Laurence Ollivier

• ph D HDR
• Senior Entomologist, Oil Palm, Coconut, date Palm, Ornemental Palms, Cocoa at French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development

Aim Mutualistic systems involving plants and brood pollinators show intriguing cases where a single plant is pollinated by several closely related sympatric species. This study aims at identifying the mechanisms involved in such an extreme case, where 10 sympatric weevil species are only associated with African oil palm inflorescences. We assessed...

Elaeidobius kamerunicus Faust (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) is one of the specific pollinators on inflorescences of the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis Jacquin. This derelomine weevil is native to tropical Africa. During the late 20th century, it was introduced into all tropical regions where E. guineensis is grown, in order to improve its pollina...

The genus Elaeidobius Kuschel, 1952 (Curculionidae, Curculioniae, Derelomini) is an Afrotropical genus associated with the male inflorescences of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis Jacq. The activity of species in this genus is critical for pollen transportation and for the fruit set of this economically important palm. In this study, the genus Elaeido...

Elaeidobius kamerunicus Faust (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) is one of the specific pollinators on inflorescences of the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis Jacquin. This derelomine weevil is native to tropical Africa. During the late 20th century, it was introduced into all tropical regions where E. guineensis is grown, in order to improve its pollina...

L’Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail considère que sur la base de l’expertise réalisée par le GT deux situations dans la lutte contre le charançon rouge du palmier sont à prendre en considération : i) la situation de la zone dite « centre-atlantique »pour laquelle une éradication du CRP est po...

Les résultats acquis par la CAVEM et la FREDON ont été analysés sur la base de leur mise en forme originelle. Ils attestent que des moyens techniques et humains importants sont mis en oeuvre et illustrent la volonté d’assurer un suivi de l’état sanitaire des palmiers (avant et après traitement) aussi exhaustif que possible afin de maximiser l’effic...

Palm oil is nowadays the first vegetable oil consumed worldwide. Given the world population growth and the increasing demand in fat for food and fuel, the increase in oil palm production is expected to continue. It is thus important to find ways of reducing the ecological impact of oil palm plantations at both the agroecosystem and the mill supply...

The pollination of two oil palm species, Elaeis guineensis Jacquin and Elaeis oleifera Cortés (Arecales: Arecaceae), depends on a mutualistic relation with insects, which use male inflorescences as a brood site, and visits female inflorescences lured by the emitted odor, which is similar to that of males. Although the activity of visiting the inflo...

Biological control of insect pests consists of the beneficial action of entomophagous predators and parasitoids, and entomopathogenic microorganisms (protozoa, nematodes, bacteria, fungi, and viruses) in controlling pest populations. There are three biological pest control strategies: classical biological control, conservation, and augmentation. Be...

A new design of interception trap has been developed to study the activity of two major oil palm pollinator insects, the weevils Elaeidobius spp. and Grasidius hybridus, visiting inflorescences in anthesis. The trap has been studied for the two species Elaeis guineensis (West Africa, South-east Asia and South America) and Elaeis oleifera and two in...

Palms are the food source for a variety of herbivores worldwide. All palm organs can be affected by pests: foliage, roots, flowers, fruit bunches, developing spear, and stems. The herbivores include mainly insects and Acari from different feeding guilds and taxa, in particular: defoliators (Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, and Phasmida), stipe borers (Cole...

The taxonomic position of the family Castniidae within the order Lepidoptera has changed over time. Initially, it was classified in the superfamily Sesioidea, and then it was grouped in a large assemblage including the Cossoidea, Sesioidea, and Zygaenoidea. Recent studies have included it in the superfamily Cossoidea. In Europe, the palm borer moth...

The invasion of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (red palm weevil, RPW) and Paysandisia archon (palm borer moth, PBM) in the Mediterranean Basin is a major problem for date palm growers and landscape managers, agriculturists, and gardeners, who need to manage these pests. Accurate detection of early infestations is important for the survival of the infest...

This chapter reviews the current control methods against red palm weevil (RPW, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) and palm borer moth (PBM, Paysandisia archon). Scientific documents covering different features of their bio-ecology and control (legal control, cultural control, biological control, chemical control, and methods using semiochemicals) together...

