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<div>Un nouveau ravageur venu d'Asie<p>La pyrale du buis, ou Cydalima perspectalis, est un lépidoptère asiatique de la famille des Crambidae qui s'attaque aux espèces du genre Buxus. </p></div>

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To ensure the responsible and informed use of pesticides, it is essential to assess them in the field. This work assesses the occurrence, mobility and risks to human health and the environment associated with current pesticide use in the eastern region of Michoacán, in avocado and corn crops located on the border of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. This protected natural area provides wintering habitat for the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and is home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna.In response to the growing concern over the expansion and intensification of monocultures in a region where people and ecosystems are vulnerable, this work aims to (1) provide the first documented information on the agricultural practices in this region, (2) investigate the presence and concentrations of the most commonly used pesticides at the surface water and groundwater sites, (3) assess the environmental risks to aquatic organisms based on surface water monitoring, (4) assess the human health risks posed by the pesticides and agricultural practices revealed by the interviews, and (5) provide a relative indication of groundwater vulnerability to pesticides contamination.Through face-to-face semi-structured interviews, we collected information on the irrigation system, types of agrochemicals used, timing, frequency of application, and handling practices. Using the survey data and databases on pesticides toxicological properties, the human health risk assessment was calculated using the Quebec-IRPeQ pesticide risk indicator. A robust and precise analytical method based on solid-phase extraction and LC-MS/MS was developed and validated to quantify 21 different pesticides in 16 water samples (rivers, wells, runoff areas). The potential aquatic ecological risks of the pesticides detected in water samples were assessed in terms of both acute exposures based on toxic units (TUs) and chronic exposures based on risk quotients (RQs). The aquifer vulnerability assessment was calculated by DRASTIC method with measured hydrodynamic and physicochemical characteristics of regional soils. The representation of these results was done with geographical information systems in order to facilitate data management and spatial representation.As principal results, the interviews revealed the use of 28 active ingredients, including glyphosate (29% of respondents), imidacloprid (27%), and benomyl (24%). The pesticide analysis showed the presence of 13 different pesticides and degradation products in the water samples. The highest concentrations were found for imidacloprid (1195 ngL-1) and carbendazim (a degradation product of benomyl; 932 ngL-1), along with the metabolite of pyrethroid insecticides, 3-PBA (494 ngL-1). The risk assessment indicates that among the most used pesticides, the fungicide benomyl and carbendazim pose the highest risk to human health and aquatic ecosystems, respectively.Our study represents a pioneering effort to bridge the knowledge gap in the eastern region of Michoacán. It not only provides invaluable insights into agricultural practices and pesticide use but also serves as a call to action for policymakers, local communities, and the avocado industry to re-evaluate their practices and prioritize sustainability.

Researchers have shown growing interest in using deep neural networks (DNNs) to efficiently test the effects of perceptual processes on the evolution of color patterns and morphologies. Whether this is a valid approach remains unclear, as it is unknown whether the relative detectability of ecologically relevant stimuli to DNNs actually matches that of biological neural networks. To test this, we compare image classification performance by humans and six DNNs (AlexNet, VGG-16, VGG-19, ResNet-18, SqueezeNet, and GoogLeNet) trained to detect artificial moths on tree trunks. Moths varied in their degree of crypsis, conferred by different sizes and spatial configurations of transparent wing elements. Like humans, four of six DNN architectures found moths with larger transparent elements harder to detect. However, humans and only one DNN architecture (GoogLeNet) found moths with transparent elements touching one side of the moth's outline harder to detect than moths with untouched outlines. When moths took up a smaller proportion of the image (i.e., were viewed from further away), the camouflaging effect of transparent elements touching the moth's outline was reduced for DNNs but enhanced for humans. Viewing distance can thus interact with camouflage type in opposing directions in humans and DNNs, which warrants a deeper investigation of viewing distance/size interactions with a broader range of stimuli. Overall, our results suggest that humans and DNN responses had some similarities, but not enough to justify widespread use of DNNs for studies of camouflage.

L’Unité Expérimentale Forestière Méditerranéenne (UEFM) de l’INRA d’Avignon a trois missions essentielles : la gestion des projets pluridisciplinaires type « sites ateliers », l’élevage de plants en pépinière et la lutte contre les ravageurs forestiers. Dans le cadre de cette dernière, l’unité développe des méthodes respectueuses de l’environnement et doit souvent mettre au point des démarches expérimentales. Pour illustrer cela, on a choisi l’exemple du Bombyx disparate,un lépidoptère dont les pullulations sont fortes. En effet, face aux fortes nuisances et dégâts occasionnés par ce ravageur forestier, une méthode d’appréciation d’efficacité de produits phytosanitaires a du être mise au point. Cette méthode s’appuie sur la coprométrie et le calibrage des déjections du ravageur. Après plusieurs années de test, elle donne entière satisfaction quant aux tests d’efficacité de produits phytosanitaires en vue d’homologation.

