New Surface Electrical Charge Detection System for Ecology and Insect Monitoring

Although insects are the most varied class of creatures on the planet, research on them has always been challenging due to their tiny size and variety. The ecology and monitoring of insects might be completely changed by recent technology advancements. Electric fields have an increasingly important part in environmental phenomena, showing up everywhere in the ecosystem (in storms and lightning, electrogenic fish, flying insects during pollination, etc.). Therefore, monitoring local or large-scale environmental charge distribution can provide information on how electric fields influence natural phenomena. This paper presents the implementation of a surface electric charge detection system for monitoring ecology and insects. The system finds application as more and more scientific evidence correlates variations in electrical charge with environmental phenomena (bee pollination, meteorological activity, seismic activity, animal behaviour, etc.). The system consists of stainless-steel plates, specifically: one is positioned at the bottom of the structure (grounding), one is the upper electrode (charge detector), and a cabinet is positioned inside the chamber. The system was compared with other technologies in the literature, and the advantages, current limitations, and future potential were evaluated. The proposed research work constitutes the first stage in the development of further research steps involving the integration of the system developed with dedicated sensors in order to study both the interaction between surface electrical charges and the variation in ambient temperature and humidity, and the repercussions these have on insects.