Turning Ultraviolet Light Traps On and Off Increases Their Attraction to House Flies (Diptera: Muscidae)

Towards a standardized framework for AI-assisted, image-based monitoring of nocturnal insects

Automated sensors have potential to standardize and expand the monitoring of insects across the globe. As one of the most scalable and fastest developing sensor technologies, we describe a framework for automated, image-based monitoring of nocturnal insects-from sensor development and field deployment to workflows for data processing and publishing. Sensors comprise a light to attract insects, a camera for collecting images and a computer for scheduling, data storage and processing. Metadata is important to describe sampling schedules that balance the capture of relevant ecological information against power and data storage limitations. Large data volumes of images from automated systems necessitate scalable and effective data processing. We describe computer vision approaches for the detection, tracking and classification of insects, including models built from existing aggregations of labelled insect images. Data from automated camera systems necessitate approaches that account for inherent biases. We advocate models that explicitly correct for bias in species occurrence or abundance estimates resulting from the imperfect detection of species or individuals present during sampling occasions. We propose ten priorities towards a step-change in automated monitoring of nocturnal insects, a vital task in the face of rapid biodiversity loss from global threats. This article is part of the theme issue 'Towards a toolkit for global insect biodiversity monitoring'.

A Review of Alternative Controls for House Flies

Simple Summary

People hate house flies, considering them both a nuisance and a health risk. Most fly suppression is based on insecticides, but more creative, environmentally friendly options exist and should be used when applicable. Cleaning up materials that attract flies, especially those producing enticing aromas, is a basic fly control strategy. Similarly, eliminating materials, e.g., animal wastes and garbage, in which maggots can develop is a critical means for reducing future adult populations. Preventing flies from entering buildings is the first line of defense, followed by efficacious methods for catching and killing flies that do manage to gain entry. Flies can be excluded from buildings with properly maintained air curtains, fans, slat doors, mesh screens on windows and doors, and by keeping entry doors closed. Potential fly harborage, e.g., vending machines, racks for newspapers or circulars, ash trays, shrubbery, or other fly resting sites, should not be situated near entry doors. If flies enter, they can be managed with ultraviolet light traps, window traps, window stickers, sticky tubes, sticky ribbons, insecticide sprays, baits, timed-release aerosols, and the classic fly swatter. In urban areas, fly management usually amounts to killing adult flies produced elsewhere faster than they arrive on site.

Abstract

House flies are the most prevalent synanthropic pest worldwide. Although they seldom reproduce in homes, they invade buildings, cause annoyance, and carry pathogens. Urban pest management personnel are limited in their ability to locate and manage larval habitats, so most house fly management in urban settings focuses on adult fly suppression. Sanitation is probably the most critical component, eliminating odors that attract flies. Source reduction applies where larval habitats can be identified and eliminated. Exclusion involves keeping flies out of structures. Despite all efforts, flies will manage to enter the human environment, so exclusion includes air curtains, fans, screened windows, and doors. Ultraviolet light traps attract and immobilize, while window traps entice flies into devices that entrap them. Sticky tubes and ribbons rely on flies’ inclination to land on vertical lines to entangle them in glue. Even low-tech fly swatters can play significant roles in eliminating individual flies. Timed-release aerosol pyrethrin dispensers can be effective against flies confined in enclosed spaces. Toxic baits have limited use in urban settings. Chemical suppression remains a critical component of fly IPM, essential in situations requiring immediate fly elimination.

Improved Light Traps for Early Detection of Insect Pests of Phytosanitary Concern in Shipping Containers

The number of introductions of alien insect has been increasing in the last decades, primarily transported in shipping containers. The attraction of light of different wavelengths (white, infrared, ultraviolet, and red) applied on sticky traps was tested for the development of new traps for hitchhiker insects. The addition of entomological glue and insecticide on the trap was also tested. Tests were conducted on Cadra cautella Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), Drosophila melanogaster Meigen (Diptera: Drosophilidae), Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and released inside a shipping container. In the first test, one light color at a time was tested setting eight traps in the container, one for each possible combination of the variables: light on or off, glue added or not, and insecticide sprayed or not. In the second, five traps were used, all of them coated with the entomological glue: one for each light color and one with light off as control. In all the single color tests (except for infrared), light-on traps captured more, except for T. castaneum that was not attracted to white. In the multi-color test, C. cautella showed no preference among white, ultraviolet, or red; Drosophila melanogaster preferred ultraviolet and white over red; and beetles had a much greater attraction to red. Lastly, the stronger entomological glue improved catches of beetles, whereas insecticides did not. In conclusion, results suggest a possible application of sticky light traps against hitchhiker insects and further studies should verify if the simultaneous use of different light colors can improve the trap performance and does not act as a repellent.

Evaluation of the DynaTrap Flylight (DT-3009) Against House Flies and Stable Flies (Diptera: Muscidae) Under Indoor Conditions

Ultraviolet light traps are commonly used to manage house flies in indoor situations. Many indoor traps are longer than their 46-cm fluorescent tubes and have glue boards to capture attracted flies. Smaller traps have been sold to use in homes and small rooms, but few if any trap evaluations can be found in the literature. One trap, the DynaTrap Flylight DT-3009 (DTFL) has become quite common and a performance evaluation between it and an open-front commercial trap seemed warranted. Evaluations were conducted at the USDA-ARS-CMAVE laboratory in Gainesville, FL. The DTFL and the Gardner GT-200 open-front trap were evaluated individually and then in pairs. Traps were placed approximately 90 cm above the floor at the edge of a 2.4- × 0.76-m wide counter. Traps tested individually were centered on the long axis of the counter. For paired tests, traps were placed approximately 2.1 m apart. Fifty mixed-sex, 3- to 5-d-old house or stable flies were released and counts of captured flies were made after 1, 4, and 24 h. In individual tests, the DTFL and the GT-200 captured 38 and 76% of the house flies, respectively, and 3 and 18% of the stable flies, respectively, after 4 h. At 4 h in paired tests, the DTFL and the GT-200 captured 3 and 66% of the house flies, respectively, and 2 and 16% of the stable flies, respectively. Depending on the intended use, either trap was considered efficacious in capturing house flies when used alone. Differences in trap performance are discussed.