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 Fly Traps
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| Tony T |
Posted on 15-05-2007 00:13
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 Member Location: Posts: 661 Joined: 08.02.07 |
Some information on trapping flies is in this Forum under the subject 'tabanidae'. Thought I would continue this topic under a more appropriate title. Here in Canada we are plagued by biting flies such that is impossible to sit outdoors in the summer evenings. This has led manufacturers to offer all sorts of screen-sided tents to defeat the blood-suckers. Recently I found this small model (1.6 m square by 1.8m high). It has a spring steel frame and folds to a 70cm disc. It is a pop-up model and can be set-up in less than 1 minute as opposed to the (up to) 20 minutes it takes a single person to set-up a Malaise trap. The single opening is on the far wall of the tent in this image. Set up today at the edge of a wood it trapped about 50 smallish flies, mostly syrphids, and several Hymenoptera (still quite cool here with not much insect activity). The cost was very reasonable, $50.00 Canadian which is probably about 20 Euros. Not as efficacious as a Malaise trap but so easy to carry and set-up that it could be part of every Dipterists equipment.  |
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| crex |
Posted on 15-05-2007 06:29
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 Member Location: Posts: 1996 Joined: 22.05.06 |
I don't understand how this works. It looks like it has one gigantic hole on the side ... so how do you trap the flies? Perhaps we should have a photo album to show different kind of traps ... |
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| Paul Beuk |
Posted on 15-05-2007 09:02
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 Super Administrator Location: Posts: 19208 Joined: 11.05.04 |
Flies that 'just fly around' may fly into the tent. When they hit the surface opposite of the entrance, most of them will start moving up towards the ceiling. As long as they stay near the ceiling, you can come in later and collect the with an aspirator. If you really want to make things automatic you'd need to create some kind of automatic collection device in it, just like in a regular Malaise trap. Still, it is useful to mention that that part of the Malaise trap is usually the part that increases it costs.
Paul - - - - Paul Beuk on https://diptera.info |
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| Robert Nash |
Posted on 15-05-2007 10:12
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Member Location: Posts: 288 Joined: 11.11.05 |
A very simple, easy to use and cheap trap.Thanks Tony. Others may wish to know that traps are discussed and some figured on this very useful site http://www.ars.us...141&page=1 which is also in the glossary under Collecting methods  .Photographs of traps in operation is a very good idea , especially if accompanied by notes,as Tony's pic is Other notes might include positioning, effectiveness etc. Slainte RobertEdit Paul Beuk: I took the liberty to add the Glossary tags to 'Collecting methods' so that one can directly go to the Glossary page. 
Edited by Paul Beuk on 15-05-2007 10:29 |
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| Carnota |
Posted on 15-05-2007 10:58
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 Member Location: Posts: 170 Joined: 29.05.06 |
If you replace the upper grey cloth with a white one (in order to atract the insects to light) and if you make a central hole in the new white cloth, placing here an external collecting plastic bottle with alcohol, you have a Malaise-like trap Pablo Carnota |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 15-05-2007 13:01
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Member Location: Posts: 661 Joined: 08.02.07 |
crex wrote: I don't understand how this works. It looks like it has one gigantic hole on the side ... so how do you trap the flies? ... Sorry, I should have been more explicit. The trick for this trap, and for a Malaise trap, is to place it across a 'fly way'. This usually means across a woods road or path or alongside a hedge. In my photo there is a row of trees and bushes on each side of the path and a wood behind the trap. The path comes comes in behind and to the right of the trap. The open hole is a doorway that can be closed with a zipper. Also note the orientation. The trap is placed such that the doorway opens away from the sun (usually North, Northeast or East), flies entering this doorway will then accumulate on the opposite screen on the South, South West, or West. Standard Malaise traps should also have the collecting head orientated towards the sun. When one sees a choice fly in the trap, one steps inside, and zippers-up the door. I'm certain many flies escape the trap, but for the effort and cost it still seems a reasonable system. When using the trap yesterday I also collected flies with a hand net but saw less than half-a dozen flies, compare this to the 50 collected by the tent. I'm planning to place a big black shiny ball inside to attract tabanids. |
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| Paul Beuk |
Posted on 15-05-2007 13:35
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Super Administrator Location: Posts: 19208 Joined: 11.05.04 |
Any company to order it from, or a brand name so people can look for it?
