Numerical analysis and parameter estimation technique for insect population redistribution models

Insect population redistribution was modeled by transport equations. The technique for estimating the coefficients associated with the transport equations (or more generally, population redistribution models) was developed using the finite difference method. The parameter(s) in the equations were estimated to relate back to the underlying rates and processes producing movement. The performance of the technique was tested with the population dispersal of adult Cryptolestes ferrugineus in stored wheat columns and boxes with or without temperature gradients. There was no significant difference among the insect numbers recovered and predicted by the finite difference and analytical methods. Therefore, a diffusion equation could be employed to model the population redistribution of adult C. ferrugineus in stored grain, and the finite difference method could be used to solve the transport equations.