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En permettant aux animaux de faire face à des environnements variables, l'apprentissage et la mémoire contribuent à l'optimisation de leur fitness, en leur permettant d'extraire et d'utiliser des informations, de façon à réduire l'incertitude associée à des environnements imprévisibles. Parmi les insectes, la drosophile et l'abeille domestique sont considérés comme des modèles classiques pour l'étude de l'apprentissage et de la mémoire. Les travaux réalisés sur ces derniers ont apporté une quantité considérable d'informations concernant les bases génétiques, neurobiologiques et moléculaires de ces processus, et ont permis de rendre compte du niveau de complexité des capacités cognitives des insectes. Cette somme de connaissances fondamentales acquises chez ces insectes contraste étonnamment avec le faible niveau de connaissance concernant la cognition des espèces impliquées dans des problématiques qui touchent la santé humaine et animale. Pourtant, il est largement admis que l'étude détaillée des capacités cognitives des insectes vecteurs de maladies constitue un aspect prioritaire pour la compréhension de leurs adaptations à la vie hématophage, de leur importance vectorielle, ainsi que pour le développement de nouveaux outils pour leur contrôle. Les travaux réalisés à ce jour chez les vecteurs, principalement chez les moustiques, ont été menés dans des contextes naturels ou peu contrôlés et ne proposent donc pas de démonstration formelle d'apprentissage. Le principal objectif de ce travail de thèse est de proposer un cadre expérimental contrôlé permettant de mettre en évidence et caractériser les capacités d'apprentissage chez la punaise hématophage \textit{Rhodnius prolixus}. \`A la différence des moustiques, les caractéristiques biologiques de cette punaise hématophage, responsable de la transmission de la Maladie de Chagas en Amérique Latine, permettent l'adaptation de protocoles expérimentaux largement validés chez les drosophiles et l'abeille domestique. Nos résultats montrent dans un premier temps que ces insectes sont capables d'apprendre et d'associer la présentation d'une même odeur dite neutre (l'acide lactique), c'est-à-dire qui ne provoque ni attraction ni répulsion lorsqu'elle est présentée seule, avec soit la possibilité d'obtenir une récompense (un repas sanguin, conditionnement appétitif), soit avec la possibilité de recevoir une punition (un choc mécanique, conditionnement aversif). Nous avons également montré que l'apprentissage et la mémoire sont également impliqués dans le choix des hôtes. Les insectes ont en effet associé la présentation d'un choc mécanique avec le complexe d'odeur d'hôtes naturels, biaisant leur préférence lors d'un test de choix réalisé après l'entraînement. Dans un second temps, nous avons adapté à notre modèle d'étude le paradigme de conditionnement de la réponse d'extension du proboscis, développé chez les modèles classiques, ce qui a permis la caractérisation des capacités d'apprentissage, de la durée de rétention à la régulation par des horloges circadiennes. Ces travaux proposent également un paradigme expérimental, reproductible et efficace permettant d'analyser les mécanismes fins qui sous-tendent les processus d'apprentissage et de mémorisation. Dans son ensemble, cette étude apporte la première preuve expérimentale de la capacité d'apprentissage d'insectes vecteurs de la maladie de Chagas et propose des outils expérimentaux et méthodologiques permettant d'améliorer la compréhension des processus associés chez les insectes hématophages en général. Les résultats sont également discutés dans le contexte de la sélection d'hôte et de la transmission des parasites. / Learning and memory contribute to animals' fitness by allowing them adapting to variable environments. Thses two processes make them able to extract and use information from their environment in order to reduce the uncertainty associated with unpredictible environments. Among insects, fruit flies and honeybees are considered as classical models for the study of learning and memory. The amount of work that has been done on these models provide a considerable amount of information regarding the genetic, neurobiological and molecular basis of these processes and revealed the complexity of insects' cognitive abilities. All this knowledge acquired in model species, contrasts surprisingly with the lack of knowledge available regarding insect species that are involved in animal and human diseases transmission. Yet, it has been aknowledge that the detailed study of vectors cognitive abilities would allow the understanding of their adaptation to haematophagy, of their vectorial importance and provide new tools for diseases control. Up to date, studies focusing on disaese vectors, mainly in mosquitoes, were conducted in natural or not completely controled contexts and thus no clear demonstration of learning and memory is availaible.The main goal of this work was to provide a controled experimental context allowing the strudy of learning abilities in the haematophagous bug \textit{Rhodnius prolixus}. Our results show that these insectes are able to learn to associate the delivery of a same neutral odour either with the possibility to obtain a reward (blood-meal, appetitive conditioning) or with the possibility to receive a punishment (mechanical shock, aversive conditioning). We also showed that learning ans memory are involved in host selection processes. In a second part, we adapted to our biological model the paradigm of proboscis extension response conditioning, which allowed us to analyse and characterize its learning abilities. The maximal retention duration as well as the modulation of learning abilities by circadian clocks were evinced. Taken as a whole, this work provides the first experimental demonstration of learning abilities in Chagas disease vectors and provides experimental and methodological tools; These latters should allow improving the understanding of the mechanisms that are underlying cearning abilities of haematophagous insects in general. Results are also discussed in the context of host selection and parasite transmission.

