Group curators
Tom August
- @tom_august
- | he/him
Alba Gomez Segura
Autonomous camera traps for insects provide a tool for long-term remote monitoring of insects. These systems bring together cameras, computer vision, and autonomous infrastructure such as solar panels, mini computers, and data telemetry to collect images of insects.
With increasing recognition of the importance of insects as the dominant component of almost all ecosystems, there are growing concerns that insect biodiversity has declined globally, with serious consequences for the ecosystem services on which we all depend.
Automated camera traps for insects offer one of the best practical and cost-effective solutions for more standardised monitoring of insects across the globe. However, to realise this we need interdisciplinary teams who can work together to develop the hardware systems, AI components, metadata standards, data analysis, and much more.
This WILDLABS group has been set up by people from around the world who have individually been tackling parts of this challenge and who believe we can do more by working together.
We hope you will become part of this group where we share our knowledge and expertise to advance this technology.
Check out Tom's Variety Hour talk for an introduction to this group.
Learn about Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects by checking out recordings of our webinar series:
- Hardware design of camera traps for moth monitoring
- Assessing the effectiveness of these autonomous systems in real-world settings, and comparing results with traditional monitoring methods
- Designing machine learning tools to process camera trap data automatically
- Developing automated camera systems for monitoring pollinators
- India-focused projects on insect monitoring
Meet the rest of the group and introduce yourself on our welcome thread - https://www.wildlabs.net/discussion/welcome-autonomous-camera-traps-insects-group
Group curators
- @tom_august
- | he/him
Computational ecologist with interests in computer vision, citizen science, open science, drones, acoustics, data viz, software engineering, public engagement
- 8 Resources
- 54 Discussions
- 5 Groups
- 9 Resources
- 2 Discussions
- 9 Groups
No showcases have been added to this group yet.
WILDLABS & Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
I'm the Bioacoustics Research Analyst at WILDLABS. I'm a marine biologist with particular interest in the acoustics behavior of cetaceans. I'm also a backend web developer, hoping to use technology to improve wildlife conservation efforts.
- 41 Resources
- 38 Discussions
- 33 Groups
University of Exeter
AI and Electronic Engineer interested in insect monitoring and conservation technology. PhD student at the University of Exeter!
- 0 Resources
- 3 Discussions
- 4 Groups
- @TaliaSpeaker
- | She/her
WILDLABS & World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
I'm the Executive Manager of WILDLABS at WWF
- 23 Resources
- 64 Discussions
- 31 Groups
- @HRees
- | Him/His
WILDLABS & Fauna & Flora
WILDLABS - Programme Development Manager, keen interest in bats, hyenas and tech!
- 15 Resources
- 14 Discussions
- 6 Groups
- @gmurray
- | She/her
I am a staff scientist for the Appalachian Mountain Club interested in alpine plant phenology and climate change, and more recently pollinators in alpine areas of the Northeast.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 1 Groups
- @theindieg
- | he/him
Running a small electronic engineering company focused on large scale sensor networks. We have interest in bioacoustics with bat and bird recorders, as well as a host of environmental sensors.
- 0 Resources
- 16 Discussions
- 6 Groups
Ocean Science Analytics
Marine mammal ecologist and online technical trainer
- 1 Resources
- 41 Discussions
- 10 Groups
DIY electronics for behavioral field biology
- 7 Resources
- 82 Discussions
- 4 Groups
- @Jeorgiopierre
- | Him he his
Field researcher and systems designer operating a mobile apicultural laboratory focused on the study of terroir-specific variation in bee-derived products. Through Apis Nomadica Labs, I deliver pollination services to regional farms while simultaneously collecting ecological data
- 0 Resources
- 1 Discussions
- 10 Groups
- @OdetteCurtis
- | She
I am CEO of an NGO based in South Africa, where we focus on working with landowners towards conserving Critically Endangered renosterveld shrublands. Also love photography.
