should be done with care to
ensure the safety of the moths. Download our document with
guidelines to moth-trapping
here (Worddoc. 23 KB).
Fruits and Sugaring-solution
Especially in Spring and Autumn, other methods
are effective besides using lightsources and spotting moths
at flowers at night. In spring and autumn, the nights are
much colder and moths need far more energy to keep warm and
active. In these seasons, moths can therefore much better
be attracted using foodsources.
Moths attracted by Skinner MV lighttrap |
Skinnertrap 125 Watt MV light
There are a number of methods to attract moths.
First of all, moths are attracted by certain ranges of Ultra
Violet Light. This is the reason that moths can be spotted
around lampposts and other lightsources. It is still uncertain
why moths are attracted by light. Some people claim that moths
use the moon (a lightsource) as a beacon, and are misguided
by other lightsources.
Agrotis segetum feeding on rotten fruit.
Copyright:
fotoopa
The most natural way to observe moths is to go out at
night and to shine with a torchlight over some scenting flowers.
As nectar is the most important foodsource, moths are attracted
by the nectar of the flowers. There are a number of flowers
that are especially known to attract moths at night. Some
of these flowers are Buddleia, Honeysuckle, Petunia and Phlox.
The Tabacco plant (Nicotiana) is famous for attracting Agrius
convolvuli.
Amphipyra pyramidea feeding on sugaring solution
Examples of methods are rotten fruit, sugaring and wine-roping.
The first one is fairly simple. Place rotten fruit such as
apples, bananas and plums outside. Moths will soon be attracted
by the scent of alcohol. For sugaring, a mixture
must be made from applesirup and wine. Any strong alcohol
above a percentage of 20 percent will do. Leave the mixture
of applesirup for about 24 hours. In the evening, just before
dawn, wax some trees and go back to check a few hours later.
You will find moths feeding on the sugaring solution. Wine-roping
is quite similar. Ropes are soaked in the sugar-solution and
are hung in trees to attract the moths.
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