Adapt. Advance. Transform: Automated traps for pest monitoring

Integrated pest management (IPM) programs are based on several steps among which pest monitoring and identification. In Quebec, since the beginning of the 1980’s, the Pest Monitoring Network is well established and relies on many people across the province to monitor several pests per year. Many of them are monitored using traps with lures. In general, the traps are weekly checked to determine the number of insects caught in the traps. Sometimes, insect identification must be confirmed. Then, the Pest Monitoring Network produces and publishes weekly reports about the evolution of pest populations during the growing season to inform agronomists and producers about the risks. In the last decade, several companies have developed a new generation of traps combining different technologies. These traps could take pictures or count the number of insects that enter in the traps. They are connected and send the data on web applications, one or several times per day. Artificial intelligence also helps to automatically identify the insects. Since 2017, we tested different kind of traps. The pandemic of COVID-19 forced the Pest Monitoring Network to adapt. Travels were limited and automated traps represented a good option to reduce the number of in-person visits in the fields. Using automated traps advances and transforms the way insect pests are monitored.