A Flight Tracker…For Fruit Flies

Tephritidae fruit flies are a major problem for American farmers. They have an insatiable hunger for succulent fruits and vegetables, and they can easily fly or be carried by wind to their next feeding destination. The key to managing these pests is to understand their flying behaviors. Researchers from ARS’s Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Hilo, HI, are using harmonic radar tagging, initially developed for locating avalanche victims, to study the flying patterns of these pests. 

The method uses reflector tags that require no energy source of their own to bounce a signal back to a transceiver to map movement data. Though attaching harmonic radar tags to the fruit flies requires painstaking precision, the mechanism is relatively simplistic: a superelastic 4-centimeter wire is connected to a diode, or one-way current semi-conductor, with an ultraviolet-activated adhesive. Next, electrical connections between the wires and diode contacts are secured with conductive silver paint. Check out the radar tags in this video. With the ability to follow the flight patterns of this destructive pest, researchers can help farmers improve fruit fly management strategies; identify outbreak sources; and anticipate their movement, feeding, and mating patterns. Read more here.