Dual-headed design for flight direction studies

The ez-Migration trap—a two-headed Malaise trap—is a modular field-sampling tool that intercepts insects on both sides of a vertical barrier and directs them into separate bottles.  This design reduces orientation bias and supports studies of insect migration and local dispersal movements.

Detailed Description

Classical Malaise traps often show directional bias, with heads filling unevenly depending on sun position, prevailing wind, or insect flight path.  By placing a head at each end, the ez-Migration trap minimizes this effect and keeps samples from opposite flight directions separate, yielding more precise data on movement patterns.

Assembly mirrors that of the ez-Malaise trap: shock-corded poles connect in minutes, clips attach the fabric, and two guy ropes provide stability in open landscapes.  Its portability makes it suitable for both long-term monitoring and quick surveys.

Functional Advantages

• Dual collection heads: Capture insects from both sides for directional analysis.
• Reduced orientation bias: Mitigates variation caused by sun position, wind direction, or insect flight path.
• Modular system: Allows individual components to be replaced without swapping the whole trap.
• Quick assembly: Shock-corded poles and clip attachments allow for rapid field setup.
• Portable structure: Almost freestanding; stabilized with only two guy ropes in open landscapes.

Pack Contents

• 1 × Fabric Trap Body
• 2 × Shock-corded Poles (L459 cm)
• 2 × Collection Heads (pre-installed)
• 6 × Collection Bottles (2 pre-installed)
• 10 × Guy Ropes
• 10 × Plastic X-Stakes
• 8 × Alloy Pin Stakes
• 1 × Carrying Bag

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Related Literature from the Past 10 Years

• The Hemiptera (Insecta) of Canada: Constructing a Reference Library of DNA Barcodes.  Gwiazdowski et al. (2015).  PLoS One, 10(4), e0125635.
• DNA barcoding in diverse educational settings: five case studies.  Henter et al. (2016).  Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, 371(1702), 20150340.
• The School Malaise Trap Program: coupling educational outreach with scientific discovery.  Steinke et al. (2017).  PLoS Biology, 15(4), e2001829.
• Arthropods in modern resins reveal if amber accurately recorded forest arthropod communities.  Solórzano Kraemer et al. (2018).  PNAS, 115(26), 6739–6744.
• Expedited assessment of terrestrial arthropod diversity by coupling Malaise traps with DNA barcoding.  deWaard et al. (2019).  Genome, 62(3), 85–95.
• Using DNA-barcoded Malaise trap samples to measure impact of a geothermal energy project on biodiversity.  Janzen et al. (2020).  Genome, 63(9), 407–436.
• A Review of Terrestrial and Canopy Malaise Traps.  Michael et al. (2021).  Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am., 114(1), 27–47.
• Peering into the Darkness: DNA Barcoding Reveals High Diversity of Unknown Diptera in Germany.  Chimeno et al. (2022).  Insects, 13(1), 82.
• Optimizing insect metabarcoding using replicated mock communities.  Iwaszkiewicz-Eggebrecht et al. (2023).  Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 14(4), 1130–1146.
• Global arthropod beta-diversity is structured by latitude in space and time.  Seymour et al. (2024).  Communications Biology, 7(1), 552.