Antoine Foucart

• French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development

ENGLISH VERSION BELOW Decticus verrucivorus (Linnaeus, 1758) est une espèce avec une large aire de répartition, très variable morphologiquement et polytypique. La France métropolitaine compte deux sous-espèces classiquement reconnues : D. v. verrucivorus L. 1758 et D. v. monspeliensis Rambur in Audinet-Serville, 1839, appelé Dectique de Montpellier...

Two long-term trips to Mauritania made it possible to carry out an inventory of the local fauna of Buprestidae using several methods in particular the technique of collect and observations from woody materials. The results obtained lead to the presentation of a first inventory for this country of 80 species of Buprestidae represented by 16 genera,...

Under environmental stress, previously hidden additive genetic variation can be unmasked and exposed to selection. The amount of hidden variation is expected to be higher for life history traits, which strongly correlate to individual fitness, than for morphological traits, in which fitness effects are more ambiguous. However, no consensual pattern...

The desert locust is an agricultural pest that is able to switch from a harmless solitarious stage during recession periods, to swarms of gregarious individuals that disperse long distances and affect areas from western Africa to India during outbreak periods. Large outbreaks have been recorded through centuries, and the Food and Agriculture Organi...

The Crau Plain grasshopper, Prionotropis rhodanica Uvarov, 1923 (Orthoptera: Pamphagidae: Thrinchinae), is a rare grasshopper species endemic to the Crau Plain, a steppic habitat in France with unique floristic and faunistic communities. During recent decades, the area covered by these steppic grasslands has been highly reduced and fragmented due t...

Quantitative genetics experiments aim at understanding and predicting the evolution of phenotypic traits. Running such experiments often bring the same questions: Should I bother with maternal effects? Could I estimate those effects? What is the best crossing scheme to obtain reliable estimates? Can I use molecular markers to spare time in the comp...

The desert locust is an agricultural pest that is able to switch from a harmless solitarious stage during recession periods, to swarms of gregarious individuals that disperse long distances and affect areas from western Africa to India during outbreak periods. Large outbreaks have been recorded through centuries, and the Food and Agriculture Organi...

This study addresses geographic variation of body size and shape and of allele frequencies at 21 microsatellite loci in southern African populations of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. These populations, which belong to the subspecies S. g. flaviventris, lack the capacity to change phase and to swarm relative to the northern populations of...

We evaluated the validity of the subspecific designation for Schistocerca gregaria gregaria (Forskål) and Schistocerca gregaria flaviventris (Burmeister), isolated in distinct regions along the north–south axis of Africa. Towards this goal, we assessed the variation of multiple morphological and molecular traits within species. We first used ellipt...

The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) has been feared agricultural pest since early civilization, with plagues documented in ancient texts. Population genetic studies of the desert locust are needed to determine genetic variation and movement pattern for efficient control of the pest. In this study, we complemented the limited available microsa...

The Crau steppe: a dry rangeland in France Located in the Mediterranean, between Marseille and Montpellier, the Crau steppe consists in a 11 500 ha landscape originating from the old delta of the Durance river. This later brought a huge amount of stones from the Alps throughout this plain, such as stone cover averages 75%. Soil structure, Mediterra...

We conducted a comparative population genetic analysis of levels of genetic variation and its geographical structuring in three closely related species of grasshopper that co-occur in the Mediterranean Basin: Calliptamus italicus, C. barbarus and C. wattenwylianus. In the western part of their distributions 5 populations of C. italicus, 13 of C. ba...

Landscape analysis and genetics can allow a better understanding of grasshoppers for which ecology is not very well known. We analysed landscape changes between 1990 and 2006 at two areas from southern France where three grasshopper species (Calliptamus italicus (L., 1758), Calliptamus wattenwylianus Pantel, 1896, and Calliptamus barbarus (Costa, 1...

