Maybe folks have discussed this before? But does anyone have an "optimal" material for moth lighting?
My guess is the best material would be something with high reflectivity and good grippiness for tiny insect feet (but not too grippy!). Most folks have just said "white cotton sheet"
but would some kind of fancy industrial material with high reflectance be even better?
Like we wouldn't need retro-reflective materials (so not the silver bands that reflect back car lights and such)
but would like super fluorescent high-visibility cotton fabric be better than just a normal white piece of cloth?
(again this is one of those chicken-and-egg problems where once we have really good usuable moth detectors, they can be used to compare effectiveness of different lights or fabrics against each other ahahah)
9 September 2023 5:22am
Plasticy substances like polyester can be slippery, so I imagine that's why cotton is most often used. White is good for color correction, while still reflecting light pretty well. When I've had the option I've chosen high thread count cotton sheets, so the background is smoothest and even the tiniest arthropods are on a flat background, not within contours of threads. Main problem with cotton is mildew and discoloration.
That being said, I haven't actually done proper tests with different materials. Maybe a little side project once standardized light traps are a thing?
Hubert Szczygiel