WHEN INSECTS FROM ONE REGION MOVE TO A NEW, UNEXPLORED REGION, THESE INSECTS ARE TERMED INVASIVE INSECTS. WHEN INVASIVE INSECTS FIRST ARRIVE AT THE NEW REGION, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW THEY WILL BEHAVE IN THE NEW REGION. FOR INSTANCE, WHAT IS THEIR PREFERRED FEEDING TIME, WHAT TYPES OF PRODUCTS TO THEY PREFER TO FEED ON, WHAT ARE THE INSECT'SMATING AND REPRODUCTIVE CYCLES, AND WHEN AND HOW DOES IT GO INTO DIAPAUSE (LIKE HIBERNATION FOR THE WINTER)? KNOWING THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE KEY TO THEN CONTROLLING THE INVASIVE INSECT'S IMPACT ON AGRICULTURAL CROPS AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. A RECENTEXAMPLE OF AN INVASIVE INSECT THAT HAD A LARGE ECONOMIC IMPACT FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS IN THE EASTERN HALF OF THE U.S. WAS THE BROWN MARMORATED STINK BUG OR BMSB. IN THE BMSB'S NATIVE RANGE IN ASIA, IT WAS NOT CONSIDERED A MAJOR AGRICULTURAL PEST. HOWEVER, IN A NEW ENVIRONMENT, IT WAS A LARGE PROBLEM FOR GROWERS OF CROPS AS WELL AS HOMEOWNERS.WITH GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF INSECT BEHAVIOR, MANAGEMENT PROTOCOLS ARE DEVELOPED TO REDUCE NEGATIVE INSECT IMPACTS ON CROPS. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE PROBLEM OF GETTING DATA TO UNDERSTAND INSECT BEHAVIOR. UP TO THIS POINT, COLLECTING THIS DATA HAS BEEN DONE BY HUMANS. ONE STRATEGY IS MARK-RELEASE-RECAPTURE: INSECTS ARE MARKED WITH A DISTINGUISHING POWDER, RELEASED FROM KNOWN LOCATIONS, AND THEN RECAPTURED AND THE RECAPTURE LOCATIONS ARE NOTATED. HOWEVER, THIS METHOD IS CHARACTERIZED BY LOW RECAPTURE RATES OF APPROXIMATELY 5% AND REQUIRES A GREAT AMOUNT OF HUMAN SCOUTING TO ACCOMPLISH THE RECAPTURES. THIS PROJECT PROPOSES USING A SMALL UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEM, SUAS, COMMONLY CALLED A DRONE, TO PERFORM THE SCOUTING. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS AREAS THAT HUMANS ARE NOT ABLE TO, EASILY, SUCH AS THE TOPS OF TREES, AS WELL AS CAPTURE INFORMATION MORE ACCURATELY AND EFFICIENTLY THAN THE CURRENT PRACTICE.THE PROPOSED SYSTEM CONSISTS OF A SUAS, AND AN ULTRAVIOLET (UV) LIGHT SOURCE AND CAMERAS. SCOUTING OCCURS AT NIGHT. THE INSECTS ARE MARKED WITH A FLUORESCENT POWDER, SO WHEN THEY ARE ILLUMINATED BY THE UV LIGHT, THEY GLOW. THE CAMERA RECORDS IMAGES, AND THE ENGINEERING WORK OF THIS PROJECT CONSISTS OF DEVELOPING THE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE (ALGORITHMS) NECESSARY TO PERFORM AUTONOMOUS SCOUTING FOR INSECTS THAT HAVE BEEN MARKED WITH THE FLUORESCENT POWDER. WE ALSO WORK WITH ENTOMOLOGISTS TO VALIDATE THAT THE PROPOSED SYSTEM DOES NOT INFLUENCE INSECT BEHAVIOR, TEST THE SYSTEM IN FIELD CONDITIONS, AND COMPARE THE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE WITH THE STATE-OF-THE-ART, HUMAN SCOUTING.