A FLASHLIGHT TRAP

Extract

A toy called “Star Beam” (Burgess Batteries, Freeport, Ill. 61032, U.S.A.) is made of 145 cm long, 3 cm diam., transluscent, polyethylene tube illuminated by a battery-operated flashlight with a 2.5 watt bulb and two D cells (Fig. 1). The Star Beams were adapted for use as insect light traps by covering the tubes with a thin coating of Stikem Special® clear adhesive (Michel and Pelton Co., 5743 Landregan St., Emeryville, CA 94608, U.S.A.), spread with the thumb and the index finger. When hung at night in the crowns and fronds of coconut palms in Jamaica, West Indies, these traps attracted insects which were caught in the adhesive. After picking off the desired insect specimens with a brush or a small spatula, the adhesive was wiped off the tube by moving the black basal collar (see Fig. 1) to the tip of the tube and back. New adhesive could then be applied again. The plastic flashlights, including the reflectors, had to be replaced after several nightly 4-h trappings due to damage caused by humidity, condensation, and oxidation of the metal parts.