URZF is located in Orléans (INRAE Val de Loire center) and develops fundamental and applied research on the mechanisms governing insect populations undergoing expansion as a result of human activity and environmental change. Its research objectives are to characterize the genetic, physiological and behavioral responses of invasive or expanding forest insect populations to climate change, to analyze the mechanisms governing the success of biological insect invasions, to measure the ecological and economic risks and, to a lesser extent, to derive monitoring and management tools. The research is based on a multidisciplinary approach involving researchers specializing in entomology, ecology, genetics, physiology and applied mathematics.
Apparatuses and main equipments
- Quarantine laboratory ≪ Insects ≫ (containment level NS1 or NS2) to study the biological characteristics of potentially invasive exotic insects, commissioned in 2010, and re-licensed in 2019
- “Urtilab” confined laboratory dedicated to the study of stinging insects, currently under construction (CPER funding) and due to open in 2024.
- Molecular biology laboratory (for sequencing and genotyping) with access to sequencers at the INRAE Ardon site
- Climatic chambers with a wide range of temperatures for different insect modalities
- X-ray generators for detecting seed-destroying insects and X-ray images of pupae
- 4 ha nursery on the Ardon site (2000 forest trees, mainly conifers)
Implications and links with Sycomore
URZF participates in Sycomore’s partnership dynamics.