Drones fly increasingly faster, farther and over longer periods of time and perform a broader range of tasks in the process. Now they are faced with a tiny problem that often leads to enormous damage: plant-destroying controls.
Drones at the heart of the pest control solution per case
The use of drones to control these pests has heretofore been limited to their cheaper and more efficient performance in spraying plants with insecticides. But now, new studies by agricultural researchers have found other ways to use aircraft against insects that threaten fields, ecosystems, and public health. The studies are included in the Journal of Economic Entomology’s Special Collection: Drones to Improve Pest Insect Management.
The cases range from fundamental perspectives – such as the analysis and perfecting of drone capacities in order to detect pests or to administer deterrent substances – to precise application scenarios that evaluate the potential and challenges of the craft in combating insect infestation.
Not only do they reflect the rapidly evolving diversity and effectiveness of drones and the technology they use, says Nathan Moses-Gonzales, CEO of M3 Agriculture Technologies, who helped put together the research collection. They are also due to the fact that unmanned aerial systems (UAS) manufacturers are more easily partnering with experts from a wide range of disciplines – including entomology – to produce drones with a broader and more precise scope.
“Ten years ago, not much happened in space when entomologists started using UAS for pest control,” he explains. “The development of UAS technology in entomology was fascinating to watch … Our special collection speaks for the uniqueness of these partnerships and shows the crucial role that entomologists play in turning concepts into reality through method development and field tests.”
Case studies in the series include identifying and testing stagnant water in which mosquitoes lay their larvae and improving the effectiveness of insecticides by accurately attacking both these eggs and adult insects. They are also investigating the use of drones to drop pheromones on lingonberry beds to disrupt the pairing of fruit worms and blackhead fire worms; Sterilizing Mexican fruit flies and codling moths to suppress the population; and photographic surveying of winter treetops to observe cocoons of the moth Monema flavescens.
It also takes on a quasi-military tone when it comes to investigating the delivery and release of “predatory and parasitoid insects in combat,” the European corn borer and the eastern spruce budworm.
Moses-Gonzales says the series will not only provide insight into how to control these specific pests, it is also designed to inspire new types of drone applications to deter all types of destructive insects.
“(We) e hope that the Journal of Economic Entomology will serve as a venue that not only supports rigorous research,” he says, “but also details the development of new and novel tools for use in pest control.”
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