O Huanglongbing (HLB) ou \"greening\" é considerada, atualmente, a mais séria doença da citricultura no mundo, cujos sintomas estão associados às bactérias \"Candidatus Liberibacter spp.\". Uma vez que não há medidas curativas para a doença, o manejo baseia-se em medidas curativas como o controle de Diaphorina citri, vetor do patógeno. Esse inseto apresenta uma gama de hospedeiros de mais de 50 espécies da família Rutaceae, incluído as espécies e variedades do gênero Citrus, porém, nem todos os hospedeiros permitem o completo desenvolvimento do inseto. Dessa forma, objetivou-se com este trabalho verificar a existência de características de variedades cítricas de copa e porta-enxerto, mais utilizadas na citricultura, que afetam os aspectos bioecológicos de D. citri, bem como caracterizá-las, de modo que possam servir de base para desenvolvimento de estratégias de manejo do inseto vetor. Para isso, foram estudados: 1) comportamento de escolha hospedeira de D. citri em diferentes combinações de variedades de copa e porta-enxerto e a identificação dos voláteis envolvidos; 2) os efeitos das combinações copa e porta-enxerto na biologia de D. citri e 3) estudos sobre o comportamento alimentar de D. citi por meio da técnica de Electrical Penetration Graph em diferentes variedades de copa de citros. Verificou-se comportamento de escolha diferenciado entre fêmeas e machos de D. citri em função do hospedeiro. O porta-enxerto não influenciou o comportamento de escolha de D. citri. Foram observadas diferenças significativas na qualidade e quantidade nos perfis de voláteis liberados pelos diferentes hospedeiros, com a predominância de terpenoides. As variáveis biológicas de D. citri foram afetadas pelos hospedeiros. A variedade \'Hamlin\' foi classificada como a menos adequada ao psilídeo independentemente do porta-enxerto utilizado. Houve influencia da variedade de copa de citros no consumo alimentar de D. citri. Utilizando-se a técnica de EPG não é possível observar diferenças no comportamento alimentar de D. citri entre os hospedeiros testados. / Huanglongbing (HLB) or \"greening\" is currently considered the most serious citrus disease worldwide, whose symptoms are associated with the bacteria \"Candidatus Liberibacter spp.\". Since there are no curative measures for the disease, management is based on curative measures like control of the pathogen vetor, Diaphorina citri. This insect has a range host of more than 50 species of the family Rutaceae, including species and varieties of the genus Citrus, but not all hosts allow the complete development of the insect. Thus, the objective of this study was to verify the existence of characteristics of citrus scion and rootstock varieties, more used in the citriculture, that affect the bioecological aspects of D. citri, as well as characterize them, serving as basis for development of management strategies for this insect vector. For this, were studied: 1) host choice behavior of D. citri in different combinations of scion and rootstock varieties and the identification of the volatiles involved; 2) the effects of scion and rootstock combinations on the biology of D. citri and 3) studies on the feeding behavior of D. citi using the Electrical Penetration Graph technique in different varieties of citrus scion. There was a differentiated choice behavior between males and females of D. citri depending on the host. The rootstock did not influence the choice behavior of D. citri. Significant differences were observed in the quality and quantity of the volatiles released by the different hosts, with the predominance of terpenoids. The biological variables of D. citri were affected by the hosts. The \'Hamlin\' variety was classified as less suitable to the psyllid independently of the rootstock used. There was influence of the citrus scion variety on the food intake of D. citri. Through EPG technique it is not possible to observe differences in the feeding behavior of D. citri among the hosts tested.

