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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Insect Behavior and Biocontrol Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #265453
Title: Acoustic Monitoring of Insects

Author
item Mankin, Richard
item Hagstrum, David

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/5/2011
Publication Date: 12/1/2011
Citation: Mankin, R.W., Hagstrum, D.W. 2011. Acoustic monitoring of insects. In: Hagstrum, D.W., Phillips, T.W., Cuperus,G., editors. Stored Product Production. Manhattan, Kansas: Kansas State University Press. p. 1-7.

Interpretive Summary: Scientists at the USDA ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, FL, and the USDA ARS Grain Marketing and Production Research Center, Manhattan, KS, have developed acoustic methods to detect hidden infestations of insects in stored grain and stored products. This chapter describes the equipment, how it is used as a tool for integrated pest management, and how its costs and benefits compare with other detection methods.

Technical Abstract: Farmers, grain elevator managers, and food processors often sample grain for insect damaged kernels and numbers of live adult insects but these easily obtained measurements of insect levels do not provide reliable estimates of the typically much larger populations of internally feeding immature insects. Scientists at the USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, Florida, argue that if stored products were transparent, sampling of this much larger immature population could enable better estimates of total population levels, earlier detection of internal insect infestations, and improved forecasting of when to aerate, fumigate, or sell for optimum profitability. Retail store managers could better focus on where and when to conduct sanitation efforts and remove infested stock or spillage. Used carefully, acoustic devices provide a measure of “transparency” and enhance inspection of many stored products that otherwise could not be monitored inexpensively without destructive sampling. In addition, acoustic methods can be adapted for automated, continuous monitoring, increasing the likelihood of detecting infestations before they cause economic damage. Such capability can be of benefit to pest managers, regulators, and researchers. New acoustic devices and signal processing methods have been developed in the last few years that greatly increase the reliability and efficacy of insect pest detection.