Wine
Wine
Posted on Nov 2, 2023
A new ‘Pied Piper’ robot protects Oregon’s vineyards from pests with some good vibes
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Vincent Vaughn-Uding has a brown marmorated stink bug in a cup, and he’s trying to convince it to leave.
“This one’s deciding to be difficult,” he says, gently coaxing it out onto the branch of a holly bush sitting in a vase in the Oregon State University undergraduate’s lab. “In general, bugs are annoying. They’re very finicky.”
Vaughn-Uding needs the stink bug to stay relaxed so it won’t fly away — and so it’s not too freaked out to strike up a conversation with the other stink bug already hanging out in the holly.
“We put a male and a female on a plant and … we hope for the best that they start talking to each other,” he says.
The bugs don’t talk the same way we do, but they do communicate — with vibrations.
The plan is to record the insect communication so farmers can use the sound against insect pests.
Since there was agriculture, there were agricultural pests — and farmers trying to control them. For insects, growers mostly rely on pesticides, which we know can have real consequences for wildlife, people and our environment.
But if Vaughn-Uding’s new insect-mimicking robot is successful, it would provide farmers a targeted way to control pests without the use of toxic chemicals.
“Our big thing,” he says, “is reducing how much pesticides need to get used.”
“This one’s deciding to be difficult,” he says, gently coaxing it out onto the branch of a holly bush sitting in a vase in the Oregon State University undergraduate’s lab. “In general, bugs are annoying. They’re very finicky.”
Vaughn-Uding needs the stink bug to stay relaxed so it won’t fly away — and so it’s not too freaked out to strike up a conversation with the other stink bug already hanging out in the holly.
“We put a male and a female on a plant and … we hope for the best that they start talking to each other,” he says.
The bugs don’t talk the same way we do, but they do communicate — with vibrations.
The plan is to record the insect communication so farmers can use the sound against insect pests.
Since there was agriculture, there were agricultural pests — and farmers trying to control them. For insects, growers mostly rely on pesticides, which we know can have real consequences for wildlife, people and our environment.
But if Vaughn-Uding’s new insect-mimicking robot is successful, it would provide farmers a targeted way to control pests without the use of toxic chemicals.
“Our big thing,” he says, “is reducing how much pesticides need to get used.”
A new ‘Pied Piper’ robot protects Oregon’s vineyards from pests with some good vibes
Posted from opb.org
Science
Robots
Wine
Oregon State University
Posted 7 mo ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Insect conversations
The Pied Piper works by taking advantage of how some insects communicate. Many do this by using chemical signals called pheromones, but others rely heavily on vibrational communication.
“They experience vibration more the way we experience sound,” says Rex Cocroft, who studies insect communication at the University of Missouri. “It’s a very big part of their sensory and social world.”
Cocroft says the vast majority of animal sounds on Earth are the sonic and vibrational songs of insects and spiders.
Humans have evolved to pick up airborne pressure waves, which our brain interprets as sound.
“But once it becomes vibrations traveling through a solid surface, then we have to touch it with our hands to pick it up, or some part of our body. And our senses aren’t really designed to capture a lot of information [that way],” Cocroft says.
But insects use vibrations to communicate many things — where to find food, when predators are around, territory — but the most common use of vibrational communication is to help them find mates.
“It’s all about saving energy. The females must use as little energy as they can so that they can produce as many eggs and many offspring as they can,” says OSU entomologist Vaughn Walton, who leads the Pied Piper project.
Saving energy means being as efficient as possible in finding a mate. Some insects do this by playing an elaborate game of telephone. They vibrate their abdomens and the sound travels through whatever they happen to be standing on.
“The mates will find that signal, they will zone in on them and they will be able to mate,” he says."...
..."Insect conversations
The Pied Piper works by taking advantage of how some insects communicate. Many do this by using chemical signals called pheromones, but others rely heavily on vibrational communication.
“They experience vibration more the way we experience sound,” says Rex Cocroft, who studies insect communication at the University of Missouri. “It’s a very big part of their sensory and social world.”
Cocroft says the vast majority of animal sounds on Earth are the sonic and vibrational songs of insects and spiders.
Humans have evolved to pick up airborne pressure waves, which our brain interprets as sound.
“But once it becomes vibrations traveling through a solid surface, then we have to touch it with our hands to pick it up, or some part of our body. And our senses aren’t really designed to capture a lot of information [that way],” Cocroft says.
But insects use vibrations to communicate many things — where to find food, when predators are around, territory — but the most common use of vibrational communication is to help them find mates.
“It’s all about saving energy. The females must use as little energy as they can so that they can produce as many eggs and many offspring as they can,” says OSU entomologist Vaughn Walton, who leads the Pied Piper project.
Saving energy means being as efficient as possible in finding a mate. Some insects do this by playing an elaborate game of telephone. They vibrate their abdomens and the sound travels through whatever they happen to be standing on.
“The mates will find that signal, they will zone in on them and they will be able to mate,” he says."...
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I think that it is a fascinating approach to pest control! Using robots to coax pests away from vineyards is a creative idea. It's interesting to see the care taken to ensure the stink bugs stay relaxed and open to socializing.
If you're dealing with pests in your area, it might be worth looking into pest control companies. They can offer a range of solutions tailored to your specific pest problems. Check out https://pestcontrolcompanies.net/pest-control-near-me/ to find experts near you.
If you're dealing with pests in your area, it might be worth looking into pest control companies. They can offer a range of solutions tailored to your specific pest problems. Check out https://pestcontrolcompanies.net/pest-control-near-me/ to find experts near you.
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How to find a local pest control company near me? Here are some tips for finding an expert that can take action quickly.
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