New methodologies based on photonic sensors to survey flying insect populations in their natural habitat have gained traction over the last decade. Instruments such as entomological lidars, radars, or standoff sensors using active or passive light sources can observe large numbers of insects transiting through their field of view. While counting transits can inform on the relative change in insect population, it does not inform on the absolute population size, nor allows data from different instruments to be compared with one another. We propose a methodology to convert transit counts into an absolute insect population density, expressed in number of flying insects per meter cube. The latter benefits from being independent from the instrument and experiment characteristics, making it an ideal metric to compare data originating from different sources. Due to the stochastic nature of the process, the uncertainty of the retrieved population density varies with its temporal resolution, the volume of air probed by the instrument and the population density itself. To study these complex relationships, a numerical model simulating the interactions of insects with a photonic sensor is presented. Finally, we offer an empirical solution to describe the relationship between the population density temporal resolution and its uncertainty.

在过去的十年中，基于光子传感器来调查其自然栖息地中飞行昆虫种群的新方法越来越受到关注。使用有源或无源光源的诸如昆虫激光雷达，雷达或对峙传感器之类的仪器可以观察到大量昆虫在其视场中传播。虽然计算过境次数可以说明昆虫种群的相对变化，但不能说明昆虫的绝对数量，也不能将不同仪器的数据相互比较。我们提出一种将过境计数转换为绝对昆虫种群密度的方法，以每米立方飞行昆虫的数量表示。后者受益于独立于仪器和实验特性，使其成为比较来自不同来源的数据的理想指标。由于该过程的随机性，所取回的种群密度的不确定性随其时间分辨率，仪器探测到的空气量以及种群密度本身而变化。为了研究这些复杂的关系，提出了一个模拟昆虫与光子传感器相互作用的数值模型。最后，我们提供了一个经验解决方案来描述人口密度时间分辨率与其不确定性之间的关系。建立了模拟昆虫与光子传感器相互作用的数值模型。最后，我们提供了一个经验解决方案来描述人口密度时间分辨率与其不确定性之间的关系。建立了模拟昆虫与光子传感器相互作用的数值模型。最后，我们提供了一个经验解决方案来描述人口密度时间分辨率与其不确定性之间的关系。