Unmanned Aerial Systems Trials for Release of Sterile Insect Technique Navel Orangeworm

SOLE SOURCE The joint APHISCDFA Navel Orangeworm (NOW) Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) Program in California currently relies on a fixed?wing Cessna 206 for sterile NOW releases. However, this method has consistently produced low and highly variable recapture rates (less than 0.1 percent), indicating that fixed?wing aerial release may be biologically and operationally unsuitable for NOW.In contrast, manual (hand) releases conducted in Arizona have yielded recapture rates one to three orders of magnitude higher, suggesting that the challenge lies with the release method rather than insect quality. This substantial disparity, combined with the high cost and limited operational resilience of the fixed?wing platform, underscores the need to evaluate alternative release technologies. Future pilo