Eric’s article, where he and his co-authors analyzed whether beehives face predation threats from more than one hornet colony (Vespa velutina nigrithorax), using both hydrocarbons and microsatellites, can be found here.

IS: Who are you, and what do you do?

ED: I am an associate professor at the University of Tours, where I serve as director of the Agrosciences Department (one of the university’s teaching departments). I am also a researcher at the Research Institute for Insect Biology (IRBI; UMR CNRS 7261). I mainly study chemical communication in eusocial insects, such as hornets, termites, bees, and ants.

IS: How did you develop an interest in your research?

ED: Early on, I studied reproductive mechanisms in parasitoid wasps and quickly moved into analysing the chemical cues that females use to maximise reproduction. Within a few years, I became interested in eusocial insects, given that chemical communication is probably the most important structuring force in their societies. My initial work was with termites (Reticulitermes species). In 2007, I got interested in an invasive eusocial insect that had arrived in France just 3 years prior: the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax).

I was convinced that studying chemical communication (e.g., chemical signatures composed of cuticular hydrocarbons, alarm pheromones, sex pheromones) could help develop targeted and efficient systems for controlling this invasive species. Moreover, as very little was known about this hornet, it was possible to answer numerous biological and ecological questions about it and other hornet species.

IS: What is your favorite social insect, and why?

ED: Hornet species, of course! In all seriousness, every social insect taxon is exciting to research. There are so many topics to study in insect societies, like nest architecture, communication systems, social structure, and how females become queens, just to name a few examples. At present, I am very interested in hornet species. This group was relatively little studied in the past, and so many scientific questions remain to be explored.

IS: What is the best moment/discovery in your research so far? What made it so memorable?

ED: That is a difficult question. However, when I discovered a parasite (Conops vesicularis) that could kill Vespa velutina foundresses (Darrouzet et al, 2015), that was a great moment. It happened like this: I was dissecting queens to show a colleague what their reproductive tracts look like. I was quite puzzled to observe a white mass in one of their abdomens because it was the first time I had observed such a structure. It turns out that it was a parasite! We demonstrated that this local species, a parasitoid fly, can parasitise and kill Asian hornet foundresses as colonies are getting started.

IS: Do you teach or do outreach/science communication? How do you incorporate your research into these areas?

ED: I regularly do outreach to share information about social insects, their nests, and the invasive hornet V. velutina (its biology and ecology; its impacts on biodiversity, our economy, and our health; and potential control strategies). My most common audiences are students, beekeepers, everyday citizens, and journalists. Sometimes I will draw on my own work to develop points made during these outreach efforts.

IS: What do you think are some of the important current questions in social insect research, and what’s essential for future research?

ED: In science, all questions are important and interesting. Because it is my field of specialty, I think it is essential to analyse communication systems in social insects. Communication is the link among all the individuals making up a group, such as a colony. Sociality can only exist because those individuals are communicating.

Moreover, by analysing communication systems, we can come up with better ways for controlling insect pests, including invasive species. For example, we can develop specific baits to improve trapping systems, synthetic pheromones to disrupt reproduction, or repulsive compounds to drive away specific species, like agricultural pests. Gathering knowledge about insect chemical communication is crucial to this work.

IS: What research questions generate the biggest debate in social insect research at the moment?

ED: What a difficult question! Whatever the scientific domain, you wll find debates around specific questions. Inf I focus on my area of expertise – chemical communication in insects – I question the function of every chemical compound in a pheromone blend. Is it that each compound possesses a specific function or that a mixture containing a particular relative quantity of these compounds givesrise to a function? One challenge is also linked to our technical capacity to identify all the compounds present. Maybe compounds present at low levels could have an active role in the pheromone blend. However, when we are cmparing blends among individuals, it is difficult (or impossible) to analyse all the compounds present. So, in general, we focus on the main compounds so that we can obtain several fundamental pieces of information. That said, we are left wondering what insects are actually perceiving. Is it the main compounds in the pheromone blend, or all of the compounds in the blend, including those present at very low levels? It is a difficult but interesting question! I think that if there are so many compounds present, each compound must have a function. But what function is that? The question remains open.

IS: What is the last book you read? Would you recommend it? Why or why not?

ED: The last book I read was written by a colleague at my university: Le bateau de Palmyre, quand les mondes anciens se rencontraient (The Palmyre boat, when ancient civilizations met”) (Éditions Tallandier). The author, Maurice Sartre, presents what we know about travel and exploration by ancient civilizations. He shows that global trade existed thousands of years before modern times…and that humans probably faced the same problems as we do today with regards to invasive species.

IS: Outside of science, what are your favorite activities, hobbies, or sports?

ED: I am fascinated by ancient civilizations. I have read books about Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations, for example. It is amazing to see what these peoples built, how they lived, and what their cultures were like.

Since I study V. velutina, I am in contact with several beekeepers, and some have become friends. Consequently, I was inspired by them to try beekeeping myself! I have my own apiary, which I got started one year ago. It is extremely interesting. I spend a lot of time observing the workers’ activities and managing my colonies. Producing my “own” honey is also fantastic! What’s more, I now have my own experimental site, right there in my garden, where I can test traps targeting V. velutina, which preys on bees.

IS: How do you keep going when things get tough?

ED: Doing scientific research is always difficult. We have to keep at it, trying things again and again. I remember my PhD advisor telling me that research is 90% failure and 10% success. So, challenges are a normal part of the job.

IS: If you were to go live on an uninhabited island and could only bring three things, what would you bring? Why?

ED: First, I would like to bring my family. My wife and children are what is most important in my life. The second would be books. I have so many books at home, and knowledge is extremely important to me. Therefore, I would bring scientific books, technical books (we would need to figure out how to survive on that island!), and literature.

IS: Who do you think has had the most considerable influence on your science career?

ED: A scientific career is influenced by so many people and colleagues. Choosing a single person is really hard. My high school biology teacher had the earliest influence on me, and she is the reason that I studied biology in college. Next, I would probably say my PhD advisor, who taught me how to be a scientist, how to think, how to implement scientific protocols, and how to rigorously approach scientific results, among other things.   

IS: What advice would you give to someone hoping to be a social insect researcher in the future?

ED: It is hard to become a scientific researcher these days. If speaking to a motivated student, I would say: choose and work with a good scientific lab and team during your PhD. This team should be publishing regularly. You need to learn different techniques and publish several articles to have a chance at obtaining a position. However, the best advice I could give to young people is to listen to themselves: think hard about how you feel about your potential dissertation topic, research lab and team, and, most of all, PhD advisor. You are committing to 3 years of work!   

IS: What is your favorite place science has taken you?

ED: Thanks to my job, I have had the opportunity to travel to different countries. For example, I was lucky enough to go to China twice for a scientific collaboration. My collaborators and I conducted research on the viruses exchanged between honey bees and hornets. It was a fantastic project. Thanks to my Chinese colleague, Dr Chunsheng Hou, I learned about apiaries in China, different hornet species, how some companies rear hornets, and practical applications involving hornets (e.g., food, traditional medicine, pest control). Scientifically, it was very thrilling. Moreover, I was able to make one of my dreams come true: I took a walk along the Great Wall!