Trap catch rates .

[Uv moth notingha]

Hi guys ... doing a wee bit of research ,can anybody give me an idea of how many moths a 15w actinic skinner trap would catch on a good late spring /early summer night
Best wishes
UVMOTH

[david156]

Depends on the habitat and location in the country,

At the end of march I caught 65 moths from 10 species with my 15w actinic in my mums garden. She borders the countryside in a small town. About half a mile away at my old house which was nearer the middle of town, I caught 5 moths from 2 species the night before. This is about half way between Norwich and Cromer in Norfolk.

Hope this helps, Cheers David

[JennyS]

Like David says it depends on the habitat and location, and also on the weather conditions and moon.

My best catch so far this year with a 6W Actinic was 245 moths of 49 species in mixed deciduous woodland at the end of April. Then it got cold, wet and windy .........

[Domco]

That's an interesting question and one I wouldn't mine getting a bit more a sample of replies from myself. I live in Sururban Hitchin next to a railway line in a big garden that I have done quite a bit with. I have a 15W Actinic and usually reckon I have to wait until June before I can feel 'proud' of my catch! March and April can be pretty dire with a fair spattering of zero counts, as I have no woodland nearby and that is what you need early to mid-spring for a decent catch. I caught 14 moths of 9 species last night which is not too bad on the scale of things for this time of year. I might peak in July at around 100-150 of maybe 25 species if I am very lucky and its a good night. Across the year (March-October inclusive) I catch abot 100-130 species at a rate of 25 moths a night on average.

As you can tell I have a spreadsheet...

[bigdave60dog]

This depends entirely on your location and in my experience will vary if the location is shifted by just a few yards .
Dvae