Loire Valley Nature

How to Use this Website

2010-01-05T09:00:00.154Z

Loire Valley Nature is designed to be used as an English language natural history web resource for lowland central France. It uses Blogger software for its easy accessibility, but it is not written as a blog ie as a periodical record of events or thoughts like a diary. Pages can be added or updated at any time, and publishing will be dated in a way that makes the site easy for us to manage, but is not relevant for the reader.

The website comprises different types of pages, which form a network, linking one to another so you can drill down to the specific information you need. Please note that we have deliberately chosen to open all links and photos in a new page, so if you find this annoying or confusing, please just get into the habit of closing each page as you exit. We decided to go with new pages for everything because otherwise it can be difficult finding a page from earlier in your research, and in identifying species, you often have to compare information and photos on different species account pages. The back page function can be used, but can also be confusing.

Why is the website called Loire Valley Nature, when in fact, the area it is concerned with does not actually cover the entire Loire Valley?

We decided to call it Loire Valley Nature because we felt it was a name people not so familiar with the area might search for. Strictly speaking, the area covered is the Touraine, Berry and part of Poitou, or the modern administrative départments of Indre (36), Indre et Loire (37) and Vienne (86), but these are names not all of our readers may know. The website covers an area which is within the central southern boundaries of the Loire Valley in its broadest sense, ie all the rivers within the area are tributaries of the Loire and feeding into the Loire Valley system. The three départements together make up a total area of 20 000 km². In Australian terms, this is ten times the Australian Capital Territory, or one-tenth the size of Victoria. In British terms, it's the same size as Wales. Scattered across the area are many small villages and towns but the only city with a population over 100 000 is Tours.

Geomorphically, we are on the southern edge of the Paris Basin, just before the land starts to rise into the Massif Central. This is lowland central France, mostly between 90 and 100 metres above sea level (masl). The area is situated in the heart of western Europe, but is home to a surprisingly high level of biodiversity and many rarities due to its position on the northern and eastern edge of the range of Mediterranean, Turkish and Iberian species and similarly, it is on the southern edge of the range of northern European species.

The soil is mostly calcareous, often with a high clay content, but there are pockets of sand. The land is used for broadacre farming with many mixed farms and large areas of woodland, both deciduous broadleaf and conifer. The riparian and wetland habitats are of international importance, with numerous rivers and streams. Of particular note are the many man-made fish lakes, known as étangs, forming the Brenne, France's third most important wetland (after the Camargue and the Marais Poitevin). Less well known are the dry limestone ridges or spurs, called éperons, which host a noteworthy assemblage of plants, including many orchids, adapted to very calcareous soils. There are also remnant pockets of heathland.

The most useful general guide to the area is the Crossbill Guide to the Loire Valley, reviewed by us here.

If you are interested in other aspects of the Loire Valley, Brenne and Touraine, you might like to read our daily blog, Days on the Claise or book an excursion with Loire Valley Time Travel. To see our range of nature walks and workshops, please click on the page tab above. You can email us by clicking on our profile links to the right. Please note that we always respond to emails within 48 hours, so if you do not get a response, please check your spam folder or get in touch via the Loire Valley Time Travel contact page.

Site Index Quick Links

Dragonflies:
Species List
Species Accounts (please access via the Species List above)

Butterflies:
Species List
Species Accounts (please access via the Species List above)
Butterfly Surveying in France

Moths:
Tiger moths Arctiidae
Owlet moths Noctuidae
Prominents Notodontidae
Pine Processionary Thaumetopoea pityocampa

Flies:
March Flies Bibionidae
Dark-edged Beefly Bombylius major Bombyliidae
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus Syrphidae
Migrant Hoverfly Eupeodes corollae Syrphidae
A hoverfly Xanthogramma citrofasciatum Syrphidae
Parasitic Flies Tachinidae
Craneflies Tipulidae

Bees:
Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
Common Carder Bumblebee B. pascuorum
Early Nesting Bumblebee B. pratorum
Mason Bees Osmia spp
Mining Bees Andrena spp
Nomada spp (parasites of Andrena spp)
Sweat Bees Halictus spp
Honey Bees Apis mellifera

Ants:
A Carpenter Ant Camponotus vagus

Beetles:
Ground Beetles Carabidae
Lesser Bloody Nosed Beetle Timarcha goettingensis Chrysomelidae
Chafers Scarabaeidae
Churchyard Beetle Blaps mucronata Tenebrionidae

True Bugs:
Assassin Bugs Reduviidae

Other Insects:
Caddis Flies Tricoptera
Field Cricket Gryllus campestris

Mammals:
Species List
Species Accounts (please access via the Species List above)

Birds:
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Great Tit Parus major

Reptiles & Amphibians:
Green Frog Group Pelophylax spp
Agile Frog Rana dalmatina
Common Toad Bufo bufo

Orchids:
Species List
Species Accounts (please access via the Species List above)
Useful Reference Books and Websites
Annotated Map to help you find orchids in the area
Identify your orchid, a collection of thumbnail photographs showing you which orchids are in flower each month.

