Evaluation of an inexpensive instrument to detect insects using multiple sound, vibration, and LED sensors

Instruments have been available for many years to detect insects using sound, vibration, or LED sensors separately. Most of these instruments are relatively expensive. An instrument was evaluated that incorporates all three types of sensors to improve the reliability of distinguishing different species. The sensors were connected to a single, inexpensive, custom amplifier card. The amplified signals were sent to the USB port of a computer and analyzed using readily available signal collection and processing software (SignalExpress, National Instruments, Austin, TX; Raven, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY; WEKA, Univ. of Waikato, Hamilton, NZ). Tests were performed in a small arena in which Cimex lectularius, Blattella germanica, Tribolium castaneum, and Sitophilus oryzae were placed individually and allowed to roam freely. The insects could be distinguished readily on the basis of distinctive signal features.