Ecological researcher examining specimens in an ecological research laboratory. She is looking at caterpillars feeding on vegetation. Known as an ecotron, this laboratory is dedicated to the study of ecological processes using semi-controlled environments. This example is in the settlement of Caumont in Ariege, France. It consists of 48 populations cages, each with a surface of 100 square metres and a height of 2 metres, in which climate conditions (temperature, humidity and solar radiation) are monitored and controlled. The researchers can also manipulate species movements between units. Each enclosure acts as a mini-ecosystem, with natural vegetation and insect communities and a relatively wide variety of thermal microhabitats. Photographed in 2013.