New remote device for early detection and population monitoring of lepidopteran species

Dr. Fernando Pinacho Crisóstomo /University of La Laguna, Founder of Ecobertura (Tenerife, Spain)

There is an estimation of approximately 160.000 insect species belonging to lepidopteran order. Some species can cause important economic losses in several types of crops, to mention few of them, the codling moth (Cydia pomonella) and diamond back moth (Plutella xylostella) cause significant damages at worldwide level on apple orchards and cruciferous vegetables respectively. Recently, the fall armyworm (FAW-Spodoptera frugiperda) has been detected in the African continent and according to an article of CABI, in Kenia the FAW can cause annual production losses between US$159-177 millions. In the integrated pest management approach, pheromones traps are useful tools to detect and quantify the presence of a specific pest and help the decision make about a potential crop treatment. However, the conventional delta traps loaded with sticky papers demand constant maintenance which consume time and human resources. Although new devices based on IoT (internet of things) have been developed to address this problem, the maintenance is still an important issue. In our lecture we will present a new device designed to improve the monitoring and maintenance time.