Thesis subject

Hearing and escape of pest moth species to improve bio-inspired pest control solutions

This project aims to understand both the hearing and the mechanisms behind in-flight escape behaviour of pest moths in greenhouses caused by auditory cues which are similair to their natural predators like bats.

Together with various parties from Wageningen University & TU Delft and the industrial partner PATS Indoor Drones Solutions, We want to use the results from our experiments to improve the effectiveness of drone-based pest control in greenhouses and increase our understanding of how ultrasound can be used as a sustainable method to reduce moth populations in greenhouses. With this collaboration, we aim to use fundamental knowledge from our research directly into an applied greenhouse environment to reduce the need for pesticides and improve current and new bio-inspired solutions.

Currently we have two projects running on this subject:

  1. How to create and validate a setup at EZO for auditory experiments on moth hearing? During this project you will learn all about using lasers, speakers and microphones! (Bachelor or Master Thesis at EZO)
  2. How to determine behavioral trends in moth escape flight in greenhouses after being scared by ultrasound? During this project you will be capturing and analyzing thousands of tracks from scared flying moths in greenhouses collected in actual greenhouses in the West side of the Netherlands and improving the current speaker setups! (Internship at startup PATS indoor drones solutions in Delft)

So are you inspired and thrilled to work together with biologists and engineers alike to create greener and more technological advanced solutions in greenhouses?

Skills you will be using/learning are:

  • Experimental design
  • Insect behaviour
  • Working with live animals
  • 3D high speed video techniques
  • Programming
  • Statistics

Apply for this thesis or internship subject by contacting ezo.thesis@wur.nl or dayo.jansen@wur.nl.