PICT: A low cost, modular, open‐source camera trap system to study plant‐insect interactions

1. Commercial camera traps (CTs) commonly used in wildlife studies have several technical limitations that restrict their scope of application. They are not easily customizable, unit prices sharply increase with image quality, and importantly, they are not designed to record the activity of ectotherms such as insects. Those developed for the study of plant-insect interactions are yet to be widely adopted as they rely on expensive and heavy equipment. 2. We developed PICT (Plant-insect Interactions Camera Trap), an inexpensive ( 720p resolution with a 110 Wh power bank (30,000 mAh). Its ultra-portable (<1 kg) waterproof design and modular architecture is practical in diverse field settings. We provide an illustrated technical guide detailing the steps involved in building and operating a PICT and for video post-processing. 3. We successfully field-tested PICT in a Central African rainforest in two contrasting research settings: an insect pollinator survey in the canopy of the African ebony (Diospyros crassiflora) and the observation of rare pollination events of an epiphytic orchid (Cyrtorchis letouzeyi). 4. PICT overcomes many of the limitations commonly associated with CT systems designed to monitor ectotherms. Increased portability and image quality at lower costs allow for large scale deployment and the acquisition of novel insights into the reproductive biology of plants and their interactions with difficult to observe animals.