leptraps
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Posts: 2,397
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Post by leptraps on Apr 12, 2016 4:04:31 GMT -8
It is that time of year again and I am on my way to set out Bait Traps and Pheromone Traps near Morehead, KY in the Daniel Boone NF. Tomorrow I will do the same in Southern Indiana west of Louisville, KY.
A warm up is in the way for later this week. You never know what you may find in a trap tomorrow.
Anyone else setting out traps yet?
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Post by jhyatt on Apr 12, 2016 5:13:42 GMT -8
Not me! I've got too much material from light-trapping last week (Sapelo Island, GA) to think about collecting more at the moment. Need to spread my way out from under the pile. Took Derrima stellata, C. sepulcharis, lots of neat things.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2016 5:38:15 GMT -8
I've had mine out for 3 weeks. I was wanting to see if I could get a few of last year's Nymphalis antiopa that were still in collectable shape. I had one tattered individual that showed up and kept coming back. I released it 6 times!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2016 8:55:34 GMT -8
Got a nice fresh Cyllopsis gemma out of the trap this morning.
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Post by mothman27 on Apr 13, 2016 9:20:59 GMT -8
Just made a batch of bait.
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Post by mothman27 on Apr 13, 2016 12:55:31 GMT -8
What sort of pheromone traps do you use? Is they a list somewhere of types of baits that attract different types on insects, like Scarabaeidae(dung?), Carabidae(meat?), Cetoniidae(fruit?), Papilionidae(rotting fish?). What attracts lucanidae, just lights? Thank you, Tim
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2016 9:03:37 GMT -8
Collected another Cyllopsis gemma today but it was damaged so I released it
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Post by mothman27 on Apr 19, 2016 14:45:58 GMT -8
Got my first butterflies in my homemade bait traps! 2 Vanessa atalanta
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2016 16:15:22 GMT -8
Mothman27, Get yourself a leptrap. They are well worth the price and are durable. Last year I caught more catocala in one night with the trap than I did all the previous year with my light sheet. The trap doesn't kill so you can just release what you don't want. But don't be surprised if they just come right back. That bait is hard to resist. www.leptraps.comJoe
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Post by mothman27 on Apr 19, 2016 16:41:40 GMT -8
I virtually duplicated(as close as I could) the flat bottom Leptraps design X2 and built a modified hanging light trap with vanes and a funnel.
So far the light trap has got a decent number of bugs, far more than I had at this time last year. I built them for less than $10 a piece, so I consider it a bargain. If I have bad luck I may look into Leptraps. I have a low budget at the moment as well.
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Post by mothman27 on Apr 19, 2016 16:54:37 GMT -8
Also what kind of bait do you prefer Jtaylor? I have read all the extensive treads on bait trapping on this site(very helpful), and have observed the best baits consistently include Bananas, apples, and sugar. I have tried apples/bananas/sugar and Oranges/bananas/sugar, I got the first butterflies with the latter. areas of disagreement seem to be yeast and beer.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2016 17:31:08 GMT -8
Mothman27,
I can fully understand budget restrictions. I have a wife, a young kid and a mortgage myself. A duralife flat bottom leptrap is around $140 if I remember correctly. $20 here $10 there and before u know it you will have saved enough to get one. I have worked in a manufacturing environment for most of my adult life. I am a stickler for quality. This personality trait transfers over to collecting very well. When I first got my trap I examined it very thoroughly. I was shocked at how well it was constructed. If anything its over-engineered. They are made to last for over a decade of continuous use. If that's not a great big bang for your buck I don't know what is. Now to answer your bait question. I mix up apples,bananas and pears sometimes I add watermelon or cantaloupe (mostly in the fall) with brown sugar and water. I put it in gallon freezer bags and let it sit in the sun all day to ferment. I avoid citrus as they don't grow where I live so it's not a natural food source like almost all the others I use for bait in my area. Don't limit yourself to fruit bait either. Many species of butterflies love to feed on rotten fish and scat. Nasty but effective.....
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Post by mothman27 on Apr 19, 2016 18:00:36 GMT -8
Thanks for the advice
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Post by Jonn on Apr 22, 2016 15:06:23 GMT -8
If you're going to buy a leptrap, ask for the new Slotted Pan Type (not on the site yet).
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Post by jhyatt on Apr 23, 2016 4:57:16 GMT -8
I concur - I've been using one of Leroy's slotted-pan prototypes on the GA Sea Islands for about a year, and it really works well - I suspect it has far fewer escapes that the conventional designs. Even fairly large butterflies like the huge coastal female Lethes enter it freely. Only one caveat - I once hung it near a horse pasture and literally filled the thing with flies in one day. Even after removing the pan, it was really tough to get the flies out - that flat ring above the pan holds small bugs, and when you try to dump them, it's like pouring water out of the inside of a tire. They just roll around on the ring. Makes one wish the netting was removable (velcro?) at that level. But all in all, it's a fine trap and it's not hard to avoid the fly problem with judicious placement.
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