Internship in ENTOMOLOGY behavior study of stink bugs

Agriculture Sciences, Engineering and/or Technology, Natural Sciences
France
cancon
Period: 
10 Mar, 2020 to 26 Aug, 2020
Deadline: 
26 Feb, 2020

General information

Duration: 
6 months
Commitment: 
Full-time
Description: 

Internship: Dispersal abilities of the green shield bug, Palomena prasina (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

HostAssociation Nationale des Producteurs de Noisettes (ANPN), centre d’expérimentation sur les noisettesTeamANPN, Unicoque (KOKI) et l’Universita Degli Studi Di Torino (Italy)LocationCanconPeriod~March à ~August 2020 (6 month)

Keywords: tracking, flight mill, radar, bio control, coding, animal behavior

One of the main pests in orchards is the green shield bug, Palomena prasina (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Adults are known to cause serious damage to apples and hazelnuts. Post-wintering adults emerge in April and mate. Pre-wintering adults emerge in July and feed to reserve for the winter. Unlike other stink bug species, it is not known where the adults overwinter and therefore, where the insects start their infestation in the spring. Likewise, there is no information on the flight period and the dispersal abilities of adults and larvae in the fields.

The dispersal ability is a key element to understand the dynamic of populations of the pests, in particular to develop tools to integrated pest management (IPM). Insects tracking in fields to assess their dispersal ability would be ideal. However, stinkbugs, like Halyomorpha halys, can cover more than 100m in less than a minute, they often move around the environment to change host plants or to look for a hibernation site. The use of laboratory devices is therefore needed. Flight mills and tracking software are used to assess the basic dispersal abilities of insects. However, it is important to carry out field trials to validate or supplement the results.

The aim of the study will therefore to develop device methods in order to study the dispersal abilities of green shield bugs in laboratory conditions and in the field. The devices used will be the flight mills, tracking software and for the field part, interception traps and a harmonic radar. The results will be discussed according to the ecological context and the biological parameters of the individuals: Main work steps:

Main work steps: bibliographic study, collect insects, identification and sexing, development and tests behavioral devices

Required profile: University student or engineering school or equivalent diploma. Autonomy, synthesis, ease with behavior software (eg Qgis, Ethovision, Tracktor …) and statistics. The candidate will join a team of ten people from technicians, engineers to doctors working in the Technical and Experimentation Service of the Unicoque cooperative. Knowledge of animal behavior and coding (Arduino) is an additional asset. Driving license and personal car are mandatory.
Material conditions: ​​Housing for the duration of the internship and an internship allowance.

Supervisors: Rachid Hamidi, PhD in Entomology at the ANPN (Cancon, France). Maud Thomas, PhD in Food Science, Head of Experimentation Division (UNICOQUE, Cancon, France). Luciana Tavella Pr., Entomologist at the University of Turin (Italy). To apply, send your requests to Alexandra Menguy Mignano: [email protected] Tel: 05 53 01 67 70 Fax: 05 53 01 78 08. SCA UNICOQUE / ANPN – “Lamouthe” – 47 290 CANCON

Compensation: 
Financial compensation
Salary
Accommodation
Transportation costs
Reimbursement costs
Other

Keywords

tracking, flight mill, radar, bio control, coding, animal behavior, entomology  
Requirements
Languages: 
English: Independent User B2
Level of Studies: 
Master
Skills: 
Personal car