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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Four for Confirmation and One Identification Required. (1 Viewer)

Andrew

Andrew

wibble wibble
I tried to identify these myself first before posting them and would like confirmation on them. The last one beats me and I tried to do it, it probably is a common one to my shame too.

Moth No. 1 - Privet Hawkmoth
Moth No. 2 - Puss Moth
Moth No. 3 - White Ermine
Moth No. 4 - Small Elephant Hawkmoth
Moth No. 5 - (HELP!)
 

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Andrew said:
I tried to identify these myself first before posting them and would like confirmation on them. The last one beats me and I tried to do it, it probably is a common one to my shame too.

Moth No. 1 - Privet Hawkmoth
Moth No. 2 - Puss Moth
Moth No. 3 - White Ermine
Moth No. 4 - Small Elephant Hawkmoth
Moth No. 5 - (HELP!)
Click to expand...

Hi Andrew,
Ok your first four are correct, now you've got this far so push a little harder. No 4 is quite distinctive with lots of ID points on it. Bear in mind this can be a variable species so don't just look for an overall background colour in you ID books. It's hard I know, but we 'oldies did'nt even have coloured pictures of moths in our youth. Once you have ID'd it, you wont ever forget it when you see one if future.

Harry
 
Andrew - where`d you get these? Did you come across them on your travels or have you gone and acquired yourself a moth trap?
If so then good luck - had mine a fortnite now & loving it.....best investment i`ve made in ages
Jealous of your Small Elephant Hawkmoth - only had Elephant`s myself so far and thought they were rather splendid!
 
I shall give it another whirl tomorrow when I feel fresher.

Jason, Saw three of them in Portland and two in the Isle of Wight. I spoke to Martin Cade at Portland and shall set about trying to build my own trap.

I made enquiries about buying a bulb and holder but got no reply back. Anyone know of a reliable source that does not charge &6.50 for courier delivery (silly just for a bulb). Can you get MV bulbs from proper electrician shops?
 
Andrew said:
I shall give it another whirl tomorrow when I feel fresher.

Jason, Saw three of them in Portland and two in the Isle of Wight. I spoke to Martin Cade at Portland and shall set about trying to build my own trap.

I made enquiries about buying a bulb and holder but got no reply back. Anyone know of a reliable source that does not charge &6.50 for courier delivery (silly just for a bulb). Can you get MV bulbs from proper electrician shops?
Click to expand...

Andrew, you will need a choke if you use an MV bulb and one that matches your particular choice of bulb wattage. There are some blended bulbs on the markt which you can just plug in and use, but theyre not really worth it.

Harry
 
I was reliably informed that all that was nonsense and all I needed was a MV bulb and a socket to start my own construction. No choke was visible.
 
Andrew said:
I was reliably informed that all that was nonsense and all I needed was a MV bulb and a socket to start my own construction. No choke was visible.
Click to expand...

Andrew, All mains supply Mercury Vapour bulbs need a choke, it you don't believe me plug it in, switch on, switch off, and go and buy another bulb. The choke gradually lets increasing power to the bulb, and it takes several minutes to come up to full power.

Only blended MV bulbs don't need a choke but they're not much good.
12 volt Actinic tubes don't need a choke either. just connect to a 12v battery.

I don't know who informed you that you didn't need a choke with a mains supply MV bulb but his information is definately not reliable.

Harry
 
Andrew said:
I shall give it another whirl tomorrow when I feel fresher.

Jason, Saw three of them in Portland and two in the Isle of Wight. I spoke to Martin Cade at Portland and shall set about trying to build my own trap.

I made enquiries about buying a bulb and holder but got no reply back. Anyone know of a reliable source that does not charge &6.50 for courier delivery (silly just for a bulb). Can you get MV bulbs from proper electrician shops?
Click to expand...

Hi, Andrew,
I got my 80W MV bulb from
http://www.pwbelg.clara.net/mercury/kits/index.html
I think it was £9.50 inc p & p.
I do use a choke!
good luck
Ken
 
harry eales said:
Hi Andrew,
now you've got this far so push a little harder. No 5 is quite distinctive with lots of ID points on it. Bear in mind this can be a variable species so don't just look for an overall background colour in you ID books.
Click to expand...
So you don't know what it is eh, Harry?

It's a Dark Arches, Andrew. Now that you know what it is, go and look it up in your books.
 
harry eales said:
I don't know who informed you that you didn't need a choke with a mains supply MV bulb but his information is definately not reliable.
Click to expand...
Apologies as I must say I am profoundly deaf so some info does get lost in conversations which are a bit of a struggle for me at times. I have just emailed him and asked for more details on his set up. I assure you he is a well respected and knowledgable person. I shall get back to you with the results of the email query.

Just got word that I am better going for a full DIY kit rather than buying individual pieces. One thing came up and it was Glandular Compress. What is that when it's at home?

Thanks Chris, I had another shot this morning and still struggled. I was working hard on the Carpets section after dismissing the Arches!!! I reckon I would have done better if I took the photo with the moth in the vertical position like they are in the books. Hard when you are cricking your neck betwen the book and the monitor!
 
Another thing, is an 80W set up as good as a 125W set up. Bear in mind I have a cost concerned household and have to offer some sort of olive branch to make it seem I am making an effort to keep costs down.
 
These are my figures for June. In each case the first numbers are for a 125W MV over a homemade Robinson type box in a fairly open garden location and the second is a 15W actinic over a skinner type box in a much more enclosed part of the garden on the same night.
125W 15W
Moths 27 30
Species 10 17

Moths 50 36
Species 23 17

Moths 55 42
Species 27 18

Moths 45 38
Species 21 16

Moths 56 28
Species 31 17

My Robinson box is not very efficient (needs some mods and has no vanes) but even so the actinic appears to be holding its own. Some species show a marked preference for the actinic: Peppered moth has only occurred there and almost all Buff-tips. That might be down to location.
 
CJW said:
So you don't know what it is eh, Harry?

It's a Dark Arches, Andrew. Now that you know what it is, go and look it up in your books.
Click to expand...

Cheeky B***er,
I knew what it was Chris, I was just encouraging the lad to try harder.

Harry.
 
brianhstone said:
These are my figures for June. In each case the first numbers are for a 125W MV over a homemade Robinson type box in a fairly open garden location and the second is a 15W actinic over a skinner type box in a much more enclosed part of the garden on the same night.
125W 15W
Moths 27 30
Species 10 17

Moths 50 36
Species 23 17

Moths 55 42
Species 27 18

Moths 45 38
Species 21 16

Moths 56 28
Species 31 17

My Robinson box is not very efficient (needs some mods and has no vanes) but even so the actinic appears to be holding its own. Some species show a marked preference for the actinic: Peppered moth has only occurred there and almost all Buff-tips. That might be down to location.
Click to expand...
Swings and roundabouts, sometimes the actinic provide a slight advantage percentage wise but with numbers being higher in the MV traps it seems a better investment.

What do you guys think of this kit . . .

- 125W MV Bulb
- Socket
- Choke
- Compression Glands
- Backing Plate
- Waterproof Control Box

. . . . all for £39.95 plus £7.60 P&P. I now know what a compression gland is but what is the backing plate for?
 
The electrical components are attached to the backing plate which is earthed and then screwed onto the back of the box.

The kit sounds fine but you will also need a ceramic holder for the bulb (to withstand the heat during operation).
 
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