How High Altitude Pest Lights Combat the Destructive Fall Armyworms

The fall armyworm, also known as the autumn armyworm, is an agricultural pest native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. The adult has a wingspan of 32 - 40 mm. The forewings are gray to dark brown, and the hindwings are white with a narrow brown band along the edge. The larvae have variable body colors, such as green and brown. The body surface has many longitudinal stripes, and there is a distinct inverted "Y"-shaped pattern on the head.

This pest is extremely harmful. It is a polyphagous pest and can damage more than 80 species of plants, especially causing great harm to food crops such as corn, rice, and wheat. According to statistics, in severely infested years, it can lead to a 20%-70% reduction in corn yields, and even complete crop failure. Its reproductive capacity is astonishing. A single female moth can lay 1000 - 2000 eggs in her lifetime, and the hatching rate is high. Under suitable conditions, the population can increase several times within a month. At the same time, the fall armyworm has a strong migratory ability. It can fly more than 100 kilometers in one night and can quickly spread to new areas, posing a great challenge to agricultural production.

High altitude pest lights trap the adult fall armyworms by taking advantage of their phototaxis. It is usually installed at a relatively high position and can emit light sources of specific wavelengths, generally ultraviolet light around 365 nm. This wavelength is very attractive to the adult fall armyworms. At night, the adults will be attracted by the light and fly towards the High altitude pest lights.

When the adult fall armyworms approach the light, they will be instantly killed by the high-voltage power grid and then fall into the collection device. The collection device will regularly classify and collect the captured pests, which is convenient for the staff to count the number of pests and their occurrence patterns. By analyzing the number of captured pests at different time periods, plant protection personnel can accurately master the migration time and occurrence density of the fall armyworm in the local area.