Following on from our previous post it seemed to make sense to purchase the Moonlander in addition to the Gemlight Super for a truly portable solution
These posts focus on the pros and cons of the Moonlander followed by the Gemlight Super.
Seduced by the reference and images of this setup being designed for field use in remote areas we had expected a more robust offering to be fair.
On arrival we immediately questioned if a net supported on three thin aluminium legs would suffer the rigors of the west coast of Ireland, so we put it through its paces, starting in a more serene environment, at home in our moth house.
The sprung legs are fitted with plastic clips that attach to the trap net supporting rings which when completed allows you to install the foam replacements for the normal egg boxes used in other traps.
There are two zipped access points, one on top and the other on the side which allows the installation and removal of these foam inserts.
Care needs to be taken to install the bottom circular access foam fixed with Velcro so as not to restrict the entrance located at the bottom of the trap.
The entrance on the bottom of the trap is an innovation which according to the seller is a tried and tested method for trapping moths yielding better results than the more conventional top entrance.
Once the trap is constructed and the foam inserts sited there only remains the addition of the light with power supply which we will talk about at more length later as mentioned.
Initially we opted to follow the documentation provided and balance the light facing upward with the power supply external to the trap protected from any rain in a plastic bag.
Unfortunately, our initial tests produced poor results partly due to the weather conditions and a basic lack of moths but provided us with a learning curve.
Our idea was to use this new trap in our rotation system to replace the 160-watt self-ballasted setup which had now reached end of life, to gain comparisons with the 40-watt actinic and 125 mercury vapour still in use.
We have now completed our assessment of the Moonlander offering with the results being very disappointing on all fronts which will be the subject of out next post Moonlander Part 2.
