French wildlife and beekeeping

The other day a chap on a French Beekeeping Face book group posted a photo of a beetle trying to get into one of his hives.    His initial reaction having “Googled” was that it may have been a Large hive beetle, Oplostomus fuligineus , a species that is found in Africa  and although this has not yet been recorded in France  we can’t be sure where anything is going to turn up these days. New non native species seem to arrive on almost a weekly basis in France and the Small hive beetle, Aethina tumida , another non native, has been found in Italy but as of this moment hasn’t reached France . Anyway it was clearly a Chafer, that much was indisputable but not a Large hive beetle. I was sure, (ha,ha,ha), at first that it was dark Rose Chafer beetle due to its general appearance and size, (close to 2cm). However I couldn’t find any evidence of Rose Chafers trying to enter hives and although they are plentiful at our place, (Rose chafers and hives), I have never see...

Hardly extraordinary I can hear people thinking but the other day I saw a May bug here, first one in several years. In fact in the 25 years we have been here there have only been a couple of years when I have seen them.    A May bug or Cockchafer generally refers to Melolontha melolontha or the Common Cockchafer but there is an almost identical species in France with which they could be confused which is the Forest cockchafer, Melolontha hippocastani, which is a species found in woodlands.   Generally Melolontha melolontha is considered an to be   an agricultural pest and they were brought almost to the point of extinction in the arable areas of France following the use of chemical insecticides such as DDT and Lindane. Both of these caused massive environmental harm before being banned from use. In the 19 th century prior to insecticides being available the beetles were collected by hand to be killed, a process called “hannetonnages” that had some effe...

The presence of Beavers has been confirmed in the area around Val-Joly, in the Avesnois, Nord-Pas-de-Calais after 150 years of absence. More than 20 trees have been found with the distinctive pencil cutting and fur traps have provided DNA evidence. The beavers will have crossed the border from Wallonie, ( Belgium ), where they were released in the early 2000’s by activists where they have apparently expanded at an extraordinary rate both in numbers and territory covered in the canals and rivers that crisscross the region. Unlike the recent discovery in Pyrénées-Atlantiques which is likely to have been a clandestine release this will be a natural progression and should provide a basis for continued expansion throughout the region.  Chris Beaver in France Link

This summer we experienced a very long period of drought and two scorching heat waves which are probably the reason for an unusual and little known phenomenon to occur in the Vienne departement along with other parts of west and southwest France ! These were exactly the right conditions when the water warms sufficiently for the emergence of a tiny freshwater jellyfish, craspedacusta sowerbii.   They are normally only seen when they take the form of a small bell-shaped jellyfish known as a hydromedusa and float near the surface of the water but this requires a water temperature of at least 25°C and forms only one part of their interesting lifecycle. As a jellyfish they are 20–25 mm in diameter, somewhat flatter than a hemisphere, and very delicate. They have a whorl of up to 400 tentacles tightly packed around the bell margin. Hanging down from the center of the inside of the bell is a large stomach structure called a manubrium, with a mouth-opening and four frilly l...

It’s not that Asian Hornets venom is anymore toxic than our native hornet and wasps, or even that they are more aggressive away from their nest. It’s more about where Asian Hornets are increasingly choosing to make their nest. I’ve chosen a few recent cases to illustrate this. In Montmorillon, Vienne , a  76 year old man  was stung more than 30 times by Asian Hornets in his garden when cutting a small hedge outside his house on the 30th of October 2019 . When his wife came to his assistance he was covered in hornets and she was stung 5 times before neighbours arrived with thick clothing and managed with the use of wasp sprays to get him away from them. He was transported to the hospital by the Pompiers to receive treatment. The couple had never noticed the presence of the hornets in the hedge which is about 50cm high. Earlier in the year on 1st August, in the Nantes area another man was stung more than 10 times when he disturbed an Asian Hornet nest in ...

I have come across plenty of honeybee colonies that have set up home in the roofs of houses, and when necessary, have even been known to remove them when the roof was about to be renovated and it would have been too dangerous for the roofers to work. Otherwise I always encourage people to leave them alone as they present no problems for the homeowners and should be seen as a privilege in the same way as we do when swallows, house martins, wrens and other birds choose to share our property. I have also seen honeybees nest in all manner of other places, old milk churns, compost bins, in windows and so on, but yesterday, one way or another, was a bonus day, (I’m easily pleased). An acquaintance called and asked if I would mind taking a look at what was happening at their house where, for a few days, they had seen activity under the eaves on one corner of their house and weren’t sure if it was bees or wasps. I arrived there at around 10am and really there wasn’t much to see,...

France Becomes The First Country To Ban All Five Pesticides Linked To Bee Deaths. Most of us will have seen this or similarly worded headlines on a myriad of mainstream media sites, blogs, alternative information sites, and sites that are simply clickbait for advertising revenue. Many of these so-called articles are full of sensational, erroneous statements and speculations that have no factual or scientific foundation whatsoever. Large numbers of people will have liked, shared, and commented on these pages without any idea of what the reality is or giving it any real thought.   Most of us do this at some time or another on social media because to do otherwise would be too time-consuming. So what actually is the reality? Yes, France has banned the use of five types of neonicotinoid insecticides that by definition have been shown to cause harm to insects.   This is two more than the EU has banned, although countries frequently derogate from the ban in certai...