In this study, we reassess the phylogenetic relationships of the genus Sesamia Guenée, 1852 and examine in more detail the members of the nonagrioides species group, for which three distinct species complexes are identified. The calamistis subgroup comprises eight species, of which four new species are described: Sesamia kabirara Le Ru sp. nov., Sesamia kalale Le Ru sp. nov., Sesamia mapalense Le Ru sp. nov. and Sesamia teke Le Ru sp. nov. The incerta subgroup consists of 11 species, of which four new species are described: Sesamia kamba Le Ru sp. nov., Sesamia lalaci Le Ru sp. nov., Sesamia lusese Le Ru sp. nov. and Sesamia msowero Le Ru sp. nov. The nonagrioides subgroup comprises ten species of which two new species are described: Sesamia libode Le Ru sp. nov. and Sesamia satauensis Le Ru sp. nov. Phylogenetic and molecular species delimitation analyses of a multi-marker molecular dataset allow us to investigate and clarify the status of Sesamia species and species complexes. Our results yield a well-supported phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus, which supports the monophyletic nature of all but one species subgroup. The results of 16 distinct molecular species delimitation analyses show some levels of incongruence and, overall, a tendency towards over-splitting. We also present an updated list of species for the genus Sesamia and provide morphological keys based on male and female genitalia to determine the species group of any Sesamia species and to identify all species belonging to the nonagrioides species group.

La processionnaire du pin, Thaumetopoea pityocampa, est un lépidoptère originaire du Bassin méditerranéen, qui pose de véritables problèmes d’ordre sanitaire sur les peuplements végétaux et sur les populations humaines et animales. En effet, les chenilles se nourrissent des aiguilles de pins et de cèdres et sont responsables de la défoliation des arbres sur lesquels elles ont tissé leurs nids. De plus, elles libèrent des poils urticants très allergènes pouvant provoquer de violentes réactions chez l’homme et chez les animaux. La lutte contre la processionnaire du pin est donc nécessaire en milieu urbain, la finalité étant de contrôler les populations à un niveau tolérable permettant de protéger au mieux les peuplements végétaux et la santé des hommes et des animaux. En 2008, le Grenelle de l’Environnement a conduit à la mise en place du Plan Ecophyto, qui vise à réduire de 50% l’usage des produits phytosanitaires sur le territoire. Ce plan tend à encourager les gestionnaires d’espaces verts à privilégier les techniques de lutte alternative plus respectueuses de l’environnement plutôt que l’utilisation de produits chimiques. Une enquête en ligne a été réalisée par l’INRA (Institut national de la recherche agronomique) en 2009 auprès des 36 000 communes de France afin de faire un état des lieux des pratiques de lutte entreprises par les communautés territoriales. Une nouvelle enquête a été élaborée puis mise en ligne sur Internet en 2012 afin de suivre l’évolution des méthodes de lutte privilégiées par les communes de France depuis la première enquête de 2009. Cette nouvelle enquête a révélé que sur les 67% des communes qui ont constaté la présence de la processionnaire du pin sur leur territoire, seules 62% mènent des actions de lutte. L’utilisation du traitement chimique et de la lutte mécanique est en nette régression depuis 2009 alors que l’emploi de la lutte biologique et du piégeage des chenilles s’est fortement accru. Nous constatons globalement une forte progression depuis 2009 (+8%) de l’utilisation des techniques de luttes alternatives ( lutte mécanique, lutte biologique, piégeage des papillons et des chenilles, et gestion paysagère) par rapport à l’emploi de produits phytosanitaires ( luttes chimique et microbiologique). De plus, 60% des communes menant des actions de lutte combinent plusieurs types de traitements au cours d’une même année dans le but d’augmenter l’efficacité de la lutte. Enfin, l’enquête a permis de mettre en lumière les besoins des communes, notamment concernant le financement des pratiques de lutte. Les communes expriment aussi nettement un besoin d’information sur les techniques existantes et de formation pour leur mise en place.

Lepidoptera can cause several health issues in humans and domestic animals due to their setae, which are defensive adaptations that protect them from predators. The diversity of venomous Lepidoptera has been explored in several reviews starting from the first comprehensive attempt in 1984 by Kawamoto and Kumada (KK) who compiled a list of 228 species based on previous reviews; however, KK did not cite the original publications for listed species. In this review we validated and updated the KK table. The updated list of venomous Lepidoptera includes 5 superfamilies, 14 families, 208 genera, and 576 species, representing a two-fold increase for genera and 2.9-fold for species with respect to KK. The total number of species in the genera including at least one venomous species, which we argue is likely closer to the true number of venomous species, is 7 times higher (3,620). GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) occurrences for venomous species are 1-4 orders of magnitude higher than those of confamilial non-venomous species. The presence of venomous structures is independent of the relatedness of the clades or geographic region; venom is produced by many species of Zygaenoidea, Lasiocampoidea and Bombycoidea but only by some specialized groups in Papilionoidea and Noctuoidea. There are likely to be multiple evolutionary origins of venom within Lepidoptera, but the exact number is difficult to estimate. The knowledge gap between medical and natural history fields needs to be addressed with novel approaches to study ecology and toxicology. This review offers health practitioners a tool to better understand the origin of the reactions observed and to improve the identification of the causal agents.