Wildlife and Environment in France

Bits and pieces, notes and drafts in conjunction with Wildlife in France Bees in France and Planetepassion

Saving the bees? What's the truth?

Honey bees really aren't in any difficulty regardless of what we read every day in the media, in fact there are far more honeybee colonies than there would be naturally. This is like so many things really no more than a distraction, a dumbing down by people with little or no understanding of the issues. The vast majority are farmed like any other creature being exploited in every imaginable manner to extract as much money from them as possible. Queens and colonies are reared in huge numbers and transported around the globe. The same applies to some Bumblebee species, notably the buff-tailed bumblebee or large earth bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) that is also breed in huge numbers in cardboard boxes to pollinate the crops, principally tomatoes, that are grown under plastic or glass.

This doesn't mean that there aren't bees that really are in decline in France. There are and they are most, if not all, of the approximately 874 bee species that fall into the broad categories of Bumble bees and Solitary Bees we have here. These require a multitude of different habitats for their specific life cycles which makes them extremely vulnerable to habitat loss, climate chaos and agricultural practices that are resulting in their decline and local extinctions. Many emerge for a short specific period of time each year in which they mate, lay their eggs and die, not to be seen again until the same time the following year and the majority are ground nesting MORE ABOUT THESE SPECIES

Butterfly and Moth declines

There are thousands of species of butterfly and moth in France. Along with most insects they have declined horrendously in recent years and it's not too hard to see what is driving this collapse. What isn’t obvious to most people is that as a general rule each species is restricted to either one or two plant species or perhaps a single family group of plants as a food source for the caterpillar stage. What this means is that several criteria have to be met for the successful continued survival of any given species within a specified area. This is of course equally true for many creatures, but sticking with butterflies and moths they require the appropriate food plant for their caterpillars and that food plant has to remain in place for the full development of the caterpillar. They then require an appropriate structure on or in which to pupate which must also remain undisturbed until they are ready to emerge. Following the emergence of the adult butterfly or moth, (which may be almost a year later), it then requires, in most instances, a suitable supply of nectar. It is this last requirement that most people focus on and it is generally the easiest to satisfy but that simply isn’t good enough in isolation. Granted not many of us have any control over what happens outside of our own little patch but there are things that many of us can do in our own little way by considering their requirements.

If we take a couple of simple examples of common species it should be clear that we have to provide for the entire life cycle, however this may not be as simple as it seems without knowing what is required by every species and that's too much for most people including me. What we can do is try to provide native plant species and manage these areas with the minimum of disturbance.

The Orange Tip Butterfly, (Anthocharis cardamines), is the first of the butterflies to be seen in early spring that has spent the winter as a pupa, (Chrylis). Having emerged they will wander substantial distances looking for nectar and breeding partners, but perhaps more importantly the females need the right plant to place her eggs. These are members of the crucifer family, principally Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) in damp meadows and Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) alongside road the edges of roads, tracks and ditches. Females only place one egg per flower head and only on plants in full sun that have commenced flowering. Once hatched the caterpillar feeds on the host plant and seed heads, then after about 3 or 4 weeks the caterpillar leaves the plant to pupate nearby on low vegetation. Then the long wait of as much as 330 days commences until the following spring for it to complete its life cycle. As can be seen with usually just the one generation a year it’s a process that requires a stable habitat with minimal or zero cutting.

Another common butterfly is the Peacock, (Aglais io). This butterfly spends the winter in the adult form and can be sometimes be seen on warm, sunny winters days when the temperature wakes them from their hibernation in dark, cool places that are frost protected, sheds, cellars, caves etc. There is usually one, sometimes two broods a year. Eggs are laid in large clusters on nettle leaves where the hatching caterpillars spin webs for protection. From egg laying to fully grown caterpillars takes about 6 or 7 weeks, any destruction of the nettles during this period will result in their death. When fully grown the caterpillars descend to the ground and wander off, often in lines or groups, to find places to pupate in any bushes or trees that are close by. The emergent butterflies then feed until the onset of winter signals the time to hibernate. The principle dangers here from human activity are the cutting of nettles and the removal of late nectar sources such as Ivy.