O Huanglongbing (HLB) ou \"greening\" é considerada, atualmente, a mais séria doença da citricultura no mundo, cujos sintomas estão associados às bactérias \"Candidatus Liberibacter spp.\". Uma vez que não há medidas curativas para a doença, o manejo baseia-se em medidas curativas como o controle de Diaphorina citri, vetor do patógeno. Esse inseto apresenta uma gama de hospedeiros de mais de 50 espécies da família Rutaceae, incluído as espécies e variedades do gênero Citrus, porém, nem todos os hospedeiros permitem o completo desenvolvimento do inseto. Dessa forma, objetivou-se com este trabalho verificar a existência de características de variedades cítricas de copa e porta-enxerto, mais utilizadas na citricultura, que afetam os aspectos bioecológicos de D. citri, bem como caracterizá-las, de modo que possam servir de base para desenvolvimento de estratégias de manejo do inseto vetor. Para isso, foram estudados: 1) comportamento de escolha hospedeira de D. citri em diferentes combinações de variedades de copa e porta-enxerto e a identificação dos voláteis envolvidos; 2) os efeitos das combinações copa e porta-enxerto na biologia de D. citri e 3) estudos sobre o comportamento alimentar de D. citi por meio da técnica de Electrical Penetration Graph em diferentes variedades de copa de citros. Verificou-se comportamento de escolha diferenciado entre fêmeas e machos de D. citri em função do hospedeiro. O porta-enxerto não influenciou o comportamento de escolha de D. citri. Foram observadas diferenças significativas na qualidade e quantidade nos perfis de voláteis liberados pelos diferentes hospedeiros, com a predominância de terpenoides. As variáveis biológicas de D. citri foram afetadas pelos hospedeiros. A variedade \'Hamlin\' foi classificada como a menos adequada ao psilídeo independentemente do porta-enxerto utilizado. Houve influencia da variedade de copa de citros no consumo alimentar de D. citri. Utilizando-se a técnica de EPG não é possível observar diferenças no comportamento alimentar de D. citri entre os hospedeiros testados. / Huanglongbing (HLB) or \"greening\" is currently considered the most serious citrus disease worldwide, whose symptoms are associated with the bacteria \"Candidatus Liberibacter spp.\". Since there are no curative measures for the disease, management is based on curative measures like control of the pathogen vetor, Diaphorina citri. This insect has a range host of more than 50 species of the family Rutaceae, including species and varieties of the genus Citrus, but not all hosts allow the complete development of the insect. Thus, the objective of this study was to verify the existence of characteristics of citrus scion and rootstock varieties, more used in the citriculture, that affect the bioecological aspects of D. citri, as well as characterize them, serving as basis for development of management strategies for this insect vector. For this, were studied: 1) host choice behavior of D. citri in different combinations of scion and rootstock varieties and the identification of the volatiles involved; 2) the effects of scion and rootstock combinations on the biology of D. citri and 3) studies on the feeding behavior of D. citi using the Electrical Penetration Graph technique in different varieties of citrus scion. There was a differentiated choice behavior between males and females of D. citri depending on the host. The rootstock did not influence the choice behavior of D. citri. Significant differences were observed in the quality and quantity of the volatiles released by the different hosts, with the predominance of terpenoids. The biological variables of D. citri were affected by the hosts. The \'Hamlin\' variety was classified as less suitable to the psyllid independently of the rootstock used. There was influence of the citrus scion variety on the food intake of D. citri. Through EPG technique it is not possible to observe differences in the feeding behavior of D. citri among the hosts tested.

"Summary: The larvae of predatory hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus DeGeer (Diptera: Syrphidae), have limited dispersal ability to forage. The selection of the oviposition site by gravid females is crucial for the survival larvae. Therefore hoverfly females should optimise their foraging behaviour by choosing suitable oviposition sites. The aim of this PhD thesis was to understand how hoverfly females assess aphid patch quality during their egg-laying behaviour. The impact of several factors on the oviposition response of E. balteatus females including host plant, aphid species, aphid colony size, semiochemicals emitted from aphids or their association with host plants, presence of intra- or interspecific competitors and females age, was clearly demonstrated during this research. In the first part, we have shown that E. balteatus females select their oviposition site according to aphid-host plant and aphid species, which is also shown to be related to offspring performance (fitness). Aphid species Myzus persicae (Sulzer) infested-Solanum tuberosum L. was the most preferred aphid-plant combination as an oviposition site by syrphid females. The E. balteatus survival was enhanced in this system and females laid numerous eggs when larvae were reared with M. persicae as prey, especially when the host plant was potato. Broad bean plants Vicia faba infested with Megoura viciae (Buckton) or Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) were equally attractive for E. balteatus females. Aphis fabae (Scopoli) was the least preferred aphid. Higher hoverfly fitness was also observed when larvae were reared on M. viciae or A. pisum compared to those reared on A. fabae. Moreover, it was also demonstrated that foraging hoverfly females is guided by different infochemical cues emitted by aphid host plant, such as (E)-β-farnesene, enabling them to locate aphid infested plant and to select an