Improving Production Safety and Efficiency by Early Detection of Sick and/or Dead Individuals and Accurate Determination of Time of Death Using UV Light and/or Visible Light

A method of detecting sick and/or dead insects in a pool of insects, said method comprising:

• a) placing the pool of insects on a conveyor that moves the pool of insects,
• b) irradiating a portion of the pool of insects on the conveyor with a pulse of UV and/or visible light,
• wherein any sick and/or dead insects in the portion of the pool of insects transmit a light that is detected by one or more photodetectors,
• c) optionally employing a computer that comprises a computer program that operationally connects the pulse of UV and/or visible light to a movement of the insects on the conveyor, and thereby allows a user to detect the sick and/or dead insects.

A method of detecting a number of sick and/or dead insects in a pool of insects, the pool of insects comprising water or an appropriate solvent, said method comprising:

• a) procuring the water or the appropriate solvent from the pool of insects,
• b) irradiating the water or the appropriate solvent with a pulse of UV and/or visible light,
• c) measuring a fluorescent intensity of the water or the appropriate solvent that has been subjected to the pulse of UV and/or visible light,
• d) employing any one of a computer, Beer's law, or a standard curve to calculate the number of sick and/or dead insects from the fluorescent intensity.