- 0 Resources
- 1 Discussions
- 1 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 3 Discussions
- 8 Groups
Smithsonian Institution
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 13 Groups
Careers
Fully funded PhD in AI biodiversity monitoring
Benno Simmons
Come and do the first research into responsible AI for biodiversity monitoring, developing ways to ensure these AIs are safe, unbiased and accountable.
11 June 2024
Funding
€4,000 travel grants are available for researchers interested in insect monitoring using automated cameras and computer vision
6 June 2024
Article
New WILDLABS Funding & Finance group
Frank van der Most
WildLabs will soon launch a 'Funding and Finance' group. What would be your wish list for such a group? Would you be interested in co-managing or otherwise helping out?
5 June 2024
Article
Share Your Work in a Conservation Technology Video
Robin Marti Sarasa
Do you have photos and videos of your conservation tech work? We want to include them in a conservation technology showcase video
17 May 2024
Funding
Travel grants for insect monitoring an AI
Tom August
€2,000 travel grants are available for researchers interested in insect monitoring using automated cameras and computer vision
3 May 2024
Article
The Inventory User Guide
Jake Burton
Read in detail about how to use The Inventory, our new living directory of conservation technology tools, organisations, and R&D projects.
1 May 2024
Article
Introducing The Inventory!
Jake Burton
The Inventory is your one-stop shop for conservation technology tools, organisations, and R&D projects. Start contributing to it now!
1 May 2024
Careers
Postdoc: Biologging & Camera Trap Data Integration
Lacey Hughey
The Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to help us integrate movement data & camera trap data with global conservation policy.
22 April 2024
Careers
We invite applications for the third Computer Vision for Ecology (CV4E) workshop, a three-week hands-on intensive course in CV targeted at graduate students, postdocs, early faculty, and junior researchers in Ecology...
12 February 2024
Careers
The primary focus of the research is to explore how red deer movements, space use, habitat selection and foraging behaviour change during the wolf recolonization process.
10 February 2024
Careers
Project support officer - Conservation Tech
Tom August
Outstanding chance for a motivated and ambitious individual to enhance their current project support skills by engaging with a diverse array of exciting projects in the field of biodiversity science.
11 December 2023
Careers
Two-year postdoc in AI and remote sensing for citizen-science pollinator monitoring, at Aarhus University. The successful candidate will integrate our computational entomologist team to develop and deploy novel methods...
4 December 2023
August 2025
event
Amber Balfour-Cunningham
June 2025
event
Maximilian Sittinger
May 2025
January 2025
| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This video is so great - I don't know what I was imagining that you were building, but this is so much bigger and more involved than whatever I was vaguely thinking. Really cool... |
|
Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects | 2 years 5 months ago | |
| Hey Tom,Since the output is dependent on a couple of factors such as the solar irradiance of the place, shading from the canopy, the type of solar panels (mono, poly or amorphous... |
|
Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Camera Traps, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Sensors | 2 years 6 months ago | |
| Awesome! it would be great to hear how you get on, maybe you can share your results here when you have them. Is the camera only for the Pi? That could be a problem for scaling as... |
+7
|
Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Sensors | 2 years 8 months ago | |
| Hi Julien, we are working with the Luxonis OAK-1 which can run lightweight detection models (e.g. YOLOv5n/s) directly on-device. However you will still need a host, for... |
|
Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects | 2 years 9 months ago | |
| My most prized camera trap image - a hummingbird caught on camera! |
|
Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Camera Traps | 2 years 10 months ago | |
| Might be good to add this to the 'Automated Camera Traps for Insects' group |
|
Camera Traps, Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects | 2 years 10 months ago | |
| Have you considered creating a Kaggle competition? If you already have lots of images, and some that have been labelled, then this could be a good way to get people working on a... |
|
AI for Conservation, Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Camera Traps | 3 years ago |
Mini AI Wildlife Monitor
25 June 2025 12:27pm
26 July 2025 7:04am
A side note, For insects you'll need an higher resolution camera. The Mothbox porject uses a 64MP camera
14 August 2025 12:55am
Aloha Luke,
This is an amazing tool that you have created. Are your cameras availble for purchase? We use a lot of camera traps in the Hono O Na Pali Natural Area Reserve on Kauai to pasively detect animals. We do not have the staff knowledge and capacity to build our own camera traps like this.
