The Entomology and Invasive Plants Unit of the ANSES Plant Health Laboratory, in collaboration with CIRAD, INRAe, French Ministery of Agriculture and the Royal Museum of Central Africa (Belgium) organised the 4th TEAM meeting (Tephritid workers of Europe, Africa and Middle-East) from 5 to 9 October at the Palais des Congrès in La Grande-Motte (France). Fruit flies (Tephritidae) are the pests with the biggest economic impact on the world production and trade of fruit and vegetables. For this 4th meeting, the Scientific Committee decided to include in the programme the invasive species Drosophila suzukii (Drosophilidae) which share same biological characteristics with Tephritidae. Despite the sanitary context, this event was maintained in this International Year of Plant Health thanks to the combination of face-to-face meetings for about twenty participants and a free webinar for participants unable to travel to France. Participation in this webinar exceeded all expectations with over 500 registered participants from more than 70 countries and sessions with more than 300 connections! The TEAM meeting allowed scientists from all continents to attend high-level presentations and to exchange, despite the distance, their questions and considerations. Those present on site enjoyed a technical and cultural visit to the French Institute of Vine and Wine and the Aigues-Mortes saltworks. The organisers were assisted by the company Alphavisa, which made it possible to carry out this planetary direct in optimal conditions. Within the organising committee, special thanks go to Valérie Balmès and Raphaëlle Mouttet (ANSES Plant Health Laboratory - EURL for Insects and Mites) for their enormous commitment and energy put in the organisation of the event!

Among the topics covered, the speakers talked about microbiome and its potential effects on species behaviour and invasive potential; phylogeography and space-time distribution dynamics in orchards; cases of invasion, interspecific competition and ecological niche shift; Integrated Pest Management methods, including monitoring methods through drones and electronic traps, and control through sterile male technique, parasitoids, the use of dead-end plant hosts; innovative studies on semiochemistry and olfactory preferences. The Book of abstracts of the meeting is available at the bottom of this page.

To underline the importance of fruit flies at an international level, space was dedicated to the presentation of the FF-IPM project, financed by Horizon 2020, aimed at introducing "in silico" supported prevention, detection and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches for both new and emerging fruit flies, based on spatial modelling across a wide range of spatial levels, novel decision support systems, and new knowledge regarding biological traits of the target species, fruit trading and socioeconomics. More information about the project can be found on the FF-IPM webpage

More information about the event can be found on the official 4th TEAM meeting webpage.