2026-05-30T17:38:48Zhttps://riuma.uma.es/rest/oai/request

oai:riuma.uma.es:10630/327132026-02-03T11:19:31Zcom_10630_2254col_10630_37953

00925njm 22002777a 4500 dc Mulero-Pázmány, Margarita Cristina author Martínez-de Dios, JR author Popa-Lisseanu, AG author Gray, RJ author Alarcón, FJ author Albo Sánchez-Bedoya, C author Viguria, A author Ibáñez, C author Negro, JJ author Ollero, A author Marrón, PJ author 2022 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. 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 https://hdl.handle.net/10630/32713 https://doi.org/10.3390/drones6080189 Insectos - Investigación Development of a Fixed-Wing Drone System for Aerial Insect Sampling