adequate oviposition site. In the second part, the leaf disc system was found to be a practical and efficient method to assess the hoverfly reproductive behaviour under different laboratory conditions. Results also showed that there was a significant quadratic relationship between the released (E)-β-farnesene amounts and aphid colony size, which means that this molecule play important role in oviposition decision made by hoverfly females in response to aphid colony size. In the third part, we have highlighted that the E. balteatus females avoid aphid colonies in which conspecific larvae or their tracks were already present. Similar response was also shown by females to the presence of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) larval tracks. This oviposition deterring stimulus was also shown to be mediated by odourant cues emitted from larval tracks extracts. It was also demonstrated that the foraging behaviour of hoverfly females was modified by the presence of parasitoids Aphidius ervi (Haliday) in aphid colonies. Females did not exhibit any preference for plants infested with unparasitised or parasitised aphids for 7 days, but they are reluctant to lay eggs in response to the presence of mummies or their exuvia on broad bean plants. Oviposition preference of predatory hoverfly females according to the developmental state of the parasitoid larvae in aphid prey was also found to be related with larval performance. Finally, the age of hoverfly females was found to be an important factor affecting their reproduction ability, suggesting that younger E. balteatus females (2 to 5 weeks old) could be have potential to play a role in biological control of aphids because of their higher reproductive efficiency. All experiments were performed in a laboratory environment and most results obtained are discussed in relation to the context of biological control efforts/Résumé : Les larves du syrphe aphidiphage Episyrphus balteatus (Diptère, Syrphidae) ont une capacité de déplacement limitée. Le choix du site doviposition des femelles est donc crucial pour la survie larvaire. Pour cela, les femelles de ce diptère devraient optimiser leurs choix de sites doviposition pour maximiser les chances de survie de leurs progénitures. Le but de cette thèse de doctorat était de comprendre comment les femelles dE. balteatus évaluent la qualité de patches de pucerons au cours de leur comportement de ponte. La réponse de ponte des femelles dE. balteatus observées à travers plusieurs facteurs a été réalisée, parmi lesquels: la plante hôte, lespèce de pucerons, la taille de la colonie de pucerons, les substances sémiochimiques émises par les pucerons et leurs associations avec leurs plantes hôtes, la présence de compétiteurs intra- ou interspécifiques et l'âge de la femelle. Dans la première partie de ce travail, les résultats obtenus ont permis de mettre en évidence que les femelles dE. balteatus sélectionnent le site de ponte en fonction de la plante hôte et lespèce de puceron, et ce comportement a été aussi montré comme étant lié avec la performance du prédateur (fitness). La combinaison puceron/plante M. persicae/Solanum tuberosum a été la plus préférée par les femelles dE. balteatus, et le fitness de ce prédateur était plus élevé en particulier lorsque les larves sont nourries avec M. persicae élevées sur une plante de pomme de terre. De même, les femelles dE. balteatus ont montré une même préférence pour les deux combinaisons M. viciae/V. faba et A. pisum /V. faba, et un fitness supérieur du prédateur adulte a été aussi observé lorsque les larves sont nourries avec les deux espèces de pucerons. De plus, nous avons aussi montré que les femelles dE. balteatus en recherche de site de ponte sont guidées par des substances volatiles, en particulier le E-(β)-farnésène, émises par les pucerons infestant leur plante hôte. Dans la deuxième partie, le système feuille-disque est démontré comme étant une méthode pratique et efficace pour évaluer le comportement de ponte dE. balteatus au laboratoire sous différentes conditions. Les résultats ont aussi démontré quil y a une relation quadratique entre lémission du E-(β)-farnésène et la taille de colonie de pucerons, ce qui permet de seffectuer que cette molécule a un rôle important dans le comportement de ponte des femelles dE. balteatus en réponse à la taille de la colonie de pucerons. Les résultats obtenus dans la troisième partie, nous ont permis de montrer que les femelles dE. balteatus réduisent leurs pontes dans une colonie de pucerons contenant préalablement des larves de leur propre espèce ou leurs traces. Une réponse similaire a été aussi montrée en présence des substrats préalablement visitées par les larves de coccinelle Harmonia axyridis. Ainsi, la réduction de la ponte des femelles dE. balteatus est provoquée par des substances volatiles émises par les substrats des larves de syrphe. Nous avons aussi démontré que la présence du parasitoïde Aphidius ervi dans une colonie de pucerons a un effet significatif sur le comportement de ponte des femelles dE. balteatus. Les femelles dE. balteatus ne distinguent pas les plants infestées par les pucerons parasités ou non parasités, cependant les femelles réduisent leur pontes en réponse à la présence des pucerons momifiés ou des exuvies de momies. De plus, un fitness supérieur du prédateur a été aussi observé lorsque les larves sont nourries avec lespèce de pucerons A. pisum parasités ou non parasités. Enfin dans la dernière partie, lâge de la femelle dE. balteatus influence significativement leur reproduction, ce qui permet de proposer que les jeunes femelles (2 à 5 semaines) peuvent être plus efficaces dans la lutte biologique contre les pucerons car elles ont une grande efficacité de reproduction. Toutes les expériences ont été effectuées au laboratoire et la plupart des résultats obtenus sont discutés en relation avec le contexte de la lutte biologique".