Mothbox

The Mothbox is a low cost ($400), compact device for doing automated nocturnal insect monitoring. It aims to replicate the Moth-Lighting process scientists do when they hang large UV lamps next to sheets and photograph the visiting insects throughout the night. It shines a bright UV attracting light near a flat target and then acquires high resolution photos of the visiting insects. The project was started by Andrew Quitmeyer, Hubert Szczgiel, Phoebe Zarnetske, and Yash Sondhi. There are several other automated insect monitoring devices also in development in the world with costs ranging from $100 to $10,000 of varying sizes and image quality. This device aims to fill a niche for high quality images in a durable, portable design, with minimal cost or exotic parts. It’s also 100% open source.