The forestry, agriculture and horticulture industries in Europe are under increasing risk from established and invasive pests due to environmental change and the globalization of trade. This book focuses on two invasive insect pests, the red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Red Palm Weevil, RPW) and the moth Paysandisia archon (Palm Borer Mot...

The moth Paysandisia archon is an invasive species that infests palm trees in the Mediterranean Basin. The immature stages occur exclusively inside the palm crown, whereas adults fly to mate and locate a new host plant. Here, we describe the use of small radio transmitters (0.27 g) for tracing the movements of P. archon adults. We report the first...

Galapaganus howdenae howdenae Lanteri, 1992 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae), putative oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacquin) pest in Ecuador? Galapaganus howdenae was recently discovered in the Esmeraldas province in Ecuador damaging Oil Palm Trees in a plantation. This weevil is polyphagous and is recorded for the first time threatening Oil P...

The edibility of different Elaeis sp. breeding populations present in Benin was tested for the leaf miner Coelaenomenodera lameensis Berti (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a major oil palm pest in Africa. Experiments carried out in sleeves revealed the oviposition capacities of females and the mortality rates for the different developmental stages by c...

Le papillon du palmier a été accidentellement introduit en Méditerranée en provenance d’Argentine, et il a su s’adapter au climat et aux espèces de palmiers présents. Depuis 2001, nous avons observé de nombreux dégâts naturels (trous de galeries, déformations et torsions des troncs, dessèchement des palmes), et des impacts économiques de l’ordre de...

The castniid palm borer, Paysandisia archon (Burmeister) (Lepidoptera: Castniidae), is a South American moth that in the last ten years has become a major pest of palm trees in the Mediterranean region. Current knowledge on the reproductive behavior of this diurnal moth suggests the importance of both visual and chemical cues, in particular the pro...

Paysandisia archon was accidentally introduced into Europe where it damages endemic and ornamental palms, also threatening the date palm from North Africa. Little was known about sex pheromones in the Castniidae day-flying moth before a recent paper that concluded on the absence of female sex pheromone in P. archon. A putative identification of a s...

Palm Protect is an EU-funded program (2012-14) entitled: “Strategies for eradication and containment of invasive palm borers, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus and Paysandisia archon. The project aims at throwing light on aspects of the pest biology in Europe, which are unknown and preclude efficient control, validating new and reliable methods for detecti...

Paysandisia archon (Burmeister, 1980) (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) is an accidentally introduced pest that damages palm trees in the northern Mediterranean area. To our knowledge, there are no experimental studies on its mating behaviour, and little is known about its biology and ecology. In the present study, we used outdoor experiments to investigat...

In recent years, the coconut whitefly, Aleurotrachelus atratus Hempel, has been recorded from various islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean. Field surveys in La Réunion, the Seychelles, the Comoros and glasshouses in Paris have allowed us to record this whitefly on 56 palm species, some of which are endemic and/or threatened species. Most of tre...

In the absence of any natural enemies, Adoretus versutus has become the biggest threat to cocoa plantations in Vanuatu since its accidental introduction. Its biological cycle, from the egg stage to adult emergence, takes place in the top few centimetres of soil, preferably in pastures and near the host plants on which the adults feed. Various sampl...

Experiments were undertaken in 1990 and 1992 to prove the effect of consanguinity on diapause and to study its links with sex determinism and possible genetic factors. These experiments were realized on the progenies of colonies collected in Fontainebleau forest. From adult emergences in April different ways of breeding were comparatively carried o...

Observations made on a rearing population of Diprion pini L. bred since more than 30 generations in photoperiodic and thermic conditions favourable to without‐diapause development, show that during the first reared generations sex‐ratio evolued rapidly in favour of males while diapause rate highly increased, reaching more than 90 % of individuals....

In Papua New Guinea, Coleoptera associated with coconuts share or have similar larval breeding sites, which has led to some confusion with their identity. Conclusive identification of these larvae is important before deciding whether it is possible to use biological control measures against them. The available keys are complex and do not take into...

