Any substance that attracts insects may be used as a bait. Natural products, chemicals derived therefrom or synthesized, and secretions of the insects themselves may all be used as attractants. Mere exposure of the substance may be considered as setting up a trap, and attractive substances are used in many constructed traps.Sugaring for moths, one of the oldest collecting methods, involves the use of a specially prepared bait in which some form of sugar is an essential component.
The bait may be refined or brown sugar, molasses, or sirup. Such substances often are mixed with stale beer, fermented peaches, bananas, or some other fruit— there is no standard formula. Each lepidopterist has his or her own favorite recipe. One particularly satisfactory recipe uses fresh, ripe peaches; culls or windfalls are suitable. Remove the seeds but not the skins, mash the fruit, then place it in a 4-liter (1-gal) or larger container of plastic, glass, stainless steel, enamelware, or crockery with a snugly fitting but not tight cover. Avoid using metal containers that may rust or corrode. Fill each container only onehalf to two-thirds full to allow space for expansion. Add about a cup of sugar and place in a moderately warm place for the mixture to ferment.
The bubbling fermentation reaction should start in a day or so and may continue for 2 weeks or more, depending on the temperature. During this time, check the fermentation every day or every other day and add sugar until fermentation appears to have subsided completely. As the added sugar is converted to alcohol, the growth of yeast slows and eventually ceases.
After fermentation ceases, the bait should remain stable and should then be kept in tightly sealed containers to prevent contamination and evaporation. If the mixture is allowed to run low in sugar during the fermentation process, vinegar will be produced instead of alcohol. It is therefore important to smell the bait periodically and to add plenty of sugar to avoid this. The amount of sugar consumed will be surprising, usually over 0.4 kg per liter (3.3 lb per gal). The bait should have a sweet, fruity, winelike fragrance. A trace of vinegar is not objectionable but is better avoided. Canned fruit, such as applesauce, may also be used to make the bait, but inasmuch as such products are completely sterile, a small amount of yeast must be added to start fermentation. Although the bait may seem troublesome to prepare, it keeps for years and is thus available at any time, even when fruit is not in season.
Immediately before use, the bait may be mixed with 30 to 50 percent molasses or brown sugar or a mixture of these. This thickens the bait so that it will not dry out so quickly, and it makes the supply last longer.The best time to set out the sugar bait is in the early evening before dark. It may be applied with a paint brush in streaks on tree trunks, fenceposts, or other surfaces. Choose a definite route, such as along a trail or along the edge of a field, so that later you can follow it in the dark with a lantern or flashlight. Experienced collectors learn to approach the patches of bait stealthily with a light in one hand and a killing jar in the other to catch the moths before they are frightened off. Some collectors prefer to wear a headlamp, leaving both hands free. Although some moths will fly away and be lost, a net usually is regarded as an unnecessary encumbrance, because moths can be directed rather easily into the jar. Sugaring is an especially useful way to collect noctuid moths, and the bait applied in the evening often will attract various diurnal insects on the following days. The peach bait previously described has been used in butterfly traps with spectacular results. However, collecting with baits is notoriously unpredictable, being extremely productive on one occasion and disappointing on another, under apparently identical conditions.
The bait may be refined or brown sugar, molasses, or sirup. Such substances often are mixed with stale beer, fermented peaches, bananas, or some other fruit— there is no standard formula. Each lepidopterist has his or her own favorite recipe. One particularly satisfactory recipe uses fresh, ripe peaches; culls or windfalls are suitable. Remove the seeds but not the skins, mash the fruit, then place it in a 4-liter (1-gal) or larger container of plastic, glass, stainless steel, enamelware, or crockery with a snugly fitting but not tight cover. Avoid using metal containers that may rust or corrode. Fill each container only onehalf to two-thirds full to allow space for expansion. Add about a cup of sugar and place in a moderately warm place for the mixture to ferment.
The bubbling fermentation reaction should start in a day or so and may continue for 2 weeks or more, depending on the temperature. During this time, check the fermentation every day or every other day and add sugar until fermentation appears to have subsided completely. As the added sugar is converted to alcohol, the growth of yeast slows and eventually ceases.
After fermentation ceases, the bait should remain stable and should then be kept in tightly sealed containers to prevent contamination and evaporation. If the mixture is allowed to run low in sugar during the fermentation process, vinegar will be produced instead of alcohol. It is therefore important to smell the bait periodically and to add plenty of sugar to avoid this. The amount of sugar consumed will be surprising, usually over 0.4 kg per liter (3.3 lb per gal). The bait should have a sweet, fruity, winelike fragrance. A trace of vinegar is not objectionable but is better avoided. Canned fruit, such as applesauce, may also be used to make the bait, but inasmuch as such products are completely sterile, a small amount of yeast must be added to start fermentation. Although the bait may seem troublesome to prepare, it keeps for years and is thus available at any time, even when fruit is not in season.
Immediately before use, the bait may be mixed with 30 to 50 percent molasses or brown sugar or a mixture of these. This thickens the bait so that it will not dry out so quickly, and it makes the supply last longer.The best time to set out the sugar bait is in the early evening before dark. It may be applied with a paint brush in streaks on tree trunks, fenceposts, or other surfaces. Choose a definite route, such as along a trail or along the edge of a field, so that later you can follow it in the dark with a lantern or flashlight. Experienced collectors learn to approach the patches of bait stealthily with a light in one hand and a killing jar in the other to catch the moths before they are frightened off. Some collectors prefer to wear a headlamp, leaving both hands free. Although some moths will fly away and be lost, a net usually is regarded as an unnecessary encumbrance, because moths can be directed rather easily into the jar. Sugaring is an especially useful way to collect noctuid moths, and the bait applied in the evening often will attract various diurnal insects on the following days. The peach bait previously described has been used in butterfly traps with spectacular results. However, collecting with baits is notoriously unpredictable, being extremely productive on one occasion and disappointing on another, under apparently identical conditions.
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