Freddie-Jeanne Richard

French National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) | INRAE · Abeilles et Environnement

Poster about preliminary results about Dung beetles in herbivore multispecies enclosures in the french mediterranean cost.

Bees can communicate the location of interesting resources to forage to their nestmates by performing what we call a waggle dance. Being able to precisely decode the information conveyed with waggle dances would help biologists, ecologists, beekeepers, and even decision-makers to limit the current decline of bees. The challenge addressed in this pa...

The European agricultural protests of 2023/2024 have prompted a reassessment of public policies at the EU level with the SUR put on a stand still. In France, in early 2024, the government replaced the historical monitoring indicator "NoDU'' with the European Harmonized Risk Indicator HRI1 to monitor the progress in the use of Plant Protection Produ...

Apis mellifera was used as a model species for ecotoxicological testing. In the present study, we tested the effects of acetone (0.1% in feed), a solvent commonly used to dissolve pesticides, on bees exposed at different developmental stages (larval and/or adult). Moreover, we explored the potential effect of in vitro larval rearing, a commonly use...

Pachycrepoideus vindemiae is a generalist wasp parasitoid released for biological control of the pupal stage for several species of Tephritoidea and Muscoidea flies that limit production of fruits and poultry commodities, respectively, worldwide. The parasitoid wasp must find buried host pupae to oviposit on them, and several factors may influence...

Among the various costs of gregarious behaviors, proximity highly contributes to facilitating parasite transmission. However, the intensity of parasite infection varies between individuals of a social group. It is then of high interest to identify the causes of such inequality for parasite management. In this study, we investigated the impact of in...

Litter decomposition is a key ecosystem process which is dependent on the litter characteristics and diversity, the decomposer community and activity, and the environmental conditions. We assessed vine leaf decomposition by Armadillidium vulgare (Latreille, 1804), a terrestrial isopod widely distributed and naturally present in vineyards. We compar...

Honeybees are known for their ability to communicate about resources in their environment. They inform the other foragers by performing specific dance sequences according to the spatial characteristics of the resource. The purpose of our study is to provide a new tool for honeybees dances recording, usable in the field, in a practical and fully aut...

Pollinators have to cope with a wide range of stressful, not necessarily lethal factors limiting their performance and the ecological services they provide. Among these stressors are pesticides, chemicals that are originally designed to target crop-harming organisms but that also disrupt various functions in pollinators, including flight, communica...

The global expansion of road networks threatens apex predator conservation and ecosystem functioning. This occurs through wildlife-vehicle collisions, habitat loss and fragmentation, reduced genetic connectivity and increased poaching. We reviewed road impacts on 36 apex predator species and assessed their risk from current roads based on road expo...

Anthropogenic pollution is increasingly pervasive throughout all ecosystems worldwide. In recent years, negative consequences on many taxa, such as birds, have been observed. We reviewed the impacts of some of the most common anthropogenic pollutants on birds, including light, noise, polluted air, heavy metal, radioactive compound, pesticide, pharm...

The garden dormouse Eliomys quercinus has been declining in both abundance and range since the mid-twentieth century. The eastern edge of its range has contracted from the Ural Mountains to eastern Germany. Habitat loss and fragmentation has been the most supported theory to explain the observed decline. Climate change has been implicated in declin...

Stressors are omnipresent in the environment and trigger specific physiological and/or behavioural responses that remain relatively less known in invertebrates. Among the parameters used to quantify the impact of stress on physiology, the circulating level of glucose is commonly used in aquatic crustacean species. Terrestrial isopods are small crus...

We reviewed the exising research into socio-economic valuation of coral reef ecosystem services in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Methodology varied between the two regions (with WTP methodologies being more frequently used in Europe, while studies in Africa were more variable (such as damage cost avoided methods). We identified significant...

Background In species that reproduce with sexual reproduction, males and females often have opposite strategies to maximize their own fitness. For instance, males are typically expected to maximize their number of mating events, whereas an excessive number of mating events can be costly for females. Although the risk of sexual harassment by males a...

In the terrestrial crustacean Armadillidium vulgare, a large size range exists in natural populations within which males and females could potentially mate. Because of continuous growth far beyond sexual maturity, the largest individuals can be nearly ten times the live mass of the smallest sexually mature individuals. In this study, we explored th...

India is the largest consumer and importer of palm oil in the world. Its demand for palm oil is expected to double by 2030, which cannot be sustained just by increasing the import quantity, as it would be exporting its biodiversity issues to the supplying countries. We support the Government of India’s views to expand oil palm cultivation in India....

