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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.:o

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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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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.

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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:D:D
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:D Other notes might include positioning, effectiveness etc. Slainte Robert

Edit Paul Beuk: I took the liberty to add the Glossary tags to 'Collecting methods' so that one can directly go to the Glossary page. ;)

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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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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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Any company to order it from, or a brand name so people can look for it?

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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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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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TONY, how it costs the tent you show us here?

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JORGE: Read the original post:D
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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not for Canada... but a similar thing for Europe. :D eheh
put the trap on "roof" of the car. :D

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... :o

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... in Portugal.

We who live in boreal forests are all too familiar with these bloodsuckers.

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:D 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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Amen to that B)

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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

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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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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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hmm... interesting. i will take a look for laundry baskets. :)

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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.:)

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very kind of your part! Sure I will let know you. Thank you very much, Nigel!

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From 31 March, Lidl (British cheap supermarket, maybe in other European countries?) is going to be selling what they call a wind shelter for ?9. It looks rather like the shelter at the start of this thread.

And from 3 April they are selling fly nets, ?2: "Helps keep flies and mosquitoes (sic) out of your home". It looks as though they are for covering the windows, but might be adaptable for more useful roles.

These are all in their special offers so will only be available for a few days.

John Bratton

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For Tabanidae,The DR.M.LECLERCQ when it made an inventory covered his wife with a skin of cow!
Very good means of sampling! :D

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See the 1st image in this topic for photo of trap.
A few of the about 200 tabanids trapped yesterday, 20 June 2008, in the "Tent Trap" using my vehicle (bottom right) as the 'bait".
It was actually dangerous to enter the trap; had to go in to select some choice flies; got bitten twice:(

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You need a beekeeper's outfit and a battery powered pooter :D

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You mean I should wear clothes on a hot summer's day:o


24 June 2008, NB, Canada
My new fly trap. Screen tent is 3.5m x 3.5m at base and about 2.5m high. Placed across the width of this 'road' with the opening facing north (view of the road from the trap entrance) it trapped a few Syrphids, Calliphorids, and Tachinids, plus an assortment of other insects including several hundred tabanids. This is an excellent location for tabanids as the 'road' ends in a huge sphagnum bog and tabanids tend to fly down such openings mostly at low level.
A black bear wandered down this 'road' today but fortunately did not reach the tent

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Heavens - you weren't naked were you? !! :o I know Canada has lots of wilderness, but please remember you are a dipterist, and we have standards :p

I must say you make it all look so easy, and you seem to be having a better summer than us in Europe ;)

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Great tent! :)

I wish to have one like that. :)