What is it about?
This study examines how different light bulbs and trap designs affect moth counts in UK gardens. Using 10 years of data from the Garden Moth Scheme, we compared seven bulb types and three trap designs. We found that brighter bulbs, such as mercury vapor, attract significantly more moths than dimmer alternatives like actinic or LED bulbs. Bulb choice also influences species composition, with brighter bulbs favouring larger, more mobile species. Trap design had a smaller effect compared to bulb type.
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Photo by Yuliya Grechushkina on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Accurate moth monitoring is essential for understanding biodiversity and the impacts of light pollution. Our findings show that equipment choices can bias survey results, which is critical for citizen science projects and long-term ecological studies. This research helps improve monitoring methods and informs conservation strategies in an era of increasing artificial light at night.
Perspectives
The study was Reuben O'Connell-Booth's undergraduate thesis, and he is passionate about his moths! Reuben is an excellent natural historian as well as a moth trapper and wanted to investigate how differences in the traps used by citizen scientists influenced the results of a big citizen science project. The work was really interesting to be a part of, and it has considerable consequences for how we think about and analysis moth data as technology continues to change.
Dr Christopher Hassall
University of Leeds
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Effect of bulb type on moth trap catch and composition in
UK
gardens, Insect Conservation and Diversity, December 2025, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/icad.70050.
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