Simultaneous Automated Insect Monitoring Across a Remote Tropical Elevation Gradient With Mothbox

Area of Science:

• Tropical ecology
• Entomology
• Biodiversity monitoring

Background:

• Insect declines are a global concern, yet tropical ecosystems remain understudied due to immense diversity and limited resources.
• Traditional insect monitoring methods are resource-intensive, especially in remote tropical regions.
• Automated, passive insect monitoring devices offer a standardized, scalable, and autonomous alternative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the utility of automated insect monitoring devices for surveying insect diversity across an elevation gradient in a remote tropical location.
• To evaluate the performance of Mothboxes and the Mothbot computer vision system in a real-world expedition.
• To analyze insect diversity patterns, activity, and abundance in relation to elevation.

Main Methods:

• Deployed 19 Mothboxes (automated light traps) across an elevation gradient (119–1534 m) in Cerro Hoya National Park, Panama.
• Processed captured insect images using the Mothbot computer vision system, with manual validation at the order level.
• Sorted Coleoptera (beetles) to morphospecies for detailed taxonomic analysis.

Main Results:

• Detected 64,352 insect occurrences across 17 orders over three days.
• Identified 26 beetle families and 142 beetle species within the Coleoptera.
• Observed decreased species richness and Shannon diversity with increasing elevation, with peak insect activity shortly after sunset.

Conclusions:

• Automated insect monitors are effective tools for large-scale insect diversity assessment in remote tropical areas.
• These devices significantly enhance the capacity of researchers to conduct extensive monitoring with limited teams.
• Automated monitoring complements, rather than replaces, the expertise of entomologists, enabling broader scientific reach.