French wildlife and beekeeping

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...