Locusta migratoria cinerascens became a potential pest in irrigated cereals under pivots, in the Touat region (Algerian Central Sahara), since the indication of the fi rst crowding in June 1994. Morphometrics and bioclimatic approaches revealed the homogeneity between North and South Algerian populations, suggesting a recent colonisation of Central...

Definition of the genus Calliptamus (Orthoptera: Acrididae) has generated many taxonomic debates. Even now, the existence of different geographical morphs hinders species determination, particularly as concerns females and larvae. Some of these species are observed in southern France and are recognized as potential pests. To circumvent problems of...

Fipronil, a compound belonging to a new chemical family, the phenylpyrazols, was tested as a barrier treatment in Mauritania against bands of hoppers of the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria, Forskal1775). An ultra-low volume formulation (ADONIS 12.5UL) was applied at 15.7 and 16.6/km. The doses were 1.96 and 1.04 g ai/ protected ha. Two sites o...

The genus Calliptamus (Orthoptera, Acrididae) includes locusts and grasshoppers, spread mainly throughout the Mediterranean Basin and as far as the southern part of Siberia. Some species are of substantial economic importance, such as C. italicus (Linné, 1758). Despite many studies on their taxonomy and biology, the identification of many species r...

Arcyptera brevipennis vicheti Brunner, 1861 (Acrididae, Orthoptera) is a remarkable grasshopper, native of Mediterranean grassland habitats in Southern France and North-East Spain. Modifications in land use are endangering the survival of A. b. vicheti. In this study, we describe aspects of this species’ life-cycle for the first time. Morphology an...

Parental environments could play an important role in controlling insect outbreaks, provided they influence changes in physiological, developmental or behavioural life-history traits related to fluctuations in population density. However, the potential implication of parental influence in density-related changes in life-history traits remains uncle...

West Nile virus (WNV) has a history of irregular but recurrent epizootics in countries of Mediterranean and of Central and Eastern Europe. We have investigated the temporal enzootic activity of WNV in free-ranging birds over a 3-year period in an area with sporadic occurrences of WNV outbreaks in Southern France. We conducted an intensive serologic...

Introduction: Global changes have an impact on the habitat of endangered species as well as pests. Some grasshopper pests, like the Calliptaminae species, in the North Mediterranean Basin, can be affected. In certain regions such as Languedoc (France), landscape has undergone modifications for a long time, particularly an important fall of agricult...

Illustration of the measurements used for calculating the four morphometric variables (from Dirsh 1953) (a) and list of the eleven behavioural variables (b). E, the length of the fore wing; F, the length of the hind femur; C, the maximum width of the head; H, the maximum height of the pronotum; P, the length of the pronotum; V, the minimum distance...

Box-Cox transformations for the four morphometric variables and the eleven behavioural variables. The formulae presented in the table correspond to the transformations yielding the best fit to the normality hypothesis among the families of transformations x=xλ−1λxλ−1 if λ ≠ 0, or, x = x ln(x) if λ = 0. Because raw behavioural data distributions inc...

Details of the canonical discriminant analyses of the measurements of four morphometric variables and eleven behavioural variables. CF1, First canonical function; CF2, Second canonical function. Details of abbreviations for morphometrical and behavioural variables are provided in the Additional file 2.

Environmental parental effects can have important ecological and evolutionary consequences, yet little is known about genetic variation among populations in the plastic responses of offspring phenotypes to parental environmental conditions. This type of variation may lead to rapid phenotypic divergence among populations and facilitate speciation. W...

Le bassin méditerranéen est un hotspot de biodiversité recensant plusieurs espèces endémiques. Les changements d’utilisation des terres que subit la région du Languedoc-Roussillon entraînent un déplacement des barrières naturelles et la clôture progressive des milieux favorables à plusieurs espèces d'insectes. Face à ces changements il est importan...

A b s t r a c t : A gynandromorphic specimen of Mutillidae belonging to Myrmilla calva (VILLIERS 1789) is described and illustrated. The gynandromorph has a general female-like appearance, with mixed female-male characters located only on apical part of metasoma. In detail, the head and mesosoma are entirely and normally female-like, the latter wit...

