Light collecting

[Gimblythebeetle]

Hi again, I am currently looking for a good insect collecting light. I was wondering if mercury vapor lights are actually worth it and if so, do the ones with frosted bulbs work? If you guys have any other recommendations for lights, I would love to hear them.
Thanks,
Mason

[kevinkk]

I have read that mercury vapor attracts a wider range of insects, as well as some that won't fly to UV. Mercury vapor takes more electricity,
so you may need a generator in the field. I haven't seen any posts or read anything about battery operated mercury vapor. Let us know if you
find one.
I have also read some posts about using L.E.D. lights, in both UV colors and white, that might be worth looking at. You could check the Actias site
if you haven't already.

[KKarns]

During my field work for beetles, I often set-up a mercury vapor light and a UV light at the same sheet. This established a variety of light spectrum and the MV light seems to pull things in from a greater distance. I will then periodically, say every hour or so, turn off the MV light and leave the UV light on. Beetles that have been hanging out on the periphery of the MV light field seem to get drawn into the sheet when just the UV light is on. I'll then cycle the MV light back on and so on.

[58chevy]

My light rig has a 400w MV bulb (clear, not frosted) on one side of the sheet and four 40w, 48" UV fluorescent bulbs on the other side. The side with the MV light gets a lot more bugs. I use a generator for power.

[alandmor]

Two LED collecting lights, both developed by entomologists have recently become available. I don't have experience with either one but they look worth checking out.

The Entolight was developed by two entomologists in Arizona and is designed for ease of use, durability, portability and is reasonably priced. From the description:

"The entolight is an LED blacklight built to attract and collect night-flying insects. It emits two wavelengths of UV light (365nm and 395nm). This covers much of the UVA spectrum, mimicking the moonlight that flying insects use to orient themselves. The entolight is made to survive, with long-lasting LEDs and a sturdy construction that can withstand bumping, dropping, and wet conditions. The compact design easily fits in a backpack to be taken on remote excursions."

https://entoquip.com/entolight/

The LepiLED is another LED option developed by a German Lepidopterist, backed by research, comes with several power options but a bit more expensive:

"We have developed LepiLED to greatly facilitate the sampling of nocturnal insects. We are now world market leader in this segment, and lamps are used successfully all over the world. Corresponding research has been published in Nota Lepidopterologica 40: 87–108 and further papers (see below)."

https://www.gunnarbrehm.de/en/lepi-led

[Gimblythebeetle]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was doing some searching and I found these. Do you think these would work for the mercury vapor light?

https://bulborama.com/collections/self- ... light-bulb

[Jshuey]

I'll tell you what - I'm headed to Panama with a Lepi-LED next week. I got it for evening entertainment mostly (since all I really care about are Hesperiidae). I'll run it for sure, and let you know how it works.

John

[jhyatt]

I'll tell you what - I'm headed to Panama with a Lepi-LED next week. I got it for evening entertainment mostly (since all I really care about are Hesperiidae). I'll run it for sure, and let you know how it works.

John

John, Please let us know whether the dry conditions in Panama seem to have limited the flight of leps this season. Should be an interesting comparison with years past.

Tks,
jh

[Chuck]

I'll tell you what - I'm headed to Panama with a Lepi-LED next week. I got it for evening entertainment mostly (since all I really care about are Hesperiidae). I'll run it for sure, and let you know how it works.

John

YES! Can't wait for a real report. Are you also taking traditional UV or MV?

Good luck with your Hesperiidae, may you find one with some color.

[alandmor]

For those interested in the recent research on why light collecting works in the first place (now known as the dorsal light response in insects), the original paper can be found here (no pay wall):

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-44785-3

From the Abstract:

Explanations of why nocturnal insects fly erratically around fires and lamps have included theories of “lunar navigation” and “escape to the light”. However, without three-dimensional flight data to test them rigorously, the cause for this odd behaviour has remained unsolved. We employed high-resolution motion capture in the laboratory and stereo-videography in the field to reconstruct the 3D kinematics of insect flights around artificial lights. Contrary to the expectation of attraction, insects do not steer directly toward the light. Instead, insects turn their dorsum toward the light, generating flight bouts perpendicular to the source. Under natural sky light, tilting the dorsum towards the brightest visual hemisphere helps maintain proper flight attitude and control. Near artificial sources, however, this highly conserved dorsal-light-response can produce continuous steering around the light and trap an insect. Our guidance model demonstrates that this dorsal tilting is sufficient to create the seemingly erratic flight paths of insects near lights and is the most plausible model for why flying insects gather at artificial lights.