Mate choice is an important process in sexual selection and usually prevents inbreeding depression in populations. In the terrestrial isopod Armadillidium vulgare, the close physical proximity between individuals may increase the risk of reproducing with siblings. Moreover, individuals of this species can be infected with the feminizing bacteria of...

Raw data of the current study. (XLSX)

Number of familiar (F) and unfamiliar (NF), sibling (S) and non-sibling (NS), and sibling familiar (SF) and non-sibling unfamiliar (NS NF) females that accepted and refused the copulation attempts during the open-field tests, according to their infection status (W-: Wolbachia-free; W+: Wolbachia-infected). Comparison of females copulation (accepted...

Video of Armadillidium vulgare male and female copulation attempt: Rolling without opening: Volvation that did not allow the male to copulate with the female. (MP4)

Y choice test designed for terrestrial invertebrase

On 28 April 2018 the European Parliament voted for a complete and permanent ban on all outdoor uses of the three most commonly used neonicotinoid pesticides. With the partial exception of the state of Ontario, Canada, governments elsewhere have failed to take action. Below is a letter, signed by 232 scientists from around the world, urgently callin...

In many species, males increase their reproductive success by choosing high-quality females. In natural populations, they interact with both virgin and mated females, which can store sperm in their spermatheca. Therefore, males elaborate strategies to avoid sperm competition. In the terrestrial isopod Armadillidium vulgare, females can store sperm...

In many species, chemical communication is a determining factor in mate choice. Some species use the composition of cuticular compounds to discriminate between potential mates. Moreover, the presence of parasites can also influence mate choice and alter the odor of an individual. In the current study, we tested the effect of the endosymbiont Wolbac...

Les facteurs de stress sont présents dans l’environnement des êtres vivants et engendrent des réponses physiologiques et/ou comportementales spécifiques. Ces réponses sont bien connues chez de nombreuses espèces de vertébrés, mais restent peu étudiées chez les invertébrés. Parmi les paramètres permettant de quantifier l’impact du stress sur la phys...

Acanthamoeba castellanii is a free-living amoeba commonly found in aquatic environment. It feeds on bacteria even if some bacteria resist amoebal digestion. Thus, A. castellanii is described as a Trojan horse able to harbor pathogenic bacteria. L. pneumophila is one of the amoeba-resisting bacteria able to avoid host degradation by phagocytosis and...

Here, we examined the in vitro effects of co-exposure to a pathogen and a common neonicotinoid on honey bee larvae survival and on adult learning behavior following a standard olfactory conditioning procedure based on the proboscis extension response paradigm. We exposed or co-exposed honey bee larvae to American foulbrood and to sub-lethal doses o...

Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate pesticide used around the world to protect food crops against insects and mites. Despite guidelines for chlorpyrifos usage, including precautions to protect beneficial insects, such as honeybees from spray drift, this pesticide has been detected in bees in various countries, indicating that exposure still occurs....

Background: How host manipulation by parasites evolves is fascinating but challenging evolutionary question remains. Many parasites share the capacity to manipulate host behavior increasing their transmission success. However, little is known about the learning and memory impact of parasites on their host. Wolbachia are widespread endosymbionts an...

Genetic diversity is a key factor that can influence mate choice in many species. We experimentally determined the influence of this factor on mate preference in the crustacean terrestrial isopod Armadillidium vulgare. This biological model is gregarious which could increase the risk of inbreeding by mating with closely related partners. Mechanisms...

Animal grouping is a very complex process that occurs in many species, involving many individuals under the influence of different mechanisms. To investigate this process, we have created an image processing software, called NEIGHBOUR-IN, designed to analyse individuals' coordinates belonging to up to three different groups. The software also inclu...

How host manipulation by parasites evolves is fascinating but challenging evolutionary question remains. Many parasites share the capacity to manipulate host behavior increasing their transmission success. However, little is known about the learning and memory impact of parasites on their host. Wolbachia are widespread endosymbionts and infect most...

Sexual selection predicts that mate choice increases individual fitness. Infection by parasites (from eukaryotes to bacteria or viruses) can reduce this individual fitness, altering the infected individuals' sexual traits and molecular cues. In this case, one would expect to observe mechanisms for avoiding infection during mate choice. The vast maj...

