That buzzing sound you hear overhead may not be a mosquito, but something much bigger and harder to swat — an unmanned aerial vehicle, otherwise known as a drone.

The high-pitched whine of the speedy aircraft has become a more common feature in Hawaii skies, especially along spectacular ridge trails and shorelines. They’ve been spotted outside balconies and bedroom windows, raising privacy concerns. One flew near President Barack Obama’s motorcade in Kailua, prompting the Secret Service to scramble.

Drones have interfered with fire and police rescue operations (although one owned by a citizen journalist helped Maui firefighters battle a wildfire last March).

And those generally are just the off-the-shelf variety for hobbyists. Drones come in all shapes, sizes and capabilities, from a tiny child’s toy at Walmart to a terrorist-killing warfighter from Lockheed Martin.

Because of the ubiquity and usefulness of the aircraft, it’s clear that Hawaii will have to develop a more detailed regulatory structure for them. But it should be done gradually, with deliberate care. While one bill remains alive in the Legislature, lawmakers appear to be erring on the side of caution, which is wise.

The Federal Aviation Administration has primary control of the nation’s airspace, and at the behest of Congress has developed regulations for the use of drones. State rules that conflict with federal ones could be deemed invalid. The technology also is improving rapidly, and specific regulations could become obsolete or unduly restrict the many beneficial uses of drones.

These are some of the dangers lurking in House Bill 314, which would add a new chapter to the Hawaii Revised Statutes to cover unmanned aerial vehicles. The bill outlines detailed proposals for regulating drones, some good and some not-so-good.

It contains rules restricting where drones can be flown (for example, not within “five miles of an airport”); how they must be operated (not “outside the visual line of sight of the operator”); how law enforcement and other public agencies may use them, and so on.

HB 314 also spells out how drone use could violate a person’s right to privacy and possible penalties for such violations.

But the devil is in the details, as some commenting on the bill have pointed out.

Hawaiian Electric objected to the “five miles of an airport” prohibition, arguing that an FAA-issued Certificate of Authorization would allow the utility to use drones to inspect the miles of equipment it has within five miles of several airports.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources hopes advancing drone technology will allow it to survey remote parts of the islands without expensive helicopters — but the visual line-of-sight rule would preclude that option.

Others argue that creating no-fly zones would unlawfully pre-empt the federal government’s role, and that creating specific privacy rules for drones is unfair and unnecessary.

These are all good things to consider when the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee considers HB 314 on Feb. 22. The committee chairman, Rep. Angus McKelvey, has already indicated that rather than pass regulations this year, he might prefer creating a permanent working group to study how laws among the states can be drafted to be consistent with each other and with federal law.

Perhaps. But endless study should not replace action when needed. The FAA’s rules do not completely pre-empt state regulation. Some 33 states have enacted drone regulations, and the FAA notes that “laws traditionally related to state and local police power — including land use, zoning, privacy, trespass, and law enforcement operations — generally are not subject to federal regulation.”

The use of drones in Hawaii is expected to continue growing, and the possibilities are boundless, for good or ill. Given the ability of drones to go almost anywhere — carrying cameras, packages or, heaven forbid, weapons — the state should not be reluctant to introduce regulations as circumstances warrant. Just not all at once.