Paul - - - - Paul Beuk on https://diptera.info |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 15-05-2007 15:32
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Member Location: Posts: 661 Joined: 08.02.07 |
I bought if from Sears (a major department store in North America). The package has a Model # 70165 "6-foot Pop-up Screen Room", Made in China & imported by Frikon Industries Limited, Mississauga, Ontario. I guess what I was trying to show is that one can look outside the biological supply houses to find equipment that can be adapted. How about large mesh tents that are used to protect fruiting shrubs from birds and insects? I have seen pop-up tents, in the UK, for fisherman, the canvas sides could be replaced by screening. I have used a mesh dome sold to keep flies off of food-stuffs to trap Calliphorids. Raise one side of the dome about 1 cm off the ground and bait inside with a piece of fish. The flies find their way in but not their way out. |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 24-07-2007 18:51
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Member Location: Posts: 661 Joined: 08.02.07 |
So far, this season has proved to be productive for tabanids in New Brunswick, Canada. Using a combination of hand netting and a tent trap I have collected 21 spp. (out of 24) Chrysops, 14 spp. (out of 20) Hybomitra, and 4 (out of 8) Tabanus, no Stonemyia, Haematopota, or Atylotus. On 23 July 2007 I visted a path through a wet spruce forest that eventually led to a sphagnum bog. There appeared to be no tabanids in the area except for 1 species of aggressive Chrysops. I set-up the tent trap across the path. In a 2.5 hour period (noon -2.30pm) I collected, from the trap, 5 Chrysops spp., 9 Hybomitra spp., and 2 Tabanus spp. I consider this a high number of species for this time of the year. The point I am making is that some type of interceptor trap, such as a Malaise, can turn an otherwise poor day into an excellent one. |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 01-09-2007 22:43
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 Member Location: Posts: 9295 Joined: 05.06.06 |
TONY, how it costs the tent you show us here? |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 02-09-2007 02:30
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Member Location: Posts: 661 Joined: 08.02.07 |
jorgemotalmeida wrote: TONY, how it costs the tent you show us here? JORGE: Read the original post After 1 season's use (actually it's still catching a few flies) and catching thousands of insects, mostly hymenoptera, the odd bird and several lepidoptera, there is one major problem. The frame is spring steel and and could be folded/twisted into a compact disc. However after several closing and opening and perhaps doing it incorrectly at least once the frame gets mis-shapen so that it can no longer be closed into a disc. The trap still functions but can be only folded flat which makes it almost impossible to transport; weighs almost nothing but will not fit into a vehicle. I have 2 traps with one set-up permanently in my garden so really no problem. Anyway, the benefit of using such a flight-intercept is seen in the numbers of flies I caught. Surely they must sell some sort of screen tent in Europe - don't you have mosquitoes?  |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 02-09-2007 08:58
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Member Location: Posts: 9295 Joined: 05.06.06 |
not for Canada... but a similar thing for Europe. eheh put the trap on "roof" of the car. No, you don?t have many mosquitos.  But with general spreading of heat, maybe one day we will have much more mosquitos as they spread northwards. There is a theory that very soon we will have malary in Portugal... |
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| Kahis |
Posted on 02-09-2007 10:07
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 Member Location: Posts: 1999 Joined: 02.09.04 |
jorgemotalmeida wrote:No, you don?t have many mosquitos. ... in Portugal. We who live in boreal forests are all too familiar with these bloodsuckers. Kahis |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 02-09-2007 10:43
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Member Location: Posts: 9295 Joined: 05.06.06 |
great, Kahis! eheh Yes, in Portugal there are no almost mosquitos. Even I'm trying to find them! I saw them, but they are rare. |
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| crex |
Posted on 02-09-2007 10:58
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Member Location: Posts: 1996 Joined: 22.05.06 |
Kahis wrote: We who live in boreal forests are all too familiar with these bloodsuckers. Amen to that  |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 02-09-2007 21:40
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Member Location: Posts: 661 Joined: 08.02.07 |
This small trap, 56 cm high, 30 cm square catches many Calliphorids when baited with a small piece of fish (just visible in a vial on table top). Note that the 4 entrance holes (1 at each corner) are only 3 cm high. I 'run' this trap in a shaded corner of the garden. Any similar net design when baited will probably catch all the meat-eating calliphorids in the area. Simple and effective but the fish does smell after a day or two so best to operate not too close to your house/flat. A recent "customer" is HERE Edited by Tony T on 03-09-2007 02:34 |
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| John Bratton |
Posted on 03-09-2007 13:29
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Member Location: Posts: 638 Joined: 17.10.06 |
They sell these as laundry baskets in the "everythings a pound" shops in Britain. I've never tried using mine. I got it as an emergence trap. John |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 03-09-2007 13:44
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Member Location: Posts: 661 Joined: 08.02.07 |
Same here in Canada, only mine was in the "Dollar Store"; we earn less than you Brits but things are so much cheaper here. I bought mine for use as a rearing cage for leps; also served as an assembly-cage for attracting male saturniids to virgin females. |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 05-09-2007 02:37
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Member Location: Posts: 9295 Joined: 05.06.06 |
hmm... interesting. i will take a look for laundry baskets. |
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| conopid |
Posted on 05-09-2007 08:39
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 Member Location: Posts: 1039 Joined: 02.07.04 |
Jorge, If you cannot fnd a laundry basket, let me now and I will get one for you and mail it to you. I have seen them in a local shop.
Nigel Jones, Shrewsbury, United Kingdom |
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