Les changements d'utilisation des terres et la déprise agricole sont des exemples parmi tant d'autres de changements globaux. La région Languedoc-Roussillon, située dans le bassin méditerranéen, connaît depuis longtemps une importante pression anthropique et subit de tels changements. Elle est reconnue comme appartenant aux "hotspots" mondiaux de b...

Onze sous-espèces de Locusta migratoria (Linné, 1758) ont été définies sur l'ensemble de son aire de répartition sur la base de critères géographiques et écologiques. Ce découpage taxonomique de L. migratoria bien que couramment utilisé et admis par la communauté scientifique a été remis en cause par des analyses cladistiques. Il nous a donc semblé...

The control of grasshoppers in Brazil has been based exclusively on chemical insecticides (fenitrothion and malathion). However, as these products are known to be harmful to the environment their massive use have caused concerns. To face the pressure against the use of chemical insecticides to control grasshoppers, the development of alternative me...

This is the first study to demonstrate that, for the Migratory locust, the outbreak capacity has a genetic component.

In parallel to experiments conducted to verify the field efficacy of a mycopesticide to control the locust Rhammatocerus schistocercoides (Rehn, 1906), a series of tests was conducted between November 21 and December 17 2002, in the Chapada dos Parecis area (MT, Brazil) to evaluate the mycopesticide impact on non-target arthropods (spiders and inse...

The density dependent transition between the solitarious and gregarious phases, called gregarization, is a defining feature of the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria, being central to the biology of the species and to its significance as a serious pest. Nine geographical taxa of L. migratoria with different propensities to display outbreaks were...

The fragmentation and destruction of natural habitats is one of the major causes of extinction of wild flora and fauna due to human activities. The area around the Mediterranean Basin is particularly affected: this region is one of the world’s richest in terms of biodiversity and is undergoing substantial modification due to extensive changes in la...

The control of grasshoppers in Brazil has been based exclusively on chemical insecticides (fenitrothion and malathion). However, as these products are known to be harmful to the environment, their massive use has caused concerns. In the face of pressure against their use, the development of alternative methods became imperative. Some species of ent...

The current experiments have been conducted within the framework of a joined project EMBRAPA –CIRAD whose objective is to limit the use of chemical insecticides for the control of locusts and grasshoppers, and to assess in the field the efficacy (and inocuity for non target fauna) of a mycoinsecticide containing the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae va...

Afin de vérifier l'efficacité de doses réduites d’une formulation d’un mycopesticide mise au point par l’Embrapa – Ressources génétiques et biotechnologie pour lutter contre le criquet du Mato Grosso, Rhammatocerus schistocercoides (Rehn, 1906), des expérimentations ont été conduites dans la région de la Chapada dos Parecis (état du Mato Grosso, Br...

The control of grasshoppers in Brazil has been based exclusively on chemical insecticides (fenitrothion and malathion). However, as these products are known to be harmful to the environment, their massive use has caused concerns. In the face of pressure against their use, the development of alternative methods became imperative. Some species of ent...

A biopesticide based on the fungus M. anisopliae var. acridum, isolate CG 423, has shown to be efficient against the plague grasshopper Rhammatocerus schistocercoides. In order to assess the effects of this biopesticide on non-target arthropods, field tests were carried out in Mato Grosso State, in natural vegetation, during the period of occurrenc...

O bioinseticida à base de M. anisopliae var. acridum, isolado CG 423, tem mostrado ser eficiente contra o gafanhoto-praga Rhammatocerus schistocercoides. No intuito de verificar o efeito desse bioinseticida sobre ortopteros nao-alvo realizaram-se ensaios em vegetaçao natural em Campos de Julio (MT), durante o periodo de ocorrência de ninfas jovens...

The diet of Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni was studied in the Crau the last breeding site of this species in Mediterranean France; an area situated East of the Camargue. Data were collected during the 1992 breeding season and just before the autumn migration in September 1996. The main component of the diet was Insects, predominantly Orthoptera. Amo...

