The first book devoted to the subject of 'Radar Entomology', the technique used to observe the movements of insects, has been co-authored by Alistair Drake of the University of New South Wales, Australia and Don Reynolds of the Natural Resources Institute (NRI), entitled 'Radar Entomology: Observing Insect Flight and Migration'.
Many of the world's most serious insect pests are highly mobile, and knowledge of their movements is an essential requirement for predicting outbreaks and conducting effective pest management.
Radar has been used to observe insect movement for over forty years, but this is the first time a book has been devoted to the technique. The publication, published by CABI, is both a handbook for those employing radar to observe insects, and an account of the contributions of radar-based research to insect behaviour and ecology.
Alistair and Don describe how direct observations of insects in flight, using special purpose 'entomological' radars, have contributed greatly to current understanding of insect migration and foraging.
Radar-based research on foraging strategies, dispersal, bee learning and the movements of beneficial insects, are covered. The essentials of radar theory are also introduced and there are sections on entomological radar design, alternative remote-sensing technologies, and insect echo on weather radars.
This comprehensive work is an essential reference for crop-protection entomologists, aeroecologists, biologists studying animal movement, radar ornithologists and meteorologists, and biometeorologists.