John Beetham is a moth’er in Central NJ and a NMW supporter through his ‘A DC Birding Blog‘. John sent us a picture of his mothing setup and a description: I use a 13-watt CFL blacklight (which I think is a 60-watt-equivalent in terms of brightness) clipped to a tripod and projected on a white sheet draped over a latticework fence. I set it up a little before sunset and then take it down whenever I get too tired to stay up longer (usually around midnight, but I’ll go later if mothing is really productive).
John Beetham's setup
William, I usually photograph moths on the sheet by light of the on-camera flash balanced by a handheld LED flashlight. Other photographers might use more sophisticated setups, but this works for me. Occasionally I capture, photograph, and release moths, but I usually only do that with moths that I have trouble photographing without capture.
I’m interested in the next step. Do you capture and kill moths or do you capture and photograph live moths?
I have been looking for a fairly simple, inexpensive set-up for my home.
This looks great.
Thanks for posting.