Mothbox Documentary [Wildlabs Award 2024)
5 August 2025 8:10pm
6 August 2025 11:59am
Hi there... we are looking at projects involving camera trapping for pollinators in a Critically Endangered ecosystem (renosterveld - near the southern tip of Africa). I cannot access these videos... I get an error message saying the site cannot be reached...?
7 August 2025 4:53pm
how odd, yeah it works for me! maybe try this?
PhD position at Marburg University in Germany
5 August 2025 12:16pm
Seeking Feedback: Offline-Friendly Conservation Tech Training for African Farmers and Youth
3 August 2025 12:17pm
A new underwater camera trap for freshwater wildlife monitoring
2 July 2025 7:35am
FutureAg Conference and Exhibition: Innovation Starts Here
30 June 2025 4:46am
Computational Entomology Webinar IV: Platform design for standardized pollinator attraction to camera traps
30 May 2025 1:41pm
IoT & insect smart traps that collaborate?
26 May 2025 5:24am
Second generation Automated moth monitoring system
22 May 2025 2:34am
Feedback on PCB for Mothbox
2 May 2025 8:50pm
3 May 2025 7:45am
Nice seeing what you are doing here. Those converters are nice, I’m using them with my portable thermal cameras.
do you have solar power intentions here ? If so, maybe you need a way to detect when the battery is almost out of power?
3 May 2025 2:22pm
The mothbox can currently be attached to a solar panel super easy (just plug in a barrel jack up to 20v 80 watts) and it charges the talentcell battery. We also monitor the power with an adafruit INA260 which can tell if the voltage is getting low. Ideally if we get enough time that will get built into the PCB too!
Sticky Pi: A smart insect trap to study daily activity in the field
29 April 2025 3:25pm
Sticky Pi, a high-frequency smart insect trap to study daily activity in the field
This is the documentation for the Sticky Pi project, a system to study insect activity in the field.
Insect Detect: Build your own insect-detecting camera trap!
29 April 2025 3:21pm
Insect Detect Docs
Insect Detect: DIY camera trap for continuous automated insect monitoring - Documentation and build instructions
What is the best light for attracting moths?
17 October 2022 3:12pm
21 March 2025 12:21pm
I found this thread on inaturalist really helpful when considering options! Lots of cost effective set ups to consider. I only really do mothing, so this is moth specific, but perhaps helpful for other insects.
I love that folks also mentioned using an additional flashlight or outward facing light to draw in moths from farther away. I've tried that as well and it always seemed to boost the number of moths on my sheet.
For continuity, if the light goes away for more than a few seconds I feel like the spell is broken and they fly away. But this could be tested further. Curious if blinking makes a difference.
19 April 2025 12:59pm
For a cheaper, accessible option (Australia) I have found success with this set up recommended by the Entomological Society of Victoria for citizen science moth light trapping:
- Light: Gecko 50W Insect Control Replacement UV Lamp $34.13 AUD widely available at Bunnings (Hardware Store).
- Plug: E27 Cable Cord With Switch Au Light Bulb Holder Socket $15.00 AUD available online at Dick Smith (Home goods & Electronics Store).
28 April 2025 5:09am
Otherwise Australian Entomology Supplies has a few options available such as UV lights and black lights, such as a this portable UV lamp. They can ship internationally.
New Insect Camera Trap is Now Available!
23 April 2025 7:26pm
WILDLABS AWARDS 2024 - Enhancing Pollinator Conservation through Deep NeuralNetwork Development
7 April 2024 5:55pm
18 April 2025 10:33pm
Hi Kim,
That's really interesting! I didn't realize thermal worked with bees! Thanks so much for sharing that detail.
