Bio-solution · DR03 · Digital & robotics
Drone release of beneficial insects (Trichogramma, Cotesia, predatory mites) instead of insecticide sprays
Replaces
Insecticide sprays against caterpillar and mite pests, and manual walking release of natural enemies (the labour bottleneck of large-scale biocontrol)
Insecticide sprays against caterpillar and mite pests, and manual walking release of natural enemies (the labour bottleneck of large-scale biocontrol)
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Scope
Drones carrying parasitised host eggs, cocoons or predatory mites in carrier material, released over mapped fields — sugarcane, maize, soybean, cotton, orchards
Drones carrying parasitised host eggs, cocoons or predatory mites in carrier material, released over mapped fields — sugarcane, maize, soybean, cotton, orchards
Suppliers 3
| Scientia Colombia | Colombia | active |
| Caltech S.A. | Paraguay | active |
| MCP Controle Biológico | Brazil | active |
Route into Russia / EAEU MACRO
- Regulator
- Rosselkhoznadzor
- Typical time
- per shipment (veterinary and phytosanitary control)
- Legal basis
- Live beneficial insects and mites need veterinary certificates and phytosanitary control on import (EAEU Commission Decisions No. 317 and 318 of 18.06.2010); entomophages are not registered as pesticides
Information, not legal advice — confirm the procedure for your product.
Proof 8 claims
Old process
Conventional chemical insecticide spraying.
Conventional chemical insecticide spraying.
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New practice
Drone-based or aerial/ground release of Trichogramma parasitoids for inundative biological control.
Drone-based or aerial/ground release of Trichogramma parasitoids for inundative biological control.
- Displaced at scale?
- partly
- Caveats
- While biological control with Trichogramma is effective and economically competitive in specific regions (e.g., northeastern China, Brazil, and parts of Europe/Kenya), it has not achieved a global or majority market share displacement of conventional chemical insecticides. Adoption remains localized, often dependent on specific crops, regional subsidies, or integrated pest management (IPM) programs.
- Hand review
- D2 Brazil: 90–95% of parasitoids are released by drones at a cost competitive with chemicals (peer-reviewed), enabling T. galloi on ~5 M ha and Cotesia on 2–3.5 M ha of sugarcane.
- checked
- 2026-10-06
| In Jilin Province, China, government-subsidized biological control programs led to a massive increase in the area treated with Trichogramma dendrolimi, from 0.6 to 2.72 million hectares between 2004 and 2015. “From 2004 to 2015, governmental subsidies to ACB biological control resulted in a massive increase in the area treated with T. dendrolimi wasps in the Jilin province, from 0.6 to 2.72 million ha (Chen et al. 2015).” Jilin Province, China · 2004-2015 · large measured reduction of the old process | weak (company, news, market research, other) ✓ www.tsppft.com |
| Large-scale Trichogramma releases in Jilin Province, China, significantly reduced insecticide use from 0.89 to 0.71 kg/ha in treated areas. “The total amount of insecticides used also declined significantly with the increasing ratio of Trichogramma-treated areas, from roughly 0.89 to 0.71 kg/ha at the scale of a county, at 0 and 100 % of Trichogramma-treated areas, respectively (Fig. 2; F1,57 = 12.77,3 R2 = 0.183, P < 0.001).” Jilin Province, China · 2000-2015 · large measured reduction of the old process | weak (company, news, market research, other) ✓ www.tsppft.com |
| In a Brazilian maize field trial, replacing five conventional insecticide applications with a single drone-based Trichogramma release reduced pest management costs by approximately R$ 250 per hectare. ““Diferente do manejo convencional que utilizou cinco aplicações de inseticidas para o controle de lagartas, o biológico realizou apenas uma dispersão de vespas para todo o ciclo da cultura do milho, gerando uma redução de cerca de R$ 250 por hectare.” Alto Alegre, Brazil · 2020 · pilot or niche | weak (company, news, market research, other) ✓ revistacultivar.com.br |
| Biological control with Trichogramma pretiosum in Brazilian organic maize increased productivity by 19.4% and provided an economic gain of US$ 96.5 per hectare compared to control plots. “Maize yields for parasited plots increased of 701 kg/ha versus control plots. This result equals a 19.4 % gain of productivity and US$96.5 gain per hectare.” Brazil · 2015 · pilot or niche | peer-reviewed ✓ exa.ai |
| In Kenya, parasitoid-based management for fall armyworm in maize resulted in higher net farm benefits compared to chemical pesticides by avoiding recurrent pesticide and labor costs. “It is because parasitoid farmers avoided recurrent pesticide and labor costs while achieving higher or comparable yields.” Kenya · 2026 · pilot or niche | peer-reviewed exa.ai |
| In Brazil, almost all parasitoids (90-95%) are released by drones. “Almost all the parasitoids (90-95%) are released by drones at a cost competitive with chemicals.” Brazil · · | peer-reviewed ✓ exa.ai |
| In Brazil, Trichogramma galloi is used on 5 million hectares, with large-scale releases by drones. “For sugarcane, one of the most successful cases, the exotic parasitoid Cotesia flavipes has been used since the 1970s on approximately 2 million hectares, and the native parasitoid Trichogramma galloi is used on 5 million hectares, with large-scale releases by drones.” Brazil · 2025 · large measured reduction of the old process | peer-reviewed ✓ www.intechopen.com |
| In a practical example in Alto Alegre (RS), Brazil, the use of Trichogramma pretiosum via drone for corn caterpillar control replaced five insecticide applications with one biological dispersion, reducing costs by approximately R$ 250 per hectare. “Diferente do manejo convencional que utilizou cinco aplicações de inseticidas para o controle de lagartas, o biológico realizou apenas uma dispersão de vespas para todo o ciclo da cultura do milho, gerando uma redução de cerca de R$ 250 por hectare.” Brazil · 2020 · large measured reduction of the old process | weak (company, news, market research, other) revistacultivar.com.br |
Details
Replaces: insecticide sprays and manual release · Scope: field-scale augmentative biocontrol · Evidence: moderate–high
The old process#
- Augmentative biocontrol (releasing Trichogramma or Cotesia wasps, predatory mites) works, but walking through fields to place cards or cups costs labour and limits area — so most growers sprayed insecticides instead.
