Opening up! (1 Viewer)

I have ordered a skinner 125 MTB trap last week which im waiting for!
the past few years ive watched lepidoptera the old fashioned way (with a torch and a net) so obviously im very excited!
so i was just wondering if anyone could give me advice of how many egg cartons to put in and how and where to open a trap in the morning (dont want to loose anything!)
any surggestions of where to open it especially ?

You'll probably get lots of ideas - one thing is to make sure you keep the trap in the shade once there's any light. The cooler you can keep the catch the fewer moths will fly off. I like to open mine in the shed so that I can recatch some of the escapees (though even then quite a few elude me). The earlier you open the trap the better. Of course it's probably best to pot any moths on the outside of the trap before you move it. And don't forget to search the surrounding vegetation as you'll always find moths hiding away. I sometimes check again a couple of hours later and find some that I've missed in the half-light of dawn. They can look extraordinarily leaf-like sometimes. I nearly missed a scalloped hooktip the other day.
You cannot put too many egg boxes in the trap but try and stack them so that they can be removed without disturbing other boxes. I put half-trays vertically around the edges and whole trays stacked at different angles in the middle.
Ken

Jamie Dunning said:

I have ordered a skinner 125 MTB trap last week which im waiting for!
the past few years ive watched lepidoptera the old fashioned way (with a torch and a net) so obviously im very excited!
so i was just wondering if anyone could give me advice of how many egg cartons to put in and how and where to open a trap in the morning (dont want to loose anything!)
any surggestions of where to open it especially ?

Click to expand...

Jamie,

Put as many egg cartons in as you can without obstructing the entrance - you don't want the moths dropping in and bouncing straight out again. When you check the trap do it as soon after dawn as possible and check the outside of the trap and the surrounding area before turning the light off. Make sure you have a few pots and a net with you. I carry the trap into the garage before emptying it so that I have a good chance of netting anything that tries to escape, but you just have to accept that you will lose some moths - and you will be haunted by the thought that the one moth that flew off as you approached the trap was a garden/county first!

The first few years are the best as nearly every night will bring a new moth and even after that you can never be sure what will turn up, so enjoy your new trap and let us know how you get on!

David

davidg said:

and you will be haunted by the thought that the one moth that flew off as you approached the trap was a garden/county first!

David

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That is a scary thourght!
thankyou for the help.
my first catch shall be posted in full at 'god knows o'clock' in the morning the first night i have it set up !!

Thanks again
Jamie

Jamie Dunning said:

That is a scary thourght!
thankyou for the help.
my first catch shall be posted in full at 'god knows o'clock' in the morning the first night i have it set up !!

Thanks again
Jamie

Click to expand...

Also known as 'stupid o'clock' and my particular favourite 'crack of sparrowfart'!

David

hahaa i like the 'crack of sparrowfart', I'll be up then

I tend to move my trap to the far end of the garden into the shade of some trees. I then remove one piece of perspex (IDing any moths sat on it first) then carefully remove a single egg box and replace the perspex to stop anything from escaping. I photograph any moths on the egg box first and then go about IDing them. Just work my way through all the egg boxes and then ID anything on the inside of the box. I then leave them in the shade for the rest of the day, with a large piece of cardboard on top of the box to hide them away from any birds. I only trap once a week so I remove all the perspex the following night and let them all fly away.

I need to tidy up the area where I trap as I noticed a lot of moths hiding away in unused plant pots and the like. Saves me doing too much searching in the future.

But earlier is definately better. It might mean getting up at silly o'clock (thats the term out family use) but it does give you a better chance of keeping them all in the trap. If you want to give your bulb time to cool down before moving it (like I do) then fill the gap with something in the mean time. I use a couple of old magazines, which sit there quite nicely and still allow you to see into the trap.

Adam