Vibrations and sounds, collectively called vibroacoustics, play significant roles in intracolony communication in termites, social wasps, ants, and social bees. Modalities of vibroacoustic signal production include stridulation, gross body movements, wing movements, high-frequency muscle contractions without wing movements, and scraping mandibles o...

Chemical messengers are the primary mode of intracolony communication in the majority of social insect species. Chemically transmitted information plays a major role in nestmate recognition and kin recognition. Physical and behavioral castes often differ in chemical signature, and queen effects can be significant regulators of behavior and reproduc...

Mate choice is mediated by many components with the criteria varying across the animal kingdom. Chemical cues used for mate attractiveness can also reflect mate quality. Regarding the gregarious species (isopod crustacean), we tested whether individuals can discriminate conspecifics at two different levels (between sex and physiological status) bas...

Animal communication is very complex as it usually requests several sensory modalities. Chemical communication is universal and plays a fundamental role for species continuity (individual survival, reproduction...). This chapter is mainly focused on pheromones and their role in social insect species. Social insect organization can be very complex w...

Picture of terrestrial isopods A. vulgare, commonly named woodlice or pillbug. ©F.-J. Richard. (TIF)

Background Social insects, such as honey bees, use molecular, physiological and behavioral responses to combat pathogens and parasites. The honey bee genome contains all of the canonical insect immune response pathways, and several studies have demonstrated that pathogens can activate expression of immune effectors. Honey bees also use behavioral r...

Relative quantity of the mandibular gland compounds of virgin (Virgin), mated (M) and laying (L) queens. The results are presented as relative proportions: tr = traces; + = 0.5–1%; ++ = 1–2%; +++ = 2–5%; ++++ = 6–16%; > = greater than 16%. HOB and dihydroferulic acid differed significantly among groups (Kruskall-Wallis rank sums, p = 0.038 and p =...

Honey bee queens (Apis mellifera) mate in their early adult lives with a variable number of males (drones). Mating stimulates dramatic changes in queen behavior, physiology, gene expression, and pheromone production. Here, we used virgin, single drone- (SDI), and multi-drone- (MDI) inseminated queens to study the effects of instrumental inseminatio...

While parasites are likely to encounter several potential intermediate hosts in natural communities, a parasite's actual range of compatible hosts is limited by numerous biological factors ranging from behaviour to immunology. In crustaceans, two major components of immunity are haemocytes and the prophenoloxidase system involved in the melanisatio...

The ability to distinguish between members of a social group and unfamiliar individuals is a critical element of social behaviour. Social insects can differentiate between nestmates and non-nestmates via recognition cues, which in most species are cuticular hydrocarbons. Cuticular hydrocarbon patterns are altered by genotype and environmental condi...

Neotropical leaf-cutting ants (tribe Attini) live in obligate symbiosis with fungus they culture for food. To protect themselves and their fungus garden from pathogens, they minimize the entry of microorganisms through mechanical and chemical means. In this study, focusing on the species Acromyrmex subterraneus and A. octospinosus, (Hymeoptera: For...

The mandibular glands of queen honeybees produce a pheromone that modulates many aspects of worker honeybee physiology and behavior and is critical for colony social organization. The exact chemical blend produced by the queen differs between virgin and mated, laying queens. Here, we investigate the role of mating and reproductive state on queen ph...

Immune response pathways have been relatively well-conserved across animal species, with similar systems in both mammals and invertebrates. Interestingly, honey bees have substantially reduced numbers of genes associated with immune function compared with solitary insect species. However, social species such as honey bees provide an excellent envir...

table s1 mod.doc.

Invertebrates, and especially insects, constitute valuable and convenient models for the study of the evolutionary roots of immune-related behaviors. With stable conditions in the nest, high population densities, and frequent interactions, social insects such as ants provide an excellent system for examining the spread of pathogens. The evolutionar...

50 most-predictive brain genes. Leave-one-out cross-validation was used to identify the 50 most-predictive transcripts for mating-state in the brains. The 50 genes are listed in this table.

50 most-predictive ovary genes. Leave-one out cross-validation was used to identify the 50 most-predictive transcripts for mating-state in the ovaries. The 50 genes are listed in this table.

Significantly-regulated genes in the brains and the ovaries. All genes significantly-regulated in the brains and the ovaries with FDR < 0.05 are listed in this table.

Significant Ovary Gene Expression Clustering. Hierarchical clustering analysis was employed to determine if there was a significant clustering structure among all significantly regulated transcripts in the ovaries. Virgin and laying queens grouped together with mated queens as the outgroup. This grouping is supported by an "approximately-unbiased"...