Product overview#
Drone release: a drone carries parasitised eggs or cocoons (often in biodegradable capsules or loose with carrier) and releases them along a programmed grid. In Brazil it became the default way to apply parasitoids in sugarcane and other crops; similar systems exist in China, Colombia and for predatory mites in orchards and berries.
Active ingredient / Composition#
- Live natural enemies: Trichogramma spp. (egg parasitoids), Cotesia flavipes (larval parasitoid), predatory mites (Neoseiulus, Phytoseiulus) — see A24, A39, A30, CE03.
- Drone with dispensing module, mission-planning software.
Key facts#
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Brazil | Almost all parasitoids (90–95 %) are released by drones, at a cost competitive with chemicals (peer-reviewed) |
| Scale enabled | T. galloi on ~5 M ha and Cotesia flavipes on 2–3.5 M ha of sugarcane (peer-reviewed) |
| China | Trichogramma on 5.5 M ha of maize in the north-east by 2015 (weaker source) |
| Russia/EAEU route | Live organisms (MACRO) + drone rules (EAC/aviation) |
Advantages#
- Makes biocontrol cheaper than spraying at large scale — the decisive change in Brazil.
- Even, mapped release; fast coverage at the right time window.
- Combines with spraying drones (DR02) already owned by service providers.
Mode of action#
The drone only delivers; the released parasitoids find and parasitise pest eggs or larvae, and predatory mites eat pest mites (see the biocontrol articles for each agent).
Application#
| User | Target | Method, timing and specifics |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar mills and large farms | Sugarcane borer, maize and soybean caterpillars | Programmed releases at egg-laying peaks |
| Biocontrol producers | Service model | Sell “released hectares” (product + drone service) |
| Orchards, berries | Spider mites | Drone dispensing of predatory mites |
Limitations#
- Insect quality after transport and release must be monitored.
- Regulations on drone flights and on releasing non-native agents.
- Not a pesticide replacement by itself — success depends on the biocontrol programme and avoiding broad-spectrum sprays.
Evidence of displacement — D2: measurable displacement (minority share)#
Assessment (hand-reviewed): Brazil: 90–95% of parasitoids are released by drones at a cost competitive with chemicals (peer-reviewed), enabling T. galloi on ~5 M ha and Cotesia on 2–3.5 M ha of sugarcane.
Figures found (verified as quoted, but the assessment above explains why they do not count as displacement evidence for this substitution):
- displacement — In Brazil, Trichogramma galloi is used on 5 million hectares, with large-scale releases by drones. (Brazil, 2025; peer-reviewed: intechopen.com)
- displacement — In Jilin Province, China, government-subsidized biological control programs led to a massive increase in the area treated with Trichogramma dendrolimi, from 0.6 to 2.72 million hectares between 2004 and 2015. (Jilin Province, China, 2004-2015; weak: tsppft.com)
- driver — In Brazil, almost all parasitoids (90-95%) are released by drones. (Brazil, —; peer-reviewed: exa.ai)
- performance — Biological control with Trichogramma pretiosum in Brazilian organic maize increased productivity by 19.4% and provided an economic gain of US$ 96.5 per hectare compared to control plots. (Brazil, 2015; peer-reviewed: exa.ai)
Suppliers — real products and services (from the vendor index)#
Companies below are active vendors in the vendor index whose own card (profile / official website) shows this product or service — matched 2026-10-06 by keyword and checked by hand against the card text. Being listed is not an endorsement; open each card for evidence, contacts and status.
| Company | Region · Country | What the index shows | Card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scientia Colombia | LatAm · Colombia | SciBot drones for automated aerial release of biological agents (e.g. Trichowind) | card |
| Caltech S.A. | LatAm · Paraguay | XAG agricultural drone plus biological products (Beauveshot, Met N) | card |
| MCP Controle Biológico | LatAm · Brazil | Cotesia flavipes production for sugarcane borer | card |
Government funding signals#
Scanned 2026-10-06.
China, Brazil, India — national research grants acknowledged in publications#
Papers since 2015 whose title matches “Trichogramma drone” and that acknowledge national government funders (Crossref funder metadata; conservative lower bounds). Signal bands: Strong ≥30 · Moderate 5–29 · Weak 1–4 · None 0.
| Country | Papers funded (2015–2026) | Signal | Example funded paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 0 | None | – |
| Brazil | 0 | None | – |
| India | 0 | None | – |
Scientific evidence#
- Parra JRP, Coelho A Jr (2019). Applied biological control in Brazil: from laboratory assays to field application. Journal of Insect Science 19(2): 5.
- van Lenteren JC, Bolckmans K, Köhl J, Ravensberg WJ, Urbaneja A (2018). Biological control using invertebrates and microorganisms: plenty of new opportunities. BioControl 63: 39–59.
- Note: journal references are checked against Crossref.
Bioeconomy value#
Robotics solving biology’s bottleneck: once drones made releasing wasps cheaper than spraying, Brazilian biocontrol scaled to millions of hectares — the clearest example in this catalogue of technology enabling a biological substitution.
Third article of digital robotics (added 2026-10-06, evidence-first: grade D2).