Flickr night time meet up for moths Saturday 8-6-11
Date: Saturday August 6th 2011
What we'll see: Attracting Moths with Sugaring and lights
Places we will visit: My backyard and Cattus Island County Park, we will have permission for entry after dark.
Meet up place and time: We will all meet up at my house in Toms River at 8pm. My house is right off exit 81 on the Parkway, i'll give you directions.
Ending time: Plan on getting some sleep during the day as this is going to be a late night. Whenever you need to leave is the ending time ;-)
Organizer: Shawn Wainwright
This meet up will be canceled if: Rain.
The last meet up in June produced 60 species of moths!
See the results here: www.flickr.com/photos/shawn_wainwright/5798591691/in/set-...
We all know how to attract Butterflies, but how do we attract moths? I'll tell you how with a little info too:
It is a surprise to many people to learn that there are at least five times as many kinds of moths in the world as there are butterflies. By most estimations butterfly species number about 20,000. But there are at least 165,000 distinct types of moths — and perhaps twice that number, according to some entomologists.
We see more butterflies more often because we and the butterflies are diurnal — we operate on a daytime schedule and rest at night. Most moths, on the other hand, are strictly night fliers and hide during the day, disguised as bird droppings, dead leaves, lichens or tree bark.
So we catch, collect and photograph butterflies, and even cultivate special gardens to attract and nourish them. Meanwhile, the far more numerous and diverse moths, like most of nature’s nocturnal beings, get little attention from slumber-prone wildlife watchers.
That’s too bad, for few insect families boast as many lovely members. There is the delicate pale-green Luna, the pastel-hued rosy maple moth, the owl-eye spotted Io, the spectacular tawny-winged Polyphemus. There are the huge sphinxes, the brown- or silver-spotted tigers, the tree-bark-camouflaged underwings.
Because moths are furtive and often inconspicuous, getting a close look calls for a little trickery. A light (or better yet, a black light) with a sheet draped in front of it and over the ground below will attract a variety of interesting moths. Set the light trap in the darkest possible place.
But sugaring for moths is a more traditional (and, I think, enjoyable) method — and one that doesn’t tether you to an electric outlet. In moth-watcher language, “sugar” is a bait or attractant, a gooey home-brewed mixture of assorted sweet and fermented ingredients for which night fliers have a fondness. There are all sorts of sugar recipes — indeed, part of the fun of sugaring is experimenting with your own concoctions. Here is a classic, proven formula:
3 to 6 overripe bananas
½ to 1 cup molasses, corn syrup, honey or sugar
1 to 2 cups orange juice or other fruit juice
1 or 2 bottles stale beer
1 to 2 ounces rum
Mash or blend the bananas first, then stir in the sugary ingredients. Add the liquids last, a little at a time, until the mixture is about as thick as house paint. If it becomes too thin, just add another banana or two. Finally, put the mixture in a jar or bowl, cover it and leave it to ferment in the sun for a few hours.
Remember that this is just a basic recipe, open to all sorts of improvisation. Some cooks don’t include alcoholic ingredients, and instead add apple cider vinegar to the brew. Others swear by certain liquors (my local moths prefer Ron Bacardi) or kinds of juices that mimic those of local fruit trees (cherry and apple juices are popular). In any case, the objective is to produce a highly aromatic, cloyingly sweet and somewhat potent goo.
Now you’re ready to go “sugaring.” The best nights for attracting moths are cloudy, warm and still. In late afternoon or early evening, before sunset, go out and paint an 8-inch-square (or so) patch of sugar on tree trunks or other objects — fence posts, rocks, whatever — in promising moth territory. Usually, the best places are in open woods or in edge habitat, where trees or bushes meet a clearing of some sort: a lawn, a meadow, a driveway. Be aware, however, that moth sugar can leave a stain.on’t paint it on prized yard trees or other conspicuous landscape elements.
Several hours later, in the darkest part of the night, go back with a flashlight to check your “traps.” With luck, you should see at least one or two moths on each patch of sugar. Mind you, not all sugaring expeditions are successful — perhaps the weather or the site you picked isn’t right, or maybe your latest sugar recipe is a dud. But more often than not, you will be treated to a close-up look at some astonishingly beautiful and interesting creatures. Many moth species that are attracted to sugar are especially big and beautiful.
Perhaps because they’re too busy sipping — or, if you’ve served them a cocktail, because they’re a tad besotted — moths at a sugaring site tend to stay put when you approach. They are easily caught — but I prefer simply to study them where they are, using my flashlight and a field guide for on-the-spot identification. (If your flashlight’s too bright, put some red cellophane or tissue paper over the lens, or just hold your hand over it, to keep the light from disturbing the moths.)
Incidentally, a variety of other interesting insects, beetles especially, also are attracted to moth sugar. Don’t miss your opportunity to get a close look at these visitors, too.