Eretmocerus cocois Delvare sp. n. (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) is described and illustrated. The adults emerge from fourth instar larvae of Aleurotrachelus atratus Hempel (Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae) which presently heavily infests the coconut plantations in Comoros Islands. It is compared with E. pallidus Dozier a diagnosis of which is given, together...

FIGURES 8 – 16. Eretmocerus cocois Delvare sp. n. (Ψ: Figs 8, 10 – 16; ♂: Fig. 9). 8. Female habitus. 9. Male habitus. 10. Antenna. 11. Pedicel and funicle. 12. Apex of clava. 13. Mid tarsus. 14. Fore wing. 15. Base of fore wing. 16. Submarginal vein enlarged.

FIGURES 1 – 6. Quantitative study on some Eretmocerus spp.: relationships between primary variables and ratios. 1. Scatterplot of scape length and ratio clava (= clava length / clava width). 2. Scatterplot of forewing width and fore wing fringe length. 3. Scatterplot of ratio fringe and fore wing length. 4. Scatterplot relative to the abundance of...

FIGURE 7. Tree achieved in NJ from the CO 1 gene. Bootstrap values indicated above or below branches.

FIGURES 17 – 22. Figs 17 – 20. Ψ Eretmocerus cocois Delvare sp. n. 17. Head in frontal view. 18. Mesonotum. 19. Scutellum. 20. Ovipositor. Figs 21 – 22. Ψ Eretmocerus gracilis Rose. 21. Head in frontal view. 22. Antenna.

FIGURES 23 – 26. Type series of Eretmocerus pallidus Dozier. 23. Slide-mountings showing the placement of the selected lectotype. 24. Antenna. 25. Fore wing. 26. Base of forewing.

We demonstrated experimentally that Sufetula, a root-mining insect, has a depressive effect on coconut yields on peat soils. The impact of the pest resulted in a shortfall in earnings that warranted taking control measures. We considered control methods suitable for rehabilitating infested mature coconut plantings and for preserving young coconut p...

The Canopy Raft in the Masoala National Park (Madagascar). 1. -Towards a Lepidoptera survey. Thanks to the 2001 "Canopy Raft" expedition, many new records can be considered for the Lepidoptera fauna of the Masoala Peninsula, a still poorly investigated region of Madagascar. Moths, butterflies and a few caterpillars were collected over a five week p...

Notre étude porte sur l'analyse quantitative de la stratification verticale (sous-bois et canopée supérieure) de l'entomofaune de neuf sites en forêt tropicale humide de la presqu'île de Masoala, sur le rivage oriental de la baie d'Antongil (Madagascar). Nous avons pu accéder à la canopée grâce à la Bulle à Hélium®, à la Luge des Cimes ®, à l'Icos®...

Abstract  The palm pest Scapanes australis has been the object of considerable recent research to develop control measures that target male reproductive behaviour. This study investigated horn size scaling relationships and frequency distributions in two subspecies of S. australis for evidence of alternative male reproductive strategies. Indeed, a...

The beetle pests Scapanes australis Oryctes rhinoceros and Rhynchophoris bilineatus have been major constraints to coconut production in the islands region of Papua New Guinea for the last 30 years. Efficient synthetic attractants able to lure and trap all three beetles have been developed. This paper describes several trap designs developed at the...

Olfactory trapping of Scapanes australis is being studied to develop it to complement existing control methods. Components required were traps, pheromone and pheromone synesgist. The first two have been developed while field traps carried out to determine an efficient synergist co-attractant is reported. Synthetic synergist mixtures of compounds em...

Two new pests of Cocos nucifera L from Comoro islands: Aleurotrachelus atratus Hempel, 1922, and paraleyrodes bondari Peracchi, 1971 (Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae). Aleurotrachelus atratus Hempel, 1922 and Paraleyrodes bondari Peracchi, 1971 are fist recorded from Comoro Islands. Damages are significant on Cocos nucifera L. A. atratus is the most abundan...

