Low-Cost Live Insect Scouting Drone: iDrone Bee

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Robotics
• Entomology

Background:

• Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely used in civil applications, including precision agriculture for monitoring crop health via remote sensing.
• While UAVs monitor crop stress using multispectral imaging, their application for direct agricultural tasks like insect sampling remains underexplored.
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM) traditionally relies on labor-intensive manual scouting for insect populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a low-cost, open-source drone system, named 'iDrone Bee', for automated live insect collection.
• To provide a practical, mission-oriented tool for the IPM community to enhance efficiency in pest monitoring.
• To reduce the time and human effort required for insect sampling in agricultural fields.

Main Methods:

• Construction of the 'iDrone Bee' using open-source components and detailed instruction procedures.
• Deployment of the iDrone Bee for live insect scouting missions within an agricultural ecosystem.
• Validation of the drone system's efficacy in an alfalfa seed field setting.

Main Results:

• The iDrone Bee system was successfully built and operated according to the provided procedures.
• The drone demonstrated capability in performing live insect scouting missions in a real-world agricultural environment.
• The study validated the potential of drone-based methods for insect scouting.

Conclusions:

• The iDrone Bee presents a viable, cost-effective solution for automated insect sampling in agriculture.
• This drone-based approach can significantly minimize manual labor and time investment for IPM practitioners.
• The developed system shows promise as a valuable tool to support and advance integrated pest management strategies.