wowee stoner timmy turner. this is just about the coolest thing i have ever seen, he looks just like a hipster ^_^
Bodleian Library, MS. Douce 134, f. 98r (‘Lucifer accompanied by lesser devils’). Livre de la Vigne nostre Seigneur. France, c. 1450-1470
Q: Where do all these moths come from and why the white background?
I use a 125W Mercury Vapour lamp for attracting night-flying insects. I used to set this up on my apartment rooftop or balcony with a white sheet and the surrounding tiled or painted walls as a base.
I found this fairly limiting due to often small numbers of attendees and usually the same species. So now I have invested in a gasoline generator and take my gear into the bush strapped to the back of my trusty electric bike (see image).
The upside of this is an endless variety of species of all sizes, not only moths but from across the arthropod range; the downside is being totally overwhelmed by the sheer volume of insect life to the point where getting settled on the sheet is difficult due to a constant barrage of disturbances, disrupted fields of view for a clean photograph, and predation (an army of predatory wasps and mantids require employing your peripheral vision to be aware of your prize model potentially becoming dinner). Of course, other subjects might alight near the sheet on the ground or surrounding vegetation and they can be photographed there.
(NB. I use the light only for photographing night-flying insects. I do not trap or collect specimens.)
The hard decision is usually deciding when to pack up and go home, just in case that “amazing one” arrives…..
MOTH IMAGES
(Click the corresponding link below to see the full size image and ID (where known) on my Flickr page. Image numbering starts top left, then from left to right, top to bottom….)
1. Epiplemiine Moth (Epipleminae, Uraniidae), 2. Geometrid Moth (Fascellina chromataria, Ennominae), 3. Noctuid Moth (Hypena sp., Hypeninae), 4. Picture-winged Leaf Moth, female (Glanycus insolitus, Thyrididae), 5. Pyralid Moth (Epipaschiinae, Pyralidae), 6. Crambid Moth (Pycnarmon cribrata, Spilomelinae), 7. Rice Leaf Roller (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis, Spilomelinae, Crambidae), 8. Cup Moth (Mahanta sp, Limacodidae), 9. Geometrid Moth (Geometridae), 10. Noctuid Moth (Eutelia adulatricoides, Euteliinae), 11. Arctiid Moth (Teulisna sp., Lithosiini, Arctiinae), 12. Nolid Moth (Titulcia confictella, Nolinae), 13. Noctuid Moth (Oraesia excavata, Calpinae), 14. Cabbage Looper Moth (Trichoplusia ni, Plusiinae, Noctuidae), 15. Tussock Moth (Lymantriinae), 16. Crambid Moth (Lamprosema commixta, Spilomelinae), 17. Pyralid Moth (Toccolosida rubriceps, Pyralinae), 18. Crambid Moth (Crambidae), 19. Zygaenid Moth (Eterusia aedea, Zygaenidae), 20. Coffee Berry Moth (Prophantis adusta, Spilomelinae, Crambidae), 21. Arctiid Moth (Lithosiini, Arctiinae), 22. Crotalaria Podborer (Mangina argus, Arctiinae), 23. Arctiid Moth (Cyana bianca, Lithosiini, Arctiinae), 24. Noctuid Moth (Bastilla crameri, Catocalinae), 25. Nolid Moth (Earias roseifera, Nolinae), 26. Male Marbled White Moth (Nyctemera adversata, Arctiinae), 27. Arctiid Moth (Lyclene sp., Lithosiini, Arctiinae), 28. Tussock Moth (Lymantriinae), 29. Crambid Moth (Talanga sexpunctalis, Crambidae), 30. Arctiid Moth (Agylla (Vamuna) virilis, Arctiinae), male, 31. Geometrid Moth (Plutodes costatus, Ennominae), 32. Geometrid Moth (Corymica spatiosa, Ennominae), female, 33. Yam Hawk Moth (Theretra nessus, Sphingidae), 34. Nolid Moth (Tyana marina, Nolidae), 35. Geometrid Moth (Iridoplecta ferrifera, Ennominae)
Pu’er, Yunnan, China
See more Chinese moths on my Flickr site HERE…..
Bodleian Library, MS. Douce 134, f. 67v (‘Lucifer (composite devil with many heads) being judged by Christ in majesty, while the saints intercede for him’). Livre de la Vigne nostre Seigneur. France, c. 1450-1470