Flickr night time meet up for moths Saturday 8-6-11
Date: Saturday August 6th 2011
What we'll see: Attracting Moths with Sugaring and lights
Places we will visit: My backyard and Cattus Island County Park, we will have permission for entry after dark.
Meet up place and time: We will all meet up at my house in Toms River at 8pm. My house is right off exit 81 on the Parkway, i'll give you directions.
Ending time: Plan on getting some sleep during the day as this is going to be a late night. Whenever you need to leave is the ending time ;-)
Organizer: Shawn Wainwright
This meet up will be canceled if: Rain.
The last meet up in June produced 60 species of moths!
See the results here: www.flickr.com/photos/shawn_wainwright/5798591691/in/set-...
We all know how to attract Butterflies, but how do we attract moths? I'll tell you how with a little info too:
It is a surprise to many people to learn that there are at least five times as many kinds of moths in the world as there are butterflies. By most estimations butterfly species number about 20,000. But there are at least 165,000 distinct types of moths — and perhaps twice that number, according to some entomologists.
We see more butterflies more often because we and the butterflies are diurnal — we operate on a daytime schedule and rest at night. Most moths, on the other hand, are strictly night fliers and hide during the day, disguised as bird droppings, dead leaves, lichens or tree bark.
So we catch, collect and photograph butterflies, and even cultivate special gardens to attract and nourish them. Meanwhile, the far more numerous and diverse moths, like most of nature’s nocturnal beings, get little attention from slumber-prone wildlife watchers.
That’s too bad, for few insect families boast as many lovely members. There is the delicate pale-green Luna, the pastel-hued rosy maple moth, the owl-eye spotted Io, the spectacular tawny-winged Polyphemus. There are the huge sphinxes, the brown- or silver-spotted tigers, the tree-bark-camouflaged underwings.
Because moths are furtive and often inconspicuous, getting a close look calls for a little trickery. A light (or better yet, a black light) with a sheet draped in front of it and over the ground below will attract a variety of interesting moths. Set the light trap in the darkest possible place.
But sugaring for moths is a more traditional (and, I think, enjoyable) method — and one that doesn’t tether you to an electric outlet. In moth-watcher language, “sugar” is a bait or attractant, a gooey home-brewed mixture of assorted sweet and fermented ingredients for which night fliers have a fondness. There are all sorts of sugar recipes — indeed, part of the fun of sugaring is experimenting with your own concoctions. Here is a classic, proven formula:
3 to 6 overripe bananas
½ to 1 cup molasses, corn syrup, honey or sugar
1 to 2 cups orange juice or other fruit juice
1 or 2 bottles stale beer
1 to 2 ounces rum
Mash or blend the bananas first, then stir in the sugary ingredients. Add the liquids last, a little at a time, until the mixture is about as thick as house paint. If it becomes too thin, just add another banana or two. Finally, put the mixture in a jar or bowl, cover it and leave it to ferment in the sun for a few hours.
Remember that this is just a basic recipe, open to all sorts of improvisation. Some cooks don’t include alcoholic ingredients, and instead add apple cider vinegar to the brew. Others swear by certain liquors (my local moths prefer Ron Bacardi) or kinds of juices that mimic those of local fruit trees (cherry and apple juices are popular). In any case, the objective is to produce a highly aromatic, cloyingly sweet and somewhat potent goo.
Now you’re ready to go “sugaring.” The best nights for attracting moths are cloudy, warm and still. In late afternoon or early evening, before sunset, go out and paint an 8-inch-square (or so) patch of sugar on tree trunks or other objects — fence posts, rocks, whatever — in promising moth territory. Usually, the best places are in open woods or in edge habitat, where trees or bushes meet a clearing of some sort: a lawn, a meadow, a driveway. Be aware, however, that moth sugar can leave a stain.on’t paint it on prized yard trees or other conspicuous landscape elements.
Several hours later, in the darkest part of the night, go back with a flashlight to check your “traps.” With luck, you should see at least one or two moths on each patch of sugar. Mind you, not all sugaring expeditions are successful — perhaps the weather or the site you picked isn’t right, or maybe your latest sugar recipe is a dud. But more often than not, you will be treated to a close-up look at some astonishingly beautiful and interesting creatures. Many moth species that are attracted to sugar are especially big and beautiful.
Perhaps because they’re too busy sipping — or, if you’ve served them a cocktail, because they’re a tad besotted — moths at a sugaring site tend to stay put when you approach. They are easily caught — but I prefer simply to study them where they are, using my flashlight and a field guide for on-the-spot identification. (If your flashlight’s too bright, put some red cellophane or tissue paper over the lens, or just hold your hand over it, to keep the light from disturbing the moths.)
Incidentally, a variety of other interesting insects, beetles especially, also are attracted to moth sugar. Don’t miss your opportunity to get a close look at these visitors, too.