Trained as an entomologist, I have been interested in crop pests (grapevine, lavender, crucifers) for almost thirty years.
My expertise covers mainly sap-sucking insects, such as leafhoppers, fulgorids, mealybugs and bugs.
In particular, I have worked on the vection and epidemiology of grapevine yellows and viral leafroll transmitted by hemipteran insects. My approach is primarily naturalistic in order to reveal the biological and ecological characteristics of these agricultural pests in the field, always in relation with the hosts they impact. Genetic and chemical attraction tools are also at the heart of my research. For several years, the aim of my research activity has been the so-called biological control by importing control agents specific to the pests that we want to control. These pests are most often exogenous and invasive in crops and ecosystems. For this, I travel the world in the areas of origin of the species to be controlled, in order to collect, inventory and select their natural enemies. In parallel, I develop a similar approach for invasive plant species.
