Parc naturel régional de la Forêt d'Orient

We made a stop-over near Lac d’Orient in the North of France for a couple of days. There is a lot of nature to see there in the forest and around the lakes. Birds included Osprey, Black Storks, Purple Heron, Black Woodpecker and most surprising for me, a Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus). The kites are spreading north from their stronghold in Spain, and have even turned up in UK, but this was my first in France and a good find so far North. With thousands of young Marsh Frogs all around the lakes, there was plenty of food for herons, storks and the dozens of great white egrets.

In the forest fungi were everywhere and lots of were people foraging. We picked Black Chanterelles (known in France, as Trompette de la Mort), which were very edible - great on pizza! The red Devil’s Fingers (or Octopus Stinkhorn) has an unpleasant smell of rotting-meat. It is an accidental introduction from Australia that was first found in France during the first world war, believed imported with military supplies.

Devil's Fingers (Clathrus archeri)

Black Chanterelle (Craterellus cornucopioides)

Marsh Frog (Pelophylax ridibundus)

Mercantour National Park

Sharing some photos from a multi-day hiking trip to the Mercantour National Park, staying in CAF refuges. Apart from some incredible mountain scenery there was plenty of wildlife about. Notably Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) were common and often very tame; likewise we saw several Ibex (Capra ibex), also close to the trails and refuges - much easier to see here than other places I’ve visited in the Alps.

Cote d'Azur Bugs

I’m currently on holiday in France, so here are some garden insects from the Var. I brought my moth trap, but failed to catch anything more than a handful of micros. The largest insect that was attracted to the light was a largish lacewing fly, Chrysope italienne. Meanwhile a local jumping spider, Menemerus semilimbatus, was eating one of the few mall moths that came. Ameles spallanzani is a small species of praying mantis. All of the above are largely Mediterranean species.

Ameles spallanzani

Chrysope italienne

Menemerus semilimbatus

Butterfly Season

After a cool spring that was not good for butterflies, we have quite a butterfly bonanza going on at the moment. Red Admirals and Whites (Small and Large) are the predominant species, but in the last week we also had Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Holly Blue, Speckled Wood and a Hummingbird Hawk-moth around the garden, with our lavender and neighbour’s buddleia being the centres of activity.

#151 Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

#221 Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

#437 Peacock (Aglais io)

Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola, #959)

A new plant growing on the gravel alley to the house - Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola). This is the closest wild relative of cultivated lettuce, but it comes with prickles on the stem and the underside rib of the leaves. It is supposed to be edible, if with a bitter taste.

Red Solder Beetle & Dromius meridionalis

Here’s a couple of beetles that turned up recently. The ground beetle Dromius meridionalis was found in my moth trap the other morning. It’s a woodland species, often found under tree bark.

Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) is common around the area, especially on the flowers of Hogweed and other umbelliferous plants. I don’t get many in the garden though - this one was on Welsh Poppies.

#530 Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)

#957 Dromius meridionalis

More July Moths

I posted some of the “macro” moths earlier - here are some of the smaller moths, including a few new species.

#633 Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella)

#817 Rosy Tabby (Endotricha flammealis)

#882 Maple Button (Acleris forsskaleana)

#954 Obscure sp. (Oegoconia sp)

#955 Ash-bark Knot-horn (Euzophera pinguis)

#956 London Dowd (Blastobasis lacticolella)

July Moths

Caught a really great selection of beautiful moths during the week, when we got our first dry and wind-free night for a while. There are a lots of different species flying at the moment, so here’s a selection of the 40 different species caught.(Second post with some micros to follow).

#546 Ruby Tiger (Phragmatobia fuliginosa)

#687 Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta)

#747 Pebble Prominent (Notodonta ziczac)

#850 Swallow Prominent (Pheosia tremula)

#796 Dusky Sallow (Eremobia ochroleuca)

#259 Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata)

#797 Dun-bar (Cosmia trapezina)

#881 Black Arches (Lymantria monacha)

Marbled Green & Marbled Beauty

Marbled Green and Marbled Beauty are both moths whose larvae eat lichens. I catch the former quite frequently during their flight period in the summer, as they are common on house walls. Marbled Green is a new species for the garden, but it also can be found on limestone dry-stone and house walls with lichens. This one took me a while to identify as is it not the typical green colour usually seen.

#652 Marbled Beauty (Bryophila domestica)

#958 Marbled Green (Bryopsis muralis)

Plain Golden Y (Autographa jota, #953)

It seems unfair to have christened this the “Plain” Golden Y, just because it has a prettier close relative in the Beautiful Golden Y. A first for my moth trap, with its pinkish colouration and golden spots I think it’s quite a fine-looking moth, even if this one is a bit worn. Flying in June-August, its caterpillars eat nettles.