[Chuck]

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-44785-3

Contrary to the expectation of attraction, insects do not steer directly toward the light.

Instead, insects turn their dorsum toward the light,

I cannot be alone in not having thought insects shot straight for the light. Anyone who collects at night knows they spiral in, right?

That they turn on axis makes sense, like banking an airplane. And of course I've watched Sphingids bank before changing direction. However, I can't ever recall seeing any moth turned on axis while coming in to a light, even when spiraling in. Did I not notice? Is this 100% or generally true that they come in banked?

[kevinkk]

You're not alone. Everyone has noticed different behavior at the light, some species tend to land on the fringes of the light
footprint, and some never seem to alight before flying off out of sight.
I try to not stare at the light in the first place
It certainly appears that many fly to the light, or the sheet.
I'll be using the UV lights with added interest this season.

[Jshuey]

I'll tell you what - I'm headed to Panama with a Lepi-LED next week. I got it for evening entertainment mostly (since all I really care about are Hesperiidae). I'll run it for sure, and let you know how it works.

John

John, Please let us know whether the dry conditions in Panama seem to have limited the flight of leps this season. Should be an interesting comparison with years past.

Tks,
jh

The drought will be interesting. Since this is mainly a vacation with my wife, collecting will be limited, but we are staying in the canal zone forest, the Pacific coast, and modest elevations on the Pacific side. So - I should see what is up - drought-wise. All within 50 miles of Panama City.

To answer Chuck's question - I'm just taking the LepiLED - I got it specifically because I take grief for all the crap I bring along for collecting. It's small, doesn't need an extension chord, and so on. Like I said - it's really for entertainment in the evenings. I will certainly take a few bugs that come in, but I doubt that I will keep much - if any - of the catch.

John

[Chuck]

Come on, I've dragged a Honda 350W generator around the world. Twice.

"Vacation with my wife" well presuming you've been married a while, she knows what to expect. We are most fortunate to have found wives that put up with our peculiar fascinations.

Eagerly awaiting LepiLED report....

[DrewAlan]

I used two mini-LED entolights from Entoquip, along with two SIKON model N5 portable power banks, in Panama last May-June (2 independent setups). Unfortunately, the rains had not yet started, so the collecting was a bit bleak, but the lights worked GREAT!! They were exceedingly portable which allowed for us to toss them in a backpack and take them up the sides of mountains. The batteries never ran out before we did (I also tested them at home before I left and they ran a full 8 hours each time). They seemed to hold up superbly when compared with fluorescent blacklights we ran further down the mountain. I would like to see how they compare when the collecting is better, but I cannot recommend these enough. Plus, Steve is very, very easy to work with. One caveat, we all were beetle collectors so paid scant attention to leps. They were not abundant but also did not seem to differ in diversity or quantity between light setups.

Drew

[alandmor]

I'll tell you what - I'm headed to Panama with a Lepi-LED next week. I got it for evening entertainment mostly (since all I really care about are Hesperiidae). I'll run it for sure, and let you know how it works.

John

Can you please give us an update on how the Lepi-LED worked for you in Panama? Inquiring minds want to know. Thx!

[Jshuey]

I can - and it's not very convincing either good or bad. First - Panama is in a serous drought. We were there for 11 days - and it misted for a couple of hours on one of those days. Lots of trees had no leaves. There we not many insects around. Almost no mosquitos! Butterfly-wise, mostly common species that can withstand the dry season as adults. A few Archeoprenoa, several satyr species, and common skippers. So, it's not like I saw swarms of insects anywhere on the trip.

