This is the third edition of a handbook which updates the second (2001) edition, many of the photographs are now in colour.
The first sections of this handbook deal briefly with the history of light traps, the types of light source which have been found to be particularly effective in light traps and the wavelengths of the light which they produce. The next section explains in detail the main designs of light trap which are commercially available in the UK, together with suggestions for building or adapting your own traps.
The later sections concentrate on the use of light traps in the field, comparing the merits of the different designs in terms of catch size, portability and versatility. An increasingly important use of light traps is for biological surveys and conservation monitoring. Three appendices (of which there are six) cover:
- The design of a new lightweight folding trap
- Hints and tips on both the design and operation of light traps
- Approaches to standardising catch data across different traps for population monitoring purposes