Mosquito counting system based on optical sensing

Abstract

Mosquitos, sometimes carrying deadly diseases such as malaria, zika, and dengue fever, cause much concern. To control mosquitos, it is important to effectively monitor their presence and behavioral trends. We have constructed two optical sensing systems for insects based on light attenuation and light backscattering, respectively. The systems, which were tested with the potentially dangerous Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens, were able to extract the wing-beat frequency, when they passed impinging light, derived from light-emitting diodes. We could achieve distinction between the sexes of A. albopictus and C. pipiens based on the wing-beat frequency. Finally, we propose a statistical method suitable for the system to improve the accuracy of counting.