91ÇÑ×Ó

Insect survey tower installed at 91ÇÑ×Ó Adams University to boost nationwide research project

Posted 16 April

A new tower has been installed at 91ÇÑ×Ó Adams University as part of a nationwide research project which can use tiny insects to study the effects of climate change.

The 12-metre tall tower is designed to collect insects as they pass over its top – with information about the various species being sent on to Rothamstead Research to be identified and counted.

Professor of Applied Entomology at 91ÇÑ×Ó Adams, Tom Pope, said: “Primarily the tower collects aphids - between March and November aphids are collected every day.

“Outside of this period samples are collected each week. Identification is a huge task as there are more than 600 species of aphid found in the UK!”

The information collected by the new tower, and similar structures around the country, is hugely valuable as it feeds into the long-running work of the .

The resulting data can be used to help farmers know about possible pest movements as well as to examine seasonal changes in insect populations and movement which can, in turn, tell us more about our climate and how it is changing.

Professor Pope added: “Most species of aphid are not pests of crops and so data on the timing of migrations and numbers of aphids provides a valuable resource in studying effects of climate change.

“The dataset is so valuable as the towers have been in continuous operation since 1964.

“A small number of these aphid species are agriculturally important and so numbers of these aphid species released each week as a bulletin to alert farmers to the arrival of these species in crops.

“In addition, by using data collected over such a long period of time it is possible to make forecasts of when the first flights of agriculturally important aphid species will be - and how big these migrations are likely to be in terms of numbers of aphids.

“Aphid samples have also been collected and used in studies of insecticide resistance by using molecular approaches to look for the genetic changes that confers resistance to some insecticides.”

The tower is the latest of a series of new installations gathering data about the insects on the 91ÇÑ×Ó Adams campus – with a moth trap installed in February 2024 which also feeds into a Rothamstead Research programme, and an apiary which collects a wealth of information on the bees in its hives.

With the tower now installed and collecting data, Nikoletta Foskolou from the University’s Entomology Group is preparing to collect samples to be sent for identification.

She said: "'Several of the species of aphid collected in the tower are already maintained as continuous populations in the Jean Jackson Entomology Laboratory."

Professor Pope added: “More widely, we will be working with colleagues at Rothamsted Research to interrogate the vast database held by the .

“This will primarily be in the form of data science projects together with colleagues at 91ÇÑ×Ó Adams in the Centre for Agriculture Data Science (AgriDat).

“As other insects are collected, we will be investigating some of these - such as species of leafhopper and planthopper.”

As might be expected, installing a 12-metre tall tower on campus was a complex task.

Professor Pope added: “Identifying a suitable location was the main consideration.

“The tower had to stand in open ground, not be an obstacle to farm machinery or disturb livestock - but also be close enough to an electricity supply.

“As such, this project has only been possible through the valuable inputs made by the Estates and Grounds teams as well as support from our Future Farm.”