In this project I was tasked with designing a device that would collect samples of insects from food crops that can be analyzed by an insectary. The samples were to be analyzed to determine the population of pest insects living in the crops so that a predatory insect treatment for the food crops could be developed. Predatory insects are then introduced to the crops is an alternative to chemical pesticides.

The design team started by researching already available devices that satisfied this goal which led us to Ron of Rincon-Vitova Insectaries and his two-stroke engine powered bug vacuum. Ron gave us a starting point by showing us his bug vacuum design.

We then designed and tested many ideas, prototyping three different machines and learning new lessons with each one. The first was simply a piece of sheet metal rolled into a tube with an electric car radiator fan at one end and a some screen door material at the other. This enough to suck bugs off of plants, but we had other specifications to fulfill. A 3D CAD model was made to help us design for geometric constraints, material selections made to satisfy structural and user experience requirements, and electro-mechanical devices selected to satisfy our bug sucking specifications.

By the end of the project, we had developed an electric bug vacuum capable of capturing a representative sample of insects from a wide variety of plants and that was easy to use.