To a farmer, good insects pollinate, and bad insects decimate. But they often had a tough time knowing which flying creatures were invading their crops. Now eavesdropping researchers might offer help. 

 

For sixty years, scientists have tried to identify insects by their wing sounds. The challenge increases with distance, wind and other noises. So researchers created a monitor using lasers. When an insect crosses the laser, the shadow of the wing beats gets recorded and translated into an MP3. Here's a female aedes aegypti mosquito. Here's a female culex quinque fasciatus. 

 

The researchers spent three years gathering data from dozens of sensors. They have tens of millions of data points-more than had been previously collected all together for the algorithms. Using wing beats plus location and time of day, they've achieved up to 99 percent accuracy identifying six insect species thus far.

 

The research will be published in the Journal of Insect Behavior. 

 

The prototype was made of Legos, a 99-cent laser pointer and part of a TV remote. The researchers say a set-up could be manufactured for less than $10. It could identify both farm pests and disease carriers, which could help people picnic in peace.

 

Thanks for the Minute for Scientic American 60-second Science, I'm Cynthia Graber.