Forecast for insects? Made-in-Vancouver project may help growers, gardeners
At a time of year when most people are closely watching the temperatures, a new project is coming to a Vancouver university this summer that involves a different kind of forecasting.
The University of British Columbia is trying something out, and it could become the blueprint for forecasting insect behaviour across the city.
Researchers say they plan to set up dozens of cameras across campus.
These insect trap cameras, known as Sticky Pi, contain a sticky trap that catches bugs so that photos can be taken of them.
Computers then use artificial intelligence to determine what kind of insects are seen in the photos, and where and when they were trapped.
Researchers say it will help them understand which insects could be invasive and harmful to the local environment.
"That can be really helpful for understanding biodiversity," said UBC researcher Quentin Geissmann in an interview with CTV News over the weekend.
"For instance, what happens to this biodiversity during something like a heat wave? Do insects hide during the day when it's too hot? Do they just die? And then it's going to be really helpful for growers – even things like urban gardening where people suffer from new pest insects coming."
Researchers say they plan to eventually deploy the camera system across Vancouver next year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.