Simon Lachance

Headshot of Simon Lachance wearing blue glasses, a blue shirt and sitting in front of a plain grey background.
Adjunct Professor
Email: 
slachanc@uoguelph.ca
Office: 
Collège La Cité, 801 Aviation Parkway, Ottawa, Ontario.

Dr. Simon Lachance is currently a Professor at Collège La Cité, in Ottawa. He was previously Assistant Dean of Academics at Ridgetown Campus of the University of Guelph and has taught and conducted research at the University of Guelph for the previous 20 years. He obtained his Ph.D. in the field of biological control of pests at the University of Guelph in 2000, following a M.Sc. in Biology and a B.Sc. in Agronomy at Laval University. His area of expertise relates to practical issues in the management of insect pests, mostly related to organic agriculture and low risk insecticides and repellents. In recent years, he has been involved with research projects dealing with the management of pest flies using biocontrol agents and natural bioactive products from plants (mainly essential oils). Dr. Lachance has also worked extensively on the control of Lygus plant bugs using biocontrol agents. Previous projects include “Saponins for insect and disease management in organic greenhouse production” funded by AAFC-GF3 and Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, “Environmental risk assessment of biological control of Lygus bugs with the exotic parasitoid wasp Peristenus digoneutis” funded by AAFC, “Best management practices for control of nuisance flies in poultry production” funded by OMAFRA, “Bioactive products from plants and control of parasites in ruminants", funded by AAFC-GF2 and Dairy Farmers of Canada, and "Management of biting midges as vectors of Bluetongue virus" as part of a research leave for 8-months in France (CIRAD, Montpellier).

Education

  • Ph.D., Entomology, University of Guelph, Guelph. 2000.
  • M.Sc., Biology, Université Laval, Québec, 1996.
  • B.Sc. (Agr.), Université Laval, Québec, 1993.

Area of Research

Natural insecticides, essential oils, pest flies, organic production.

Recent Publications

  • Saha, S. and Lachance, S. 2020. Effect of essential oils on cattle gastrointestinal nematodes assessed by egg hatch, larval migration and mortality testing. Journal of Helminthology 94: e111.
  • Woolley, C., Lachance, S., Devries, T. and R. Bergeron. 2018. Behavioural and physiological responses to pest flies in pastured dairy cows treated with a natural repellent. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 207: 1-7
  • Lachance, S., Shiell, J., Guerin, M. T. and C. Scott-Dupree. 2017. Effectiveness of naturally-occurring substances added to duck litter in reducing emergence and landing of adult Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 110: 288-297.
  • Shepley, E., Vasseur, E., Bergeron, R., Villeneuve, A. and S. Lachance. 2015. Birdsfoot trefoil as a preventative treatment for gastrointestinal nematodes in pastured heifers. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 95: 1-5.
  • Palacio, S., Bergeron, R., Lachance, S. and E. Vasseur. 2015. The effect of providing portable shade at pasture on dairy cow behavior and physiology. Journal of Dairy Science 98: 6085-6093.
  • Ward, D. and Lachance, S. 2015. House fly control in poultry barns / Lutte contre la mouche domestique dans les élevages de volailles, Publication 849 / 849F. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). 36 pp. http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/housefly.pdf
  • Lachance, S. and G. Grange. 2014. Effectiveness of seven plant essential oils, sunflower oil and natural insecticides against pest flies on pastured dairy cows and heifers. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 28: 193-200.