Ovary development scale. Ovaries were assigned a score from 1–4. 1 was completely undeveloped, 4 was completely developed with mature eggs present. Pictures of each of these stages are provided in this figure.

Comparative analyses. All significant genes identified in the comparative analyses are listed in this table.

Significant Brain Gene Expression Clustering. Hierarchical clustering analysis was employed to determine if there was a significant clustering structure among all significantly regulated transcripts in the brains. Virgin and laying queens grouped together with mated queens as the outgroup. This grouping is supported by an "approximately-unbiased" p...

The molecular mechanisms underlying the post-mating behavioral and physiological transitions undergone by females have not been explored in great detail. Honey bees represent an excellent model system in which to address these questions because they exhibit a range of "mating states," with two extremes (virgins and egg-laying, mated queens) that di...

Neotropical attine ants live in obligatory symbiosis with a fungus that they grow for food on a substrate of primarily plant material harvested by workers. Nestmate recognition is likely based on chemical cues as in most other social insects, but recent studies have indicated that both the ants and their mutualistic fungi may contribute to the reco...

Cuticular hydrocarbon profiles are essential for nestmate recognition in insect societies, and quantitative variation in these recognition cues is both environmentally and genetically determined. Environmental cues are normally derived from food or nest material, but an exceptional situation may exist in the fungus-growing ants where the symbiotic...

Mating has profound effects on the physiology and behavior of female insects, and in honey bee (Apis mellifera) queens, these changes are permanent. Queens mate with multiple males during a brief period in their early adult lives, and shortly thereafter they initiate egg-laying. Furthermore, the pheromone profiles of mated queens differ from those...

Proformica longiseta exists as two populations in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Spain, only one of which is parasitized by the slave-maker ant Rossomyrmex minuchae. To investigate the possible effect of co-evolutionary pressures on cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles (the presumed nestmate recognition cues), we performed a comparative analysis of...

Leaf-cutting ants live in symbiosis with a basidiomycete fungus that is exploited as a source of nutrients for ant larvae. Tests of brood transport revealed that Acromyrmex laticeps nigrosetosus workers did not discriminate a concolonial brood from an alien brood. The same result was observed with tests of fungus transport. Adult workers showed no...

Leaf-cutting ants (tribe Attini) are a unique group of ants that cultivate a fungus that serves as a main source of their food. The fungus is grown on fresh leaves that are harvested by workers. We examine the respective contribution of ants and their symbiotic fungus in the degradation of plant material by examining the digestive capacities of sev...

This study reports new information on interactions between Ectatomma tuberculatum (Ponerinae) and Crematogaster limata parabiotica (Myrmicinae). Workers of these sympatric arboreal ant species forage on the same pioneer trees. Diurnally, Ectatomma preyed on Crematogaster workers that avoided overt aggression by respecting a 'safe distance'. At nigh...

Neotropical Fungus-growing leaf-cutting ants (tribe Attini) live in obligatory symbiosis with a fungus, which they grow on fresh leaves harvested by workers. Colonial recognition is likely based on chemical cues provided by cuticular hydrocarbons that have been found to be partly influenced by environmental odor sources. The diet breadth of Acro...

this paper, we introduce a new mathematical model of the chemical recognition system of ants. This mechanism of colonial closure, can be observed when real ants need to discriminate between nestmates and intruders. Many works already describe this phenomenon for distinct species, but none of them formalises it from a computational point of view. In...

Crematogaster sp. is a dominant arboreal ant species that captures and retrieves very large prey. Hunting workers forage collectively thanks to short-range recruitment. They detect prey by contact, then rapidly attack, seizing small prey by the body and large prey by a leg. In this study, almost all the active prey were spread-eagled by several wor...

We studied the predatory behavior of Tetramorium aculeatum, (Formicidae: Myrmicinae), a dominant arboreal ant species that poses problems in the agricultural milieu due to its violent venom. Hunting workers that forage collectively at night detected prey by contact, seized them by an appendage or, to a lesser degree by the head or the abdomen, then...

Mating has profound effects on the physiology and behavior of female insects, and in honey bee (Apis mellifera) queens, these changes are permanent. Queens mate with multiple males during a brief period in their early adult lives, and shortly thereafter they initiate egg-laying. Furthermore, the pheromone profiles of mated queens differ from those...