How to make moth wine ropes

A simple project for close encounters with your local moths.

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Sarah McPherson

Published: July 29, 2015 at 6:37 am

Illustrations by Alan Batley

Mix 1kg of sugar with a bottle of (cheap!) red wine in a saucepan to make a sweet mixture.

Heat the liquid until all of the sugar has dissolved, then leave it to cool down.

Cut metre-long strips of cotton cloth or rope and thoroughly soak them in the mixture.

Hang the strips over branches. Leave and check after dark with a torch for moth visitors.

Sarah McPherson

Features editor, BBC Wildlife Magazine

Sarah is features editor for BBC Wildlife Magazine. She has been on the title for more than a decade, and in previous lives has also been the magazine’s section editor, acting deputy editor and production editor. Sarah commissions scientists, writers and photographers from across the globe, and has worked with some of the world’s most renowned wildlife experts. She also regularly writes features - on topics ranging from birding in Colombia to the plight of wildlife rangers - and other content for both the magazine and the website.

Illustrations by Alan Batley

How to make moth wine ropes

Mix 1kg of sugar with a bottle of (cheap!) red wine in a saucepan to make a sweet mixture.

Heat the liquid until all of the sugar has dissolved, then leave it to cool down.

Cut metre-long strips of cotton cloth or rope and thoroughly soak them in the mixture.

Hang the strips over branches. Leave and check after dark with a torch for moth visitors.

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