Development of a new insect pest control device using noncontact force generated by ultrasonic transducers

To develop a new pest control device for greenhouses, we verified the effect of the noncontact force generated by ultrasonic transducers on two small insect pests: the sweet potato whitefly Bemisia tabaci Gennadius and the cotton aphid Aphis gossypii Glover. First, we examined their dispersion behavior in response to the device, and the dispersion rate of whiteflies from leaves was approximately 60% for the 60 s treatment with a modulation frequency of 1–240 Hz, which was comparable to that under the air blowing treatment of 5.0 m/s. In contrast, the dispersion rate of aphids from leaves was at most 25% for the 60 s treatment. Next, the flight behavior of whiteflies under 30 s of vibration treatment was analyzed; 40–70% of individuals flew within 5 s, and an average of 86% of dispersed adults flew downward. Moreover, we determined the suppression of whitefly fecundity by the device, and the number of eggs laid over 2 days was significantly decreased by 4 h/days treatment. These results suggest that this device also suppresses the fecundity of whiteflies. This device would be applicable for insect pest management following further studies on the optimization of treatments and the efficient collection of dispersed insects.