Drones and Satellites Working Group
The Drones and Satellites Working Group is part of the World's Best Practices for Orthoptera Management group of researchers and practitioners hosted by the Global Locust Initiative dedicated to progressing best practices for Orthoptera management around the world.
Join the online working group community here by joining the Global Locust Initiative Network, HopperLink, then requesting to join the World's Best Practices for Orthoptera Management working groups by contacting Mira Ries.
Drones are becoming valuable tools for locust and grasshopper monitoring and control. Drones can access areas that are difficult to reach by ground crews and are being tested for use in surveillance for detecting not only changes in vegetation in real time, but also locust bands infesting areas of suitable vegetation. Bands have recently been detected using satellites and show promise as an additional aid for surveillance of both vegetation and bands on a larger scale.
In China and Mexico, drones have been used for targeted spraying of infestations, especially when locusts are roosting in trees at very high densities. While the limited payload is seen as a limitation, especially with sprays mixed with water, the use of ULV spraying can overcome this. The fact that drones can detect bands shows promise for using drones to spot bands and spray them, though operational aspects still need to be worked out.
More information on drones and satellites is available here.
