Moth Trap in the NZ garden

Latest Moths

January 2016

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The trap was put out with the Prolite 25W Black Light bulb and with the Sylvania Mini-Linx Blacklight 20W at two locations in Stanmore Bay, my home and stayed on all night.

Night temps were around 14 to 19 oC.

Well the net trap I brought with me to NZ, while still working was becoming a real chore to empty and get at the moths in the morning before they escaped. The small aperture is very difficult to use with 'big hands' and almost impossible to remove any egg boxes without disturbing the moths. I have had to cut the egg boxes up into small two compartment bits to get them to fit in. Also after only seven weeks of use maybe three time a week the fittings and getting a bit loose and the net is beginning to wear with holes on some of the edges, so it was time to take some drastic action and create my own trap.

Of course like all of us I have seen various homemade designs in the forums. So it was off to the DIY shop to get a plastic storage box and a lamp shade with which I cobbled together a fairly reasonable trap that works well. I was able to use the electrics that came with the trap I had already and so it turned out to cost only $24 NZ (around £15). Costing the electrics here including a black light bulb, I should think the whole trap would have cost only about £60. So not a bad deal really.

I am still having trouble getting IDs for many of the moths, especially the micros. Some families are listed as having over specific 20 moths of which several ae still unnamed! Obviously there is a great deal of work to be done here. There is a web site I use where there are several people able to name those I can't find an ID for but not all get named and over the past few weeks there have been seven moths unnamed.

I have included pictures of two ladybird that are a bit different and also a Passion Vine Hopper and a Green Plant Hopper which are interesting, all of which have found themselves into the trap.