Second, all of the places we stayed - although mostly in natural settings, were super well lit. We even strayed in some cabins nestled in the forest - but they had lights pointing up into the trees between the cabins, the paths were lit, and lights on the sides of the buildings. Jeeze - perhaps people are afraid of the dark?

So - I did indeed run the light on three occasions - and it was a complete wash. Some leafhoppers, small flies and little moths. It sucked.

My bottom line - this was hardly a good test of the light.

John

[vabrou]

FYI -- Answers to all of the questions asked about insects and attraction to all wavelengths of the light spectrum from X-rays to infrared bands is available to anyone on the world wide web, and if one searches for it, it is all free. If you are one of the fools who pay one of these pay-for-access sites to have 2-3 day access to published research for a $50.00 fee, let me burst your bubble, those publications are rarely useful and are the result of employment forced publication which are published according to a publication deadline, not the actual completion of the research. That is why they are usually useless. Scientific studies don't lend themselves an annual schedule deadline. I performed one study operating hundreds of automatic capture insect traps of all types and purposes 24 hours daily and published 30-years of data revealing new and never before published discoveries.

All one has to do is look for subjects you are seeking information about. For example, the question concerning which light sources attract which insects, or where do certain insects e.g. beetles reside around certain light sources and lamps? You are probably not going to find viable answers in insect forums as the majority what is posted is 80-90% foolishness stated by wanna-be experts trying to impress others, with in actuality their lack of knowledge. The problem for the reader is how to decipher what is valid and what is not. In order to obtain useful information one should seek out more professional journals/publications where actual scientific based research is found. But, there too, about 80-90% of what is peer reviewed is useless made-up worthless opinions published to meet continued employment regulations. Peer reviewed means nothing because in nearly all cases the persons doing the reviewing have no actual knowledge about the matters they are reviewing. Their supposed value is that Professor so and so or Doctor so and so have reviewed it. Keeping in mind, all scientific publications are just the personal opinions of those authors at the time of publication. That is why the next authors are always revising what the earlier authors have mistakenly published.

If you haven't read much scientific literature, I will state that the one country world-over that has the greatest amount of peer review is India, and that is a result of the established university hierarchy. Few researchers can publish within India without the approval Professor so and so or Dr. so and so. Those university based experts prevent most all publications of scientific research unless they approve it. There are a number of negatives to overcome in India, as each state has made their own set of laws and regulations over the past 60 or so years concerning any and all living creatures. And the government will confiscate the collections made and arrest the researchers/student/professors, etc. Researchers cannot collect insects and other living animals because of laws by their government, usually different in each state in India. E.g. university medical students are forbidden from dissecting most animals even earthworms, mice and rats, etc., etc. Something to think about when you need open heart surgery in India. Then citizens cannot put out a mouse trap if you human food is being consumed in your kitchen or pantry.

The next thing India researchers must deal with is that their most currently available library references are often more than a century old and most much older, another-words completely useless. Everything in India is peer reviewed by experts with no actual expertise nor actual knowledge about the subjects they are responsible for reviewing.

I started to mention where do certain insects reside around lights. The answer is concerning most all insects coming to a light source enter the sphere of light influence centered a few inches just below the light source (lamps/tubes). This is why light traps usually have lamps/tubes over a funnel, and why the insects most often wind up entering the funnel.

