French wildlife and beekeeping

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...

In the autumn of 2018 several large fields where we live were planted predominantly with Field beans with a few other plants including fodder radish, mustard and phacelia. This has never happened here before and I was quite excited at the thought that these may be left to flower in the spring which would have been great for all manner of species including my bees. However it seems this is not going to happen. Yesterday when I was out with my dog I saw that one of the fields was electric fenced and had sheep in it and that the adjacent field was also electric fenced but had been grazed.   From both an agricultural and environmental perspective I can see the benefits in this. The crop as a green manure provides good winter cover, prevents nutrient leaching, adds nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil and the owner of the sheep has fresh early season fodder for their animals. I should explain that sheep aren’t pastured where we live as it is more profitable to gro...

People often ask which days are hunting days in France, and the simple answer is that no National law prohibits hunting on any day of the week during the open hunting season. However, various Associations keep petitioning for Sundays to be hunt-free. Part of the confusion where it exists is that there isn’t simply one type of hunting or la chasse and that la chasse is often erroneously thought of as being uniquely chasse en battue that involves a minimum number of participants with some driving or flushing through an area using dogs pushing any animals, (boar, deer, fox), out into the open to where one or more hunters wait with guns. Usually this type of organised hunt takes place on two or three specific days of the week that are agreed at the commune level (ours is Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays) and the people that participate in this like to call themselves La Chasse.   However, rough shooting for smaller creatures, birds, rabbits, hares etc. can take place on any d...