Chateau bees. It’s not unusual to get called out to bee swarms and colonies between the windows and shutters of French houses. After all, it's an ideal space if the shutters are closed.   The other day I was called to one in a Chateau, all very straightforward, with a nice-sized window for the Ruchette, (small hive box). Victoria, the woman from the Chateau, wondered if they had come from the bees in the large section of Lime tree trunk from the tree that they had cut down in the late autumn.   Immediately she had my attention, and so the story unfolded. It seems the tree had to be cut down as it had become dangerous, having split in a storm. They insisted that the section with the bees in it be cut out in one large piece, and this was later moved to a suitable location in the grounds, with the open ends covered up to provide protection but with enough gaps for the bees to come and go. Walking down to where it was, I was impressed by the size of it and although it wa...

Purple emperor and Lesser purple emperor butterflies – a simplified life cycle and how to see them. These two butterflies spend most of their time in the woodland canopy where they feed on aphid honeydew, or occasionally when they descend to feed on sap runs or, in the case of the male, animal droppings, carrion or moist ground that provide much needed salts and minerals which are generally the only times we get the chance to see them. Click on images to expand  Above - Male  Above - Female  Both species use willows, principally Goat willow, and in the case of the Lesser Purple Emperor poplars as well, especially Populus tremula , for their caterpillars to feed on. Eggs are placed singly on leaves near the tree canopy and the caterpillars have an extraordinary life cycle that can last 300 days or more with various pauses between each instar change, the last before pupation being a long hibernation through winter in a crevice or branch fork wrappe...

Masked hunter, Reduvius personatus ,  Réduve masque Found in most regions of France this member of the True bug family is known as an Assassin bug and due to its secretive nocturnal behaviour it tends to go unnoticed even when in your home. They are especially fond of old houses, barns and outbuildings where they hunt other insects including bedbugs, silverfish, book lice and flies. However they will eat any number of small insects and can also be found in other habitats including woodland, scrub and grasslands but always avoiding the light. Where ever they are they are never in large numbers. Although they bite and kill their prey by piercing them with their robust rostrum they rarely use this against humans unless handled roughly but if they do it isn't dangerous but can be extremely painful. They spend the winter as juveniles and then breed in May or June having reached the adult stage.   During their development stages, (instars), they exude a st...

Every year in autumn and spring there are articles in the media, especially in the UK, about the Asian Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis , or Harlequin Ladybird as it is known, one of several thousand different non native species introduced in both France and the UK although only a few are ladybirds. This species is generally regarded as the most invasive ladybird on Earth and although they undoubtedly have an environmental impact due to their high breeding and survival rate combined with their voracious appetite most experts are of the opinion that they are now so abundant that there is little if any point in killing them. Harlequin ladybirds, above, are extremely variable but most have a clearly defined "M" or "W" on the pronotum. Although they feed most commonly on aphids they have a wide food range that includes scale insects, adelgids, the eggs and larvae of butterflies and moths, many other small insects including other ladybirds, pollen, nectar, an...

With the aid principally of social media in all its aspects the Pine processionary moth increasingly strikes fear into the population with all the stories about how dangerous they can be. There is certainly no denying their harmful nature should someone or their pet animal come into close physical contact with them or breathe in their harmful hairs but we mustn’t let this lead us into a panic that results in the destruction of our other native hairy or web forming caterpillars that need all the protection that they can get. The first thing to understand is that Pine processionary moth nests are always in Pine trees and only rarely in Fir trees. A caterpillar web anywhere else is a different type of caterpillar. Secondly, when on the ground they will invariably be found in the classic processions “nose to tail” and only very rarely as individuals should they have been blown from the trees by storms. Thirdly, they will only be found on the ground when Pine or Fir trees ...

Le Murin cryptique   Myotis crypticus    Feb 2019 A new species of bat has been discovered in wooded areas of Italy , France , Switzerland and Spain . This brings the number of species to be found in France To 35 It is very close to Natterer's bat ( Myotis nattereri ) and positive identification has so far relied on DNA analysis. Despite their closeness they do not hybridise.  Reproduction colonies are usually in hollow trees but can be in artificial man made structures. Hibernation takes place underground in fissures. Much remains to be known about this species. Chris

Every year in France , usually from about February, some people find their houses invaded by small red or reddish-brown beetles. This is by no means everywhere and many people will never see one, however where they are present they can sometimes be observed in relatively large numbers. The creature concerned is a Longhorn Beetle, Pyrrhidium sanguineum, although being only 8 to 12 mm it is rarely recognised as being one. Known in English as Welsh Oak Longhorn Beetle and its common French name is La Callidie Sanguine). Females lay eggs in crevices in dead or freshly cut wood with bark that is exposed to the sun from March – June and are polyphagous in nature using a range of deciduous trees, but with a preference for oak ( Quercus spp.).   Larvae burrow into the timber making galleries up to 60cm in length where, when fully grown, they pupate.   They can’t use seasoned timber and usually have an annual life cycle, occasionally this can be two years. When ...

The Glanville Fritillary, Melitaea cinxia ,   is named after Lady Eleanor Glanville, a 17th century Lepidopterist who discovered this species in Lincolnshire . She first discovered this species in 1702 when it was first named as the Lincolnshire Fritillary and only later in 1748 was it was officially re-named the Glanville Fritillary.   These days it is mainly confined to the south coast of the Isle of Wight , with the occasional colony, typically short-lived, appearing on the South Hampshire coast. Click on images to expand It is a butterfly that can be found in most regions of France and the Channel Islands where it forms small colonies where there is suitable habitat. There has been a reduction in numbers especially in the north and west of its range with habitat loss being the most likely main cause. They require low growing sparse grassland, natural flower meadows, scrub, woodland edges and even roadside verges but due to the increase in what is cal...