Abstract We used radiotelemetry and/or chemical light-tags to track the flight of 15 individuals of Scapanes australis in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. This species causes severe economic impacts on coconut palms in young plantations. Flights to feeding, mating, resting, and possibly oviposition sites covered distances of 52 to 835 m in males,...

Laboratory and field investigations were carried out to investigate the nature and role of the male pheromone emitted by the Dynast beetle Scapanes australis and to develop a mass trapping technique against this major coconut pest in Papua New Guinea. We report the biological data obtained from natural and synthetic pheromone, previously described...

Scapanes australis is a major coconut pest, endemic in Papua New Guinea. Early in the night, males placed singly into artificial galleries made in young coconut palms exhibited a sex specific calling behaviour for 1 to 1.5 h. Coming to the gallery entrance, they raised the abdomen and the hind legs, the head lowered inside the gallery, and emitted...

In most producing countries, the population of coconut palms is growing old, and ways of replacing them are rarely implemented to ensure that production is maintained and the future of the industry and its profitability are safeguarded. Rehabilitating/replanting coconut plantations and adopting appropriate intercropping systems is one of the main c...

Oryctes rhinoceros (Scarabaeidae Dynastinae) trapping is possible with the pheromone (ethyl 4-methyloctanoate) as the attractant. this article describes a new type of trap that functions without insecticides or water and can remain in place for several months without any particular maintenance so long as the attractant does not run out. As it is 2...

Coconut is a major cash crop of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Scapanes australis rhinoceros beetles are its major pests. Currently there is no effective control method. Research is focused at developing an integrated pest management scheme for which a knowledge of the biology and ecology of the pest is required. This paper reports investigations on th...

Close observation of the insect'nocturnal behaviour revelaed a particular signalling behaviour in the male. This result was used to develop a type of trap using living males as bait . Several hundred insects were caught in that way in a year and a population decrease was observed. A mass trapping method can be envisaged as a way of controlling this...

Scapanes autralis is a major pest of coconut palms in Papua Nexw Guinea. Field olbservations sjowed that on host plants like coconuts, male Scapanes always attracted females and other male members. Bucket traps were developed to lure Scapanes beetles using live males as attractant (bait). Live males feeding on sugarcane nwere placed singly in an in...

For many years, the development of coconut growing in Papua New Guinea has been hampered by repeated attacks on palms by the Scapanes-Rhynchophorus (Insecta, Coleoptera, Dynastidae-Curculionidae) complex, which damages the terminal bud of young coconut palms, resulting in slower growth and spectacular deformations that often eventually kill the pal...

For many years, the development of coconut growing in Papua New Guinea has been hampered by repeated attacks on palms by the Scapanes-Rhynchophorus (Insecta, Coleoptera, Dynastidae-Curculionidae) complex, which damages the terminal bud of young coconut palms, resulting in slower growth and spectacular deformations that often eventually kill the pal...

A practical field key to rapidly distinguish third instar Scapanes australis (Boisduval) and Oryctes rhinoceros (L.) larvae along with seven scarabaeoid species in Coconut Palm and similar habitats is devised. Drawings and photographs of the larvae in support of the key are also presented.

Diprion pini L is a sawfly whose larvae cause sudden, brief and spectacular defoliation on Pinus sylvestris. In France, bivoltine populations in lowland areas and univoltine populations in mountain areas cohabit, all living in forests located at varying distances from each other. The characteristics of the diapause of mountain populations are diffe...

A phytosanitary survey on Vanua Levu island (Fiji) revealed a high percentage of Adoretus versutus larvae affected by an entomopoxvirus. This virus would appear to be a natural cause of mortality in larval populations of the leaf‐feeding pest.

In an attempt to control a serious cocoa pest in the South Pacific, a phytosanitary survey was carried out in 1992 and 1993 on the main two islands of Fiji. A high percentage of Adoretus versutus larvae were seen to be affected by an entomopoxvirus. In 1992, it was identified on the island of Vanua Levu, whereas it was absent from Viti Levu. In 199...

133 ref. *INRA. Documentation, Orleans Diffusion du document : INRA. Documentation, Orleans Diplôme : Dr. d'Université