Monitor surveying for migrant insect pests

Effective control of erratic crop pests requires accurate timing of treatments, and the dynamics of insect populations are inadequately understood. Aerial monitoring for many species simultaneously, instead of sampling each crop separately, enables the Rothamsted Insect Survey to provide accurate, quantitative, synoptic information on current levels of pest populations; this gives continuity to local assessment for advisory purposes, and adds a spatial dimension to population dynamics.