Other Plants:
Garden Asparagus Asparagus officinalis
White Asphodel Asphodelus albus
Purple Gromwell Lithospermum purpureocaeruleum
Black Bryony Tamus communis
Box Buxus sempervirens
Butchers Broom Ruscus aculeatus
Hairy Rockcress Arabis hirsuta
Carduncellus mitissimus
Common Columbine Aquilegia vulgaris
Cowslip Primula veris
Daisy Bellis perennis
Bugle Ajuga reptans
Ground Ivy Glechoma hederacea
Greater Star of Bethlehem Ornithogalum umbellatum
Lousewort Pedicularia sylvatica
Common Fumitory Fumaria officinalis
Grape Hyacinth Muscari neglectum
Dogs Mercury Mercurialis perennis
Milkworts Polygala spp
Field Woodrush Luzula campestris
Sedges Carex spp
Sanicle Sanicula europaea
Speedwells Veronica spp
Common Vetch Vicia sativa
Tufted Vetch V. cracca
Common Dog Violet Viola riviniana
Pale Dog Violet V. lactea
Sweet Violet V. odorata
Wild Pansy V. tricolor
Wormwood Artemisia absinthium

Relevant links on Days on the Claise:
Days on the Claise is our daily blog about our life in the Touraine and we often write about natural history in some detail there.

Plants
Cowslip Primula veris
Cowslip Primula veris
White Bryony Bryonia dioica
Squirting Cucumber Ecballium elaterium
Field Eryngo Eryngium campestre
Yellow Iris Iris pseudacorus
Mistletoe Viscum album
Mistletoe Viscum album
Oak Quercus sp
How to distinguish Early Purple and Green-winged Orchids
Orchids
Orchids in the orchard
Orchids on a limestone ridge
2008 Orchid Report
2007 Orchid Report
Cheddar Pink Dianthus gratianopolitanus
Poplar Populus sp
False Acacia Robinia pseudoacacia
Spindle Euonymus europaeus
Stonecrop Sedum sp
Viola spp
Water Primrose Ludwigia spp

Lichens
Reindeer Moss Cladonia sp

Fungi
Red-capped Scaber Stalk Leccinum aurantiacum
Funnel Cap Clitocybe geotropa
Hedgehog Mushroom Hydnum repandum
Morel

Mammals
Bats
Roe Deer
European Brown Hare Lepus europaeus
Mole Talpa europaea
White-toothed Shrew Crocidura russula
Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris
Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris
Short-tailed Vole Microtus agrestis
Wolf
Wolf
Invasive non-native species - Coypu Myocastor coypus and Musk Rat Ondatra zibethicus
Aquatic mammals
Small mammal trails

Birds
Corvids
Eurasian Crane Grus grus
Eurasian Crane Grus grus
Collared Dove
Black Crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
Lapwing Vanellus vanellus
Black Redstart
Black Redstart
Black Redstart
Stone Curlew
Swallow
Swallow
Great Tit
Photographing Birds in the Brenne

Reptiles and Amphibians
Snakes
Western Whip Snake Hierophis viridiflavus
Western Whip Snake Hierophis viridiflavus
Lizards
Common Wall Lizard Podarcis muralis
Common Wall Lizard Podarcis muralis
Common Wall Lizard Podarcis muralis
Eurpean Pond Terrapin Emys orbicularis
Frogs and Toads
Green Frog group
Common Toad Bufo bufo

Fish
Pike

Butterflies
Clouded Yellow Colias crocea
Glanville Fritillary Melitaea cinxa caterpillars
Glanville Fritillary Melitaea cinxa caterpillars
Glanville Fritillary Melitaea cinxa caterpillars
How to distinguish Knapweed and Glanville Fritillaries
Silver-washed Fritillary Argynnis phaphia
Large Blue Maculinea arion
Adonis Blue Lysandra bellargus
Provencal Short-tailed Blue Everes alcetas
Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas
Wall Brown Lasiommata megera
Southern White Admiral Limentis reducta
Surveying (April 2011)
Surveying
2010 Report
2008 Report
2007 Report

