MSc student The University of British Columbia Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
While many insect populations are currently declining precipitously, some invasive pests (such as Drosophila suzukii) are expanding their reach. Understanding these changing dynamics is crucial to conservation and agriculture. Historically, methods for sampling insect population dynamics at high temporal frequency have been lacking. Technology that allies with expert knowledge to automate identification allows sampling to be conducted at higher frequency and scale than previously possible. We developed Sticky Pi, a new smart trap that photographs a sticky card three times hourly, automatically identifies insects, and aggregates this information in a central database. We show that our device can provide insight into the chronobiology of D. suzukii. Circadian rhythms affect many aspects of both plant and insect physiology. Understanding these rhythms is fundamental to sustainable human interaction with landscapes: for example, chronobiology can optimise pest biocontrol by ensuring natural enemy communities are active at the right time of day. The long-term goal of Sticky Pi is an open-access realtime model of when, where, and which insects are active, under what environmental conditions. This would alert researchers, growers, and other community members to which insects they should expect. This insight will only grow more valuable as anthropogenic climate change progresses.
