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Le frelon asiatique, un redoutable prédateur
Abstract
Le frelon asiatique Vespa velutina nigrithorax inquiète, interroge, voire
passionne de nombreuses personnes. Ce frelon invasif venu de Chine
pose des soucis en Europe : impacts négatifs sur les populations d’insectes
européens, dont l’abeille, sur certaines activités économiques (secteur
apicole, viticole, production de fruits, gestion des espaces verts…), et sur
la santé humaine (risque d’accidents). Face à ces divers problèmes, que
pouvons-nous faire ? Quel(s) comportement(s) adopter en sa présence ?
Des solutions existent-elles ? Sinon, seront-elles bientôt disponibles ?
Malgré cette vision inquiétante et les questions en terme de protection
et de contrôle que beaucoup se posent, à raison, le frelon asiatique
offre de nombreux sujets d’étonnement, via la construction de son nid
(impressionnant de par sa taille, son architecture et sa localisation),
la structure et le fonctionnement de ses sociétés, le comportement
coopératif des ouvrières, la colonisation si rapide du territoire européen,
ses interactions avec les espèces locales (pas toujours à son avantage
d’ailleurs), etc.
Toutefois, le frelon asiatique, comme bien d’autres espèces de guêpes et
de frelons, reste encore fort méconnu du grand public, mais aussi de nombreux
professionnels. Ce livre propose donc, par des textes accessibles
au plus grand nombre, et de multiples photographies spectaculaires, un
état des lieux de nos connaissances sur ce frelon, des recherches menées
sur celui-ci et sur les outils de lutte efficaces et sélectifs bientôt
disponibles. Il intéressera aussi bien les personnes confrontées au frelon
asiatique (apiculteurs, désinsectiseurs, gestionnaires, entomologistes,
scientifiques…) que celles tout simplement curieuses de connaître cet
insecte passionnant.
... It is now found in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and, more recently, in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (Bruneau 2011;López et al. 2011;Grosso-silva and Maia 2012;Demichelis et al. 2014;Monceau and Thiéry 2017;Robinet et al. 2017Robinet et al. , 2018. To feed its larvae, it consumes large quantities of insects (Villemant et al. 2011) and, more particularly, of honey bees (Darrouzet and Gévar 2014;Darrouzet 2019). Bee colonies suffer as a result, and their foraging activity decreases, thus impacting beekeeping (Requier et al. 2018(Requier et al. , 2019Leza et al. 2019). ...
... Bee colonies suffer as a result, and their foraging activity decreases, thus impacting beekeeping (Requier et al. 2018(Requier et al. , 2019Leza et al. 2019). Not only is the yellow-legged hornet a threat to biodiversity, but it is also responsible for drastic economic losses as well as public health concerns (Beggs et al. 2011;Darrouzet 2019;Laborde-Castérot et al. 2020). ...
... Vespidae nests are built with plant fibers mixed with water and saliva (Edwards 1980). Yellow-legged hornet nests are located in different habitats but frequently occur in tree tops; they can generally be distinguished from the nests of other social Vespidae in France by the presence of a lateral entrance (Rome et al. 2009;Darrouzet 2013Darrouzet , 2019. Nests are composed of a stack of several combs that are connected by pillars and covered by a protective envelope (Darrouzet 2019). ...
In insects, chemical communication is the most common form of communication, and cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are employed in recognition processes. In social insects, CHCs also help define colony identity and thus contribute to social cohesion among nestmates. Individuals can deposit their chemical signatures on nest surfaces. This information serves as a reference for newly emerged individuals and allows them to obtain the odor specific to their colony. This study examined nest chemical profiles in an inbred invasive species: the yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax. We demonstrated that nest structures (i.e., envelopes, combs, and pillars) had specific hydrocarbon profiles, which were colony specific. There were similarities between the chemical profiles of the nests and the CHC signatures of hornets. The loss of genetic diversity previously documented in the yellow-legged hornet population in France does not appear to have constrained nest chemical diversity.