Moths
Hawk Moths
Broad Bordered Bee Hawk moth Hemaris fuciformis
Hummingbird Hawk Moth Macroglossum stellatarum
Convolvulus Hawk Moth Agrius convolvuli
Fiery Clearwing Pyropteron chrysidiformis
Giant Peacock Moth Saturnia pyri

Dragonflies
2007 Damselfly Report
Common Winter Damselfly Sympecma fusca
Azure Bluet Coenagrion puella
Demoiselles
2007 Dragonfly Report
How to identify Clubtails Gomphus sp
Small Pincertail Onychogomphus forcipatus
Western Spectre Boyeria irene
2008 Report

Beetles
Bee Beetle Trichius zonatus
Rose Chafers Cetonia aurata
Lesser Bloody-nosed Beetle Timarcha goettingensis
Spanish Fly Lytta vesicatoria
Trichodes alvearius
Nut Weevil Curculio nucum
How to identify some common large black beetles
National survey

Bugs
Fire Bugs Pyrrhocoris apterus
Graphosoma italicum

Bees, ants and wasps
Hornets and wasps on pears
Asian Hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax
Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
Ophion sp (Ichneumonidae)
Bumble bee survey
Wool Carder Bee Anthidium sp
Violet Carpenter Bee Xylocopa violacea
Honey Bees Apis mellifera
Swarming ants

Flies
Empis tessellata (Empididae Dance Flies)
Villa sp (Bombyliidae Bee Flies)
Spotted Cranefly Nephrotoma appendiculata
Common Cherry Fruit Fly Rhagoletis cerasi
Flutter Fly Palloptera muliebris
Gymnosoma sp (Tachinidae Parasitic Flies)
Tachina sp (Tachinidae Parasitic Flies)
Horseflies (Tabanidae)
Haematopota pluvialis (Tabanidae Horse Flies)
Big-spotted Cleg Haematopota bigoti (Tabanidae Horse Flies)
Hoverflies (Syrphidae)
Milesia crabroniformis (Syrphidae Hover Flies)
Robberflies (Asilidae)
Sepedon sphegea (Sciomyzidae Snail Killing Flies)
Bee Mimics

Other Arthropods
Alderfly Sialis sp
Common House Centipede Scutigera coleptera
Mayflies
Curled Rose Sawfly Allantus cinctus
Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp

Habitat
Biodiversity at Chaumont
Biodiversity in village nature strips
Biodiversity on improved pasture in the Brenne
Biodiversity in the orchard
Biodiversity in the Forest
Biodiversity on sunken lanes
Biodiversity on the river bank
Field Work in the Brenne
Field Work on the roadside
Botany of forest pond margins
Botany of limestone ridges
Improving the Claise River basin
The Loire River
The Forêt de Preuilly
The Brenne
The Brenne Climate
The Brenne Geography
The Brenne History
The Brenne Geology
Management of Fish Ponds
Orchids in village nature strips
Orchids on roadsides
Orchids in the orchard
Lavender
Wildlife Gardening
Insect hotel (Parc floral de Paris)
Fallow Land

Miscellaneous
2010 International Year of Biodiversity
List of suggested Insect Field Guides
List of suggested Botany Field Guides
Suggested Dragonfly Field Guide

Relevant links on Aigronne Valley Wildlife:
Aigronne Valley Wildlife is written by friends who live in the next valley.

Plants
Snakeshead Fritillary Fritillaria meleagris
Deptford Pink
Bird's Nest Orchid
May 2004 Orchid Report
Purple Toothwort Lathraea squamaria

Fungi
Wood Blewit
Wood Blewit
The Blusher Amanita rubescens

Mammals
Aquatic mammals
Voles

Birds
European Bee-eater Merops apiaster
European Bee-eater Merops apiaster
Eurasian Crane Grus grus
Eurasian Crane Grus grus
Eurasian Crane Grus grus
Eurasian Crane Grus grus
Finches
Crossbill Loxia curvirostra
Kingfisher Acedo atthis
Lapwing Vanellus vanellus
Lapwing Vanellus vanellus
Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
Long-eared owl Asio otus
Tawny Owl Strix aluco
Little Owl Athene noctua
Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa
Pheasant Fasianus colchicus
Water Rail Rallus aquaticus
Osprey Pandion haliaetus
Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
Chiffchaff
Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius
Wryneck Jynx torquilla
Homemade Fat Blocks
March 2009 Report
May 2008 Report

Reptiles and Amphibians
Viperine Snake Natrix maura
Tree Frog Hyla arborea

Butterflies
Camberwell Beauty
September 2006 Report

Moths
Emperor Moth Saturnia pavonia

Beetles
Stag Beetle

Flies
Tipula maxima (Tipulidae Crane Flies)
Horseflies