French wildlife and beekeeping

  You would think in a country that is apparently overrun with wild boar, [sanglier], there wouldn't be a requirement for boar breeding farms, but there are, in fact, maybe as many as 400 of them; up-to-date figures are hard to obtain.   Many people think this is to release even more wild boar into the open environment, but this is rarely the case. What we find is that there are 4 principal purposes for them. 1. Sold to hunting estates Some are sold alive to private commercial hunting establishments, particularly enclosed hunting parks, which must be securely enclosed, where they can release them into a designated area so that hunters can pursue them. French law specifically controls the origin and health of boar released at commercial hunting establishments. 2. Released into the natural environment Releases for restocking are also recognised under French regulations, but they require the appropriate authorisation. Animals must meet genetic-purity and health requirements....

  Ivy bees Colletes hederae are a species of ground-nesting solitary bee that can be found in all regions of France. They are expanding their range and numbers in the north and, since 2001, can be found in the south of the UK, where they are continuing to expand northwards. An attractive bee, slightly smaller than a honey bee, they have yellow and black bands and a ginger or chestnut brown hairy thorax. Ivy bees in a greenhouse They are often referred to as plasterer bees or polyester bees , due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with secretions applied with their mouthparts; these secretions dry into a cellophane-like lining. They start to emerge from late August and, depending on conditions, can be seen until November. This coincides with Ivy flowering, which is their principal source of nectar, and in the case of females, pollen to provision their eggs for when they hatch, hence the common name in both English and French. Nests themselves are cr...

  Yesterday we had proper rainfall for the first time since mid May, the drought has been horrendous for wildlife as a whole, so, something a little different with this post. What changes are required to our eating habits and agricultural methods in a changing climate, with increasing droughts and water shortages? It is difficult for me to discuss this question without bringing in some of the wider issues surrounding food production, human health, wildlife and the environment. So please forgive me if I occasionally drift into some of these areas; I will on future posts anyway. At the risk of offending some people — and I suspect I probably will — it seems obvious to me that we in France, as in many other developed countries, generally consume too much of almost everything that modern society has made readily available to us. We really have become a consumer society. We are encouraged to consume everywhere we go, and food is no exception. Advertising and marketing are constant co...

Good news for our mountain biodiversity! The Capercaillie and the Rock Ptarmigan are now officially protected in France. These two emblematic birds are endangered: the capercaillie has lost nearly 80% of its population in the Pyrenees since 1960, while the ptarmigan, a survivor of the Ice Age, sees its habitat nibbled away at every year by climate change. Monique Barbut said: "Protecting is not just about banning hunting; it is also about restoring everything that allows a species to live and reproduce sustainably. Protecting our biodiversity means preserving an exceptional natural heritage, but it also means protecting the ecosystems of which we are a part and on which we depend for our livelihood. » An important step for the preservation of our mountain biodiversity. Rock Ptarmigan Capercaillie The Capercaillie is classified as vulnerable on the red list of breeding birds in France (populations of the Urogallus subspecies present in the Vosges, Jura, and Cévennes are even classi...

In France, some 14 million pheasants are reared in captivity every year for release into the wild at the start of the hunting period for the benefit of hunters, basically to be shot. Very soon, as I write this, we will see them wandering around in our French gardens and on our land. They are not a native species, although they have been in France since Roman times when they were introduced from Asia. In normal circumstances, their numbers would be very low, resulting from a high level of predation, often by foxes. In fact, a major reason why foxes are victimised is due to their killing of game birds. Now, a study has shown the harm they cause to our native species. The release of farmed pheasants exterminates populations of threatened and protected reptiles, and, like every year, they will resume to satisfy an increasingly controversial hobby called hunting: A scientific study has identified that areas where pheasants are released before the hunting season become biological deserts for...

  Violet drop wing Trithemis annulata Thrithémis annelé or Thrithémis pourpré Location - Peyras, 16270 Roumazières-Loubert, France Recently, I was out relaxing, just having a good time really on a Sunday at one of those man-made recreational lakes that France excels in, but with my eyes always on the lookout, I saw quite a large number of bright purple dragonflies that I had never seen before. Aerial view of lake I only had my phone with me, and I struggled in the bright sunlight to focus and get a half-decent photo, which, as it turns out, isn't that bad. What I didn't realise at the time was that these violet dragonflies were all males and that the females are a rather drab brown. Male Violet drop wing Originating in Africa, it first appeared in Spain in 1978, Corsica in 1989, and then mainland France in 1994, where it is now well established and rapidly expanding both to the north and to the east along the Mediterranean coastal band and the Rhône valley....