... There have been two main consequences of this introduction. First, V. velutina preys on honeybees (Apis mellifera), causing serious problems for apiaries (Villemant et al. 2011, Monceau et al. 2014Darrouzet 2019;Requier et al. 2018Requier et al. , 2019. It may also have a strong ecological impact on wild pollinating insects (Potts et al. 2010) and compete with endemic predators such as the European hornet, Vespa crabro (Cini et al. 2018; Kwon and Choi 2020). ...
... At present, there are no effective methods for controlling this hornet species. The traps used to capture V. velutina are often not selective and affect entomofauna Darrouzet 2019). Research is underway to develop new effective trapping strategies; notably, pheromones are being employed to increase trap selectivity (Cappa et al. 2019). ...
The yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax, is an invasive species that is causing numerous ecological and economic problems, particularly for beekeepers, whose apiaries are seriously affected by hornet predation. The effects may be intensified if hornet workers from different colonies are preying upon bees from the same apiary. Therefore, to determine whether such could occur, we sampled hornets found within identifiable colonies versus in front of beehives. We employed two complementary methodological approaches: the analysis of chemical markers (i.e., cuticular hydrocarbons) and genetic markers (i.e., microsatellites). Although there was chemical variation among hornets, we determined that at least two chemically homogeneous hornet groups could be found within each apiary studied (using K-means clustering). Furthermore, when hornet chemical dissimilarity was quantified at three different levels (within apiaries, within hornet colonies, and between hornet colonies), we discovered that the within-apiary dissimilarity was intermediate relative to within-colony and between-colony dissimilarity, suggesting that the hornets within a given apiary represented a mixture of individuals from more than one colony. Based on the genetic markers, hornet genetic diversity was low at the population level, as expected for this introduced species. That said, the genetic results mirrored the chemical results: genetic dissimilarity was larger between colonies and smaller within colonies. However, the hornets within a given apiary displayed an intermediate dissimilarity value. Consequently, both our chemical and genetic findings suggested that apiaries could be attacked by hornets from more than one colony.
... Acest comportament afectează dimensiunea coloniilor de albine, care conduce automat la scăderea producției de miere și la manifestarea unui impact negativ major asupra activităților apicole (Matsuura & Yamane, 1990;Monceau et al., 2004;Monceau & Thiery, 2017). Prezența speciei V. velutina nigrithorax este asociată cu reducerea biodiversității locale, reducerea activităților economice, amenințări ale sănătății umane, inclusiv deces (Monceau et al., 2004;Darrouzet, 2019). ...
... Native to China, the invasive yellowlegged hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax [5], was accidentally introduced into southwestern France around 2004 [6]. It is a hardy, adaptable species whose flexible dietary requirements have allowed it to invade and establish itself within a variety of habitats [7]. Vespa v. nigrithorax has successfully expanded its range and is now found throughout most of France [8] as well as in several other European countries [9][10][11][12][13]. ...
Invasive species are permanently modifying the distribution and diversity of native species worldwide. For nearly two decades, a hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), has been spreading in Europe. Due to its marked invasiveness, this yellow-legged hornet is of great economic and ecological concern, mainly because of the damage it causes to insects in general and bees in particular. Current management methods are sparse and ineffective. Naturally produced by insects, semio-chemicals have been proposed as integrated management tools in this context, either for disruption or mass trapping, as an alternative tool to conventional non-selective traps. Here, we focused on the venom gland, which produces the alarm pheromone. In previous studies, individuals showed marked diversity in their chemical profiles. However, to successfully conduct targeted pheromone-based trapping, the hornet’s chemical ecology must be thoroughly characterized. Therefore, it was necessary to better understand the chemical composition of the alarm pheromone of not only workers but also other V. v. nigrithorax females. First, we evaluated the differences in venom gland profiles between the four types of females: queens, foundresses, pre-winter gynes, and workers. Next, we experimentally explored the venom gland profiles of V. velutina nigrithorax workers and pre-wintering gynes by in vivo and in vitro approaches. We found 13 new compounds in the venom gland, of which 9 were identified (chain lengths: C8 to C12). Two compounds were found exclusively in reproductive females. Profiles differed among pre-wintering gynes, foundresses, and queens but not between pre-wintering gynes and workers. This result indicates that the chemical signature of the female venom gland changes over the course of life history: from pre-wintering gynes to foundresses to queens.
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