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      An Innovative Harmonic Radar to Track Flying Insects: the Case of Vespa velutina

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          Abstract

          Over the last 30 years, harmonic radars have been effective only in tracking insects flying at low altitude and over flat terrain. We developed an innovative harmonic radar, implementing the most advanced radar techniques, which covers a large field of view in elevation (with an angular aperture of about 24°) and can track insects up to a range of 500 m. We show all the components of this new harmonic radar and its first application, the tracking of Vespa velutina (yellow-legged Asian hornet). This is an invasive species which, although indigenous to South-East Asia, is spreading quickly to other regions of the world. Because of its fast diffusion and the serious threat it poses to both honeybee colonies and to humans, control measures are mandatory. When equipped with a small passive transponder, this radar system can track the flight trajectory of insects and locate nests to be destroyed. This tool has potential not only for monitoring V. velutina but also for tracking other larger insects and small size vertebrates.

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          Most cited references36

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          A landscape-scale study of bumble bee foraging range and constancy, using harmonic radar

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            Ecological effects and management of invasive alien Vespidae

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              Recent insights from radar studies of insect flight.

              Radar has been used to study insects in flight for over 40 years and has helped to establish the ubiquity of several migration phenomena: dawn, morning, and dusk takeoffs; approximate downwind transport; concentration at wind convergences; layers in stable nighttime atmospheres; and nocturnal common orientation. Two novel radar designs introduced in the late 1990s have significantly enhanced observing capabilities. Radar-based research now encompasses foraging as well as migration and is increasingly focused on flight behavior and the environmental cues influencing it. Migrant moths have been shown to employ sophisticated orientation and height-selection strategies that maximize displacements in seasonally appropriate directions; they appear to have an internal compass and to respond to turbulence features in the airflow. Tracks of foraging insects demonstrate compensation for wind drift and use of optimal search paths to locate resources. Further improvements to observing capabilities, and employment in operational as well as research roles, appear feasible.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                daniele.milanesio@polito.it
                Journal
                Sci Rep
                Sci Rep
                Scientific Reports
                Nature Publishing Group UK (London )
                2045-2322
                19 August 2019
                19 August 2019
                2019
                : 9
                : 11964
                Affiliations
                [1 ]ISNI 0000 0004 1937 0343, GRID grid.4800.c, Dipartimento di Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni, , Politecnico di Torino, ; Torino, Italy
                [2 ]ISNI 0000 0001 2336 6580, GRID grid.7605.4, Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, , Università degli Studi di Torino, ; Torino, Italy
                Author information
                http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5114-7235
                Article
                48511
                10.1038/s41598-019-48511-8
                6700122
                30626917
                10cf6308-5638-453e-ba97-e2e88b247e88
                © The Author(s) 2019

                Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

                History
                : 24 September 2018
                : 7 August 2019
                Funding
                Funded by: FundRef https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000780, European Commission (EC);
                Award ID: LIFE14/NAT/IT/001128 STOPVESPA
                Award ID: LIFE14/NAT/IT/001128 STOPVESPA
                Award ID: LIFE14/NAT/IT/001128 STOPVESPA
                Award ID: LIFE14/NAT/IT/001128 STOPVESPA
                Award Recipient :
                Categories
                Article
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                © The Author(s) 2019

                Uncategorized
                ecosystem ecology,invasive species
                Uncategorized
                ecosystem ecology, invasive species

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