Moth Trapping and Photography in a suburban garden
by Robert Hawkesworth FRPS

In the Spring issue of ‘The Iris’ 2006, No. 94, my good friend Tony Bond FRPS, wrote a splendid article about the moths he had photographed which had been trapped close to his home in Leigh, Lancashire. Tony does not have a trap himself but has a friend who does the trapping and when anything interesting turns up a quick phone call is all that is necessary. 

My interest in moth trapping goes back only to 2003 when Nick Jarvis ARPS ran a group field meeting at his home and had arranged for some of his chums to bring along some moths which had been trapped overnight. I was hooked - the opportunities for some good and different photography were obvious. The down side seemed to be that moth traps were quite expensive and, from what I could discover, not all that easy to obtain. However I was soon to find that I was wrong and that it was quite feasible to make one as all the components were easily available from local sources. My information came from another good friend, Martin Withers FRPS, who supplied me with a set of plans which he had obtained from a local member of the Leicestershire Moth Group. 

Construction details
The plan of the trap is shown below. The sides are made from 5-6 mm thick weatherproof plywood cut 47 cm x 30.5 cm and the corners can be re-inforced with suitable stripwood; the bottom can be fitted in the same way. The removable perspex or acrylic panels should be of such a size that they overlap the sides by no more than 1.5 cm at the same time ensuring that an angle of 60º is maintained and that the distance apart at the bottom is from 2-3 cm and no more. Construct two small bearers, to support the panels, and attach them to the two ends. The bearer board for the lamp should be 4.5-5 cm wide. I also constructed a perspex rain cover for the trap, not essential for if the weather forecast is for rain I don’t use the trap. 

 

Electrical details
You will require the following:

• One 80watt mercury vapour lamp, preferably screw fit. 
• One ceramic screw fit lamp holder. 
• One 80watt choke. You can either build a small box for the choke or buy one. The choke plugs into the mains supply and the bulb plugs into the choke. Do not plug the bulb directly in to the mains. You will need the necessary plugs and cable. If you are in any doubt whatsoever ask a qualified electrician. You can also purchase ready fitted chokes. 

All the necessary electrical equipment an be obtained from:
Bioquip, 1 Clive Cottage, London Road, Allostock, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 9LT 
Telephone: 0871 734 0111.   E-mail: www.bioquip.net. 

You may also obtain the equipment locally. Bioquip will also supply ready built moth traps. In 2003 I built my moth trap for a cost of £54, the electrics being the largest expense.

Running the moth trap
You will need to fill the box with cardboard egg-boxes; the moths will collect on them, often on the undersides. Do make quite sure that you do not disturb surrounding houses with the light. I have one place in my garden from which there is no line of sight to any neighbouring windows. If you have no such place do not despair for you can purchase a ‘black’ mercury vapour lamp, the catches are a little down on the normal lamp but not significantly. I run mine on a timer switch set to come on at sunset and go off at sunrise. My experience is that the moths are quietest in the early hours of the day, so getting up early may well give the best results in terms of photography.

The photography
A 100 mm or 180 mm Macro lens is probably the most appropriate for the job, plus your tripod of course. You will need a good and varied supply of suitable perches - twigs and flat surfaces such as bark or rocks. I’ve been collecting them for some time, they need occasional renewal of course simply because you can’t keep using the same perch or all your moths will be the same picture! I am still experimenting with lighting, overcast is often the best. As far as flash is concerned I seem to have had the most success with fill-flash at about 1 stop under on the flash. A warming filter also can be useful, but not always! I refer you here to Tony’s article for he gives excellent advice on the photography and on the selection of perches. A question you are bound to ask is “how do you get the moth onto the perch?”. Experience! Just keep trying. Some moths are very steady, others very flighty. They will let you know if they don’t like the perch, they will simply walk off it, or fly off it! Do try to release all your moths into cover.

In conclusion
I started trapping in 2004 and have now recorded 76 species, but there have been several which I have not been able to identify and many micro moths which again I have not identified. Do remember that I live on the western edge of Nottingham and consequently there is some light pollution. We are not entirely surrounded by buildings and we have open country within easy walking distance. Wollaton park is also about a mile away. 

The best book for identification is ‘Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland’ by Paul Waring and Martin Townsend, published by British Wildlife Publishing isbn 0 9531399. However, the illustrations from that book together with brief notes have now been published separately as ‘Concise Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland’, the same publisher, isbn 978 0 9531399 6 5. I am now using this book for identification simply because it is smaller and more convenient. 

 I do hope this has been useful and should you decide to try your hand, I wish you good trapping.