Bryophyma debilis (Krauss, 1896) is a rare Cyrtacanthacridinae species that has a disjunct distribution in parts of Africa south of the Sahara, where it occurs principally in areas of wooded savanna. The West African population of which taxonomic status is not clearly established, is described in some details based on material from Yagma, Ouagadoug...

Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica Uvarov, 1923 is a protected grasshopper, endemic to the crau plain area in southern France, the species is threatened because its biotopes are currently being increasingly fragmented, and might even diseappear shortly. An evaluation of the minimum survival area of this species was made by scouting different habitat.

Bryophyma debilis (Karsch, 1896), a rare West African grasshopper species, is described in some detail here, on the basis of material from Yagma, Ouagadougou region, Burkina Faso. Morphological and anatomical characters (including external and internal genital structures of both sexes, the egg pod and the chorionic structure of the egg) are given t...

Alarm on an endemic protected grasshopper of the Crau plain (Southern France), Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica (Orthoptera : Pamphagidae) - Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica Uvarov, 1923 is a protected grasshopper, endemic to the Crau plain area in southern France. The species is threatened because its biotopes are currently being increasingly fragment...

A detailed study on the behaviour of R. schistocercoides hopper bands in their natural biotopes was undertaken in Chapada dos Parecis (Mato Grosso), which is the main outbreak area of this grasshopper species in Brazil. These bands were accurately characterized (band shape, size, density, movement direction and speed), along with their daily behavi...

Une premiere partie presente les principaux artisans de l'etude des Cerambycidae qui se sont succedes en Languedoc: Jules et Jean Lichtenstein, Charles Marquet, Valery Mayet, Henri Lavagne, Francois Picard et Leon Schaefer. Des nouvelles informations sont donnees sur la biographie d' H. Lavagne et L. Schaefer. Une breve presentation biogeographique...

Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica Uvarov, 1923 is a protected grasshopper, endemic to the Crau plain area (a few thousand square kilometres), in southern France. It is restricted to a specific and very characteristic type of vegetation, locally called coussou.This biotope is currently being increasingly fragmented. This subspecies could disappear in a...

Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica Uvarov, 1923 est un acridien protégé endémique de la plaine de la Crau (60 000 ha), dans le sud de la France. Il est inféodé à une formation végétale spécifique caractéristique de cette région appelée "coussou". Ce milieu est actuellement de plus en plus fragmenté, voire menacé de disparition à relativement brève éché...

O comportamento dos bandos de ninfas de Rhammatocerus schistocercoides (Rhen, 1906) foi estudado detalhadamente, em seus ambientes naturais de pululaçôes, na Chapada dos Parecis, Estado do Mato Grosso. Uma tipologia dos bandos (forma, ârea ocupada, densidade, orientaçdo, velocidade de deslocamento etc,) foi realizada e o comportamento diârio observ...

Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica Uvarov, 1923, is a protected grasshopper subspecies endemic to the Crau region, of southern France. Its biology was studied for the first time over two subsequent years, 1991 and 1992. The biological cycle is univoltine with an embryonic diapause during the cold season. Nymphal development includes five instars over t...

(EN) "The teeth of Heaven" tells the story of Boukari, a small farmer in Sahel facing the drama of a locust invasion. This is the route of a bushman who learns good defense reflexes useful to his community. A number of key technical and scientific messages are issued. Sharing the life of the hero, the reader gains a number of indispensable anti-loc...

Ce rapport relate la mission d'une partie de l'équipe PRIFAS dans le Nordeste du Brésil voyage. Imaginée lors d'une rencontre en avril 1990 par M. Launois et E. E. de Miranda, responsables respectifs du CIRAD-PRIFAS et du EMBRAPA- NMA, cette mission franco-brésilienne visait à la découverte en commun d'une région semi-aride tropicale en voie de dév...