#953 Plain Golden Y (Autographa jota)

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

Despite the wind and frequent rain showers we finally have a few more butterflies around, mostly Large & Small White, Meadow Brown, Small Tortoiseshell, Holly Blue and Red Admirals. Relatively few Red Admirals over-winter in UK, most Spring arrivals coming from the continent, with the first generation of UK hatched butterflies appearing about now. This species will be around until late autumn. The caterpillars are found on nettles mostly, and the adults love buddleia.

Common Black Ant (Lasius niger)

These black ants were emerging for their nuptial flight last week when the weather was hotter, drier and less windy. Winged males and females (queens) fly in order to mate, the queens going on to form new colonies and can live several years,while the males die off in a few days. These were all males, as the queens are larger. Usually they fly a bit later in the summer, but these were in the entrance to the greenhouse, so got an early start thanks to being in a warmer environment.

Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars

These stripey Cinnabar Moth caterpillars were on a Ragwort by the roadside just near my house. The moths are a bold red & black colour, but the caterpillars, which are often found like here in large groups, come in yellow & black stripes.

Ragwort contains toxic alkaloids which are unappetising (and in high doses even potentially dangerous) to grazing animals, however the moth caterpillars are able to sequester these toxins which affords them protection from insectivores. Black ants were also present, which are often associated with aphids, a few of which were also present. The ants can attack the caterpillars, presumably when they are small, to protect the plant for the aphids, which they then farm.

Ermine Moths

Ermine moths are common summer moths, so I thought it would be nice to look at three of them I caught at the weekend.

Often a pest on fruit trees their caterpillars are protected by a cocoon like a silken web around the leaves of the tree - in this case apple or bird-cherry. The Apple Ermine is pretty much identical in appearance to the Orchard Ermine (found on blackthorn, hawthorn or cherry) and the Spindle Ermine (Spindle tree). I put them down as Apple Ermines as I definitely have this species caterpillars on my apple tree. Bird-cherry Ermine does look a little different with neat lines of black spots. The third species is a Thistle Ermine, which is a bit bigger and actually though it looks similar, not from the same family - as the name suggests its caterpillars are found on thistles, but not in the same kind of silk web.

#790 Bird-cherry Ermine (Yponomeuta evonymella)

#811 Thistle Ermine (Myelois circumvoluta)

#635 Apple Ermine (Yponomeuta malinellus)

Eustalomyia festiva (#944)

This boldly patterned black & grey fly is a from a family known as root maggot flies. Some species do have larvae that eat vegetable roots, but this one is believed to be a klepto-parasite laying its eggs in the nests of mason wasps, where they feed upon the larder the wasp leaves for its own young.

V-Pug & Dusky Pearl

I managed to unpack the moth trap before the rain started this morning and picked up a couple of new moths. The V-Pug is a fairly common species, with two generations in spring and then summer. It gets its name from the black “v”s on the wings. Dusky Pearl is a one-generation June/July micro with a preference for blackthorns

#950 V-Pug (Chloroclystis v-ata)

#951 Dusky Pearl (Udea prunalis)

Hedgehog in the Shed

Tidying out the my rather run-down shed, I found a pile of leaves & twigs in the corner under a cupboard. After starting to rake them out an unhappy hedgehog emerged, so I put the nest back and hoped I hadn’t driven it away. And yes, photos on the trailcam show it is still there. We’ll put out some cat food for it periodically, so hopefully it sticks around.

Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina, #949)

This Leopard Moth was hiding somewhere in a bunch of stuff I’d put outside to take to the tip. Leopard Moths are a one-generation summer moth, its caterpillars feed on leaves of a variety of different trees & bushes. I’m not sure if this one got a bit squashed when I was moving the rubbish around, or if was just playing dead.

#949 Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina)

Volucella inanis (#681)

This sturdy-looking hoverfly lays its eggs near the a wasps nest, where its larvae enter the nest ultimately eating a wasp larva before re-emerging as an adult. It looks a bit hornet like. This one was on a wall where we have a few mason bees and wasps, but it is a male (eyes join on the forehead) so probably was getting some sun rather than being on the look-out for somewhere to lay its eggs.

Wild Pansy (Viola Tricolor, #946)

Pushing up in a neglected corner, this Wild Pansy has definitely self-seeded itself from somewhere. It’s not a species I’d recorded previously in the garden,

#946 Wild Pansy (Viola Tricolor)