Light Trap

Light Trap-picture by Mr Johari Jalinas


A light sheet in the field is highly effective method of using light to
attract moths and other nocturnal insects

This is simply a cloth sheet, usually a white bedsheet, hung outdoors at night with an appropriate light source or combination of sources such as ultraviolet fluorescent tubes, gasoline lanterns, or automobile headlights placed a few feet in front of it. As insects are attracted and alight on the sheet, they are easily captured in cyanide bottles or jars by the collector who stands in attendance or at least checks the sheet frequently. The sheet may be pinned to a rope tied between two trees or fastened to the side of a building, with the bottom edge spread out on the ground beneath the light. Some collectors use supports to hold the bottom edge of the sheet several centimeters above the ground so that no specimens can crawl into the vegetation under the sheet and be overlooked. Other collectors turn up the edge to form a trough into which insects may fall as they strike the sheet.

The light sheet remains unsurpassed as a method of collecting moths in flawless condition or of obtaining live females for rearing purposes. Its main disadvantage is that species that fly very late or those that are active only in the early morning hours may be missed unless one is prepared to spend most of the night at the sheet. Many other insects besides moths are attracted to the sheet, and collectors of beetles, flies and other kinds of insects would do well to collect with this method.

It should be emphasized that the phases of the moon may influence the attraction of insects to artificial light. A bright moon may compete with the light source resulting in a reduced catch. The best collecting period each month extends from the fifth night after the full moon until about a week before the next full moon.

References (light traps and sheets):

Andreyev et al. 1970; Apperson & Yows 1976; Barr et al. 1963; Barrett et al. 1971; Bartnett & Stephenson 1968; Belton & Kempster 1963; Belton & Pucat 1967; Blakeslee et al. 1959; Breyev 1963; Burbutis & Stewart 1979;