In my state of Louisiana over 55 years (1969-2024) numerous dozens of self-designed automatic-capture high-wattage light traps were operated for around 1,400,000 light-trap hours, hundreds of automatic-capture semiochemical lure traps were operated for about 32,500,000 trap-hours, dozens
of fermenting fruit bait traps were operated for about 1,270,000 trap-hours, more than 100 automatic-capture beetle traps were operated for about 15,341,000 trap-hours, and malaise traps were operated 10,800 trap-hours, on and on and on. Procedures and results of all of these activities were documented in detail daily for 55 years and have resulted in 464 entomological publications over the 55 years so far.. For 43 years (1981-2024) all of these various traps were operated continuously 24 hours every day, 365-366 days every year at the Abita Entomological Study Site (AESS) as were similarly and continuously operated elsewhere across Louisiana over 55 years. No one any where across the entire world has the knowledge we have gained by operating 500 insect traps 24 hours daily non stop since beginning in 1969. We have knowledge that is not published in scientific literature or known about anywhere. Anyone can do these things, start designing automatic capture insects traps today and in 55 years you too can know what we have discovered. The AESS is a 10 acre forested rural site we purchased specifically so that we could perform our research and studies without interference from the public or by governmental agencies. This location is considered the most intensively studied site anywhere in North America (Canada, USA, and Mexico). And we have been visited by entomologist from across the world for the past 54 years. We have personally discovered over 400 species of Lepidoptera new to science just at the AESS. Our high-wattage automatic capture light trap designs allow nonstop collecting using photoelectric on/off controls, and without the presence of a human collector except to pick up the results daily. The principle of how our traps are fabricated is based upon the fact that the high-wattage lamps bring in millions of insects to the sphere of light influence, and the fluorescent black-light lamps completes the job and attracts them over the funnel. A single high-wattage light trap capable of capturing millions of insects daily, but we operated 7-8 high wattage traps every day for over five decades. As a consequence we captured numerous billions of insects of all types.

If one is trying to attract (june bugs) and other beetles in large quantities, the use of a fluorescent black light (BL) will attract and capture larger numbers of specimens than using high-wattage/high intensity UV/Mercury vapor lamps. The mistake novice light trappers usually make is thinking that (BLB) black light blue lamps are better than (BL) (white in color) lamps (non-black in color). Research from the creators of the fluorescent black-light tubes from a century ago indicates that white (BL) attracts 20% more volume of insects that the Black (BLB).

Want to be an expert with real knowledge, obtain every published research paper you can find. size]

[boghaunter1]

Hello Moth Lovers,

There are probably as many variations of successful light traps as there are collectors. Following are photos of a couple of my newest trap constructions:

1000w trap small view 3.jpg (518.56 KiB) Viewed 510 times

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This trap has a 1000W M.V. Bulb with a transparent cover to guard against severe rain/hail which often occurs in my northern latitude (NE Saskatchewan, Canada). The cover does very little to reduce overall nightly catch... one night 3 yrs. ago I collected 12 Hyalophora columbia gloveri in one night in this trap... most ever! This high wattage trap has phenomenal drawing power out several hundred yds.++; it sits at the edge of my farm yard which is on the top of a hill overlooking old mature forest & some open cropland. The trap stands 7 ft. tall & is securely attached to a 45 gal, drum filled with 500 lbs. of rocks which is bolted down to a cement slab... no blow overs yet! The trap itself is mounted on a riser above the collection box so that only the tip of the 2 ft. dia. funnel sticks down into the box... leaving the collection box very easy to clean out. Another riser supports the collection box allowing adequate space for a 1" water drain pipe out to the back side; a small, screened funnel inside the box collects any excess water directing it down into the drain hose. I also used 2 full size, opposite opening screen doors to ease with clean out. The vanes are made out of clear 3/8" lucite, non-yellowing plexiglass. The ballast to power the bulb is located in a secure, waterproof cover 15 ft. away from the trap itself. I've recently obtained some 1,500w M.H. bulbs & ballasts & will experiment this summer by replacing the current bulb & ballast & am curious what the result will be?

John K.

[boghaunter1]

Another of my trap builds:

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4 lamp trap 3.jpg (78.75 KiB) Viewed 508 times

This trap also stands around 7 ft. tall & is a combination light trap consisting of a 100W M.V. bulb at the top & 3 compact fluorescent BL's below (from BioQuip... bought lots yrs. ago) all enclosed in protective dust/explosion proof glass covers. Same riser above the collection box so only the tip of the funnel sticks down into the box. Again dual, opposite opening screen doors for easy clean out. A pile of small cement sidewalk blocks to anchor down... also has never blown over, despite exposed, windy site. The drawing power of a 100W M.V/M.H. bulb (not much difference in drawing power in IMHO) is quite impressive. I recently purchased a box (Ebay) of 50W M.H. bulbs & a couple matching ballasts to see if I can run them with a newly purchased 2000W solar generator... for remote collecting.

John K.