In which I encounter a Privet hawk-moth

I had my moth trap out overnight yesterday.  Not the best conditions, a bit cool, blustery and, judging by the ground, some overnight rain.  Needless to say I ended up with only two moths in the trap, a Shuttle-shaped Dart, and a Heart and Dart.

Shuttle-shaped Dart

Heart and Dart

Neither spectacular and two I'd photographed before.  Another early morning with minimal results.  There's been a few of those recently as the weather's been a tad unkind.

Then yesterday evening I went out to water the plants and sitting on my hosepipe was a Privet Hawk-moth, Sphinx ligustri, a relatively common hawk-moth but one I'd never seen or photographed before.  Watering could wait.

Out came my normal moth photography kit of OM-1, Olympus 60mm macro, and STF-8 twin flash, set to Manual exposure, 1/250 sec, and f8.  The moth was very amenable to being moved around and posed (I use a feather to avoid any chance of accidental damage) and I got a few decent shots with the usual limitations of not quite enough depth of field.

Sphinx ligustri

But the evening sun was shining so I decided to try some hand held focus stacking while I still had an amenable subject.  The intention was to get some shots from different angles and still have most of the subject in focus.  The soft evening light brought out the colour of this beautiful moth and, with the greater light intensity, allowed me to use the twin flash for fill in without the usual problem of not enough power to sustain continuous flashes in a focus stack.  

I think it worked.

The moth was then released unharmed into the shelter of one of my palm trees

Moth Trapping

Maria was kind enough to buy me a Moth trap recently.  It's a simple UV light over a white canvas box that I can run overnight in the garden.  The moths are attracted to the light and hide in the box, tucked away in egg boxes till morning.  Come the dawn I close the trap down, have some breakfast and then investigate the contents (if any).

Obviously my main objective is to photograph any moths that are lured to the light.  Many settle on the white canvas of the trap or on a white backdrop behind the light box and can be photographed in situ.  Fine for record keeping but hardly creative, the weave of the canvas or backdrop failing to add anything to the image, no matter how beautiful the moth.  For example, this shot of a Jersey Tiger, Euplagia quadripunctaria, doesn't do the moth justice.

Better to display the moths in a more attractive, natural looking setting.  

Fortunately many moths are torpid in the morning after the trap is opened.  Although some do immediately fly away many others can be coaxed onto a finger or a suitable twig and then moved onto a more photogenic environment.  This Buff Ermine, Spilosoma luteum, happily sat on my finger and could then be transferred onto some dead tree fern fronds for photography.

Sometimes the transfer is to a leaf or leaves, as with this Poplar Hawk Moth, Laothoe populi...

...or onto a twig, as with this male Four-spotted Footman, Lithosia quadra.

The objective is always to produce an uncluttered shot with a natural looking background ro set off the moth. One complication is that I'm shooting with my STF-8 twin macro flash and the Olympus 60mm macro so the light fall off behind the subject is fairly swift.  Hence I use a pale green background, which darkens a little with the light fall off to produce a pleasing neutral background for many shots.

I've even set up a little studio scene for outdoor use which gives me a number of scenic options.  It's only a couple of branches and some interesting stones housed in a small planter with the backdrop behind but the results are looking good.

Here's a Knot Grass moth, Acronicta rumicis on one of the branches...

...while a Square-spot Rustic, Xestia xanthographa, sits happily on another...

...and a Black Arches, Lymantria monacha, perches happily on the stone.

I've only managed a few trapping sessions so far and am limited to shooting only in my Plymouth garden, restricting the range of species that are likely to be attracted to the trap, but already it's proving very satisfying in photographic terms and it gives me an idea of what's around.  Different moths have different flight times so it will be fascinating to see the range as the seasons roll around.

A final word.  All shooting was outdoors and all moths were released unharmed into thick vegetation after shooting.  None were additionally cooled or stunned.  They could - many did - fly away before I got the chance to shoot them but that's all part of the requirements for ensuring their ethical treatment.