Liz
19 April 2025 12:40pm
Great work! Do you think the night time models also worked better due to lack of interference from shadows being counted? or maybe issues around a non-standard background.
If it helps, I believe the creators of InsectDetect which is open source, did a lot of work training their model to differentiate insect shadows vs. insects. Also after testing their smart trap on flowers, went with a standardised, non-lethal attractive background.
InsectDetect: Build your own insect-detecting camera trap!
20 April 2025 5:14pm
Hey Amber, that makes a lot of sense! And this effort by Insect Detect is amazing, thanks for sharing!
Looking for PhD position
6 April 2025 6:12am
Mothbox - Upcoming Features
7 March 2025 8:03pm
7 March 2025 10:02pm
Hey Andrew, sad to hear funding has run out, but some very interesting developments!
It may be worth a conversation, I could definitely help on some of the above points from an electronics standpoint!
8 March 2025 9:32am
Really nice to see all that creative energy at work! Keep it up 👍🏻❤️
10 March 2025 3:45pm
@hikinghack that's a complete update!
A lot of compassion regarding the budget situation, especially knowing how great @briannaljohns is.
It’s great to see a clear plan for the hardware development! I hope you'll have nice outcomes from it!
INTERNSHIP FOR COMPUTER VISION BASED INSECT DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION
25 February 2025 10:46am
NewtCAM observations
24 February 2025 7:06pm
New Affordable Autonomous Insect Camera Trap
14 January 2025 2:59pm
21 February 2025 7:30pm
On a similar topic, I'm curious about how technology like this could be adapted to terrestrial insects - such as pest beetles in agricultural fields. Any landscape level monitoring effort usually demands dozens if not hundreds of sites monitored over many days or weeks. At this scale, the costs add up, even with cheap devices.
From what I understand, a large part of the cost of these devices is the need for big batteries powering bright lights. Have you done any tests using sunlight alone? I can imagine that this would introduce variation in shadows based on the time of day, and that would make automated ID harder, but is this an insurmountable challenge?
23 February 2025 4:23pm
Very cool! Looks like a repurposed case for other wildlife cameras?
Do you have custom electronics?
24 February 2025 2:57am
Thanks! Yes, we added electronics to power an external UV light only during periods when the camera is set to take pictures.
Mothbox: Field Testing Amphibious Deployments on Jungle Rivers
23 February 2025 12:52am
Tropical fieldwork funding! Up to $15,000 -Susan Wojcicki Fellowship
10 February 2025 7:01pm
Mothbox Expedition Video - Preview
6 February 2025 8:44pm
6 February 2025 9:02pm
featuring @briannajohns @hikinghack @Hubertszcz
Big Mothbox Expedition!
23 January 2025 3:19pm
23 January 2025 4:44pm
@hikinghack and @Hubertszcz , you know how excited I am about this transect/sub-project so please, do take as many pictures and info as you can. Looking forward to reading from you!
24 January 2025 8:53am
Sounds like so much fun.
Would love to replicate this one out here in Cambodia
Mothbox Firmware and Software Updates (Moon, Weather, and Fun Features!) Jan 2025
14 January 2025 8:42pm
15 January 2025 3:15pm
Wow! What a start of the year! Congratulations!
User Friendly Whole-Image Labelling Software for Taxonomy?
16 July 2024 6:26pm
7 November 2024 12:29pm
We ended up building our own for using with bioCLIP where we just specify tags like "ORDER_Lepidoptera" "CLASS_Insecta" but would be cool to use an established schema
8 November 2024 11:22am
Very cool that you were able to do that!
15 November 2024 5:34pm
I have the same problem and "roll your own," has seemed the answer so far. If you do find a pre-existing solution, please share the info!
Mothbox Updates: Recap of our Mothbox v4.5 workshop in Atlanta
13 November 2024 2:24pm
18 July 2025 9:29am
Hi Ross,
Nice project, thanks for sharing!
How does it perform in the field? Have you tested out power usage and battery life etc?
Happy to help where I can with the IMX500, I've got a discord Server linked on my youtube channel.