RT Journal Article
T1 Development of a Fixed-Wing Drone System for Aerial Insect Sampling
A1 Mulero-Pázmány, Margarita Cristina
A1 Martínez-de Dios, JR
A1 Popa-Lisseanu, AG
A1 Gray, RJ
A1 Alarcón, FJ
A1 Albo Sánchez-Bedoya, C
A1 Viguria, A
A1 Ibáñez, C
A1 Negro, JJ
A1 Ollero, A
A1 Marrón, PJ
K1 Insectos - Investigación
AB Most current insect research techniques are ground-based and provide scarce information about flying insects in the planetary boundary layer (PBL), which remains a poorly studied ecological niche. To address this gap, we developed a new insect-sampling method consisting of a fixed-wing drone platform with net traps attached to the fuselage, a mobile design that has optimal aerodynamic characteristics for insect capture in the PBL. We tested the proposed device on 16 flights in Doñana National Park (Spain) with two different trap designs fitted on the fuselage nose and wing. We collected 34 insect specimens belonging to four orders with a representation of twelve families at mean altitudes below 23 m above ground level and sampling altitudes between 9 and 365 m. This drone insect-sampling design constitutes a low-cost and low-impact method for insect monitoring in the PBL, especially in combination with other remote sensing technologies that directly quantify aerial insect abundance but do not provide taxonomic information, opening interesting possibilities for ecology and entomological research, with the possibility of transfer to economically important sectors, such as agriculture and health.
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/32713
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/32713
LA eng
NO Mulero-Pázmány, M, Martínez-de Dios, J.R., Popa-Lisseanu, A.G., Gray, R.J.  Alarcón, F., Albo Sánchez-Bedoya, C., Viguria, A., Ibáñez, C., Negro, J. J., Ollero, A. and Marrón, P.J. (2022). Development of a Fixed-Wing Drone System for Aerial Insect Sampling. Drones 6, 8: 189. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones6080189
NO M.M.-P., J.R.M.-d.D., F.A., A.V., J.J.N., A.O. and P.J.M. were funded by Planet Project (European Commission 7th Framework Programme Grant Agreement 257649). Additionally, M.M. -P. was funded by the European Union “NextGenerationEU” (Programa María Zambrano, Ministerio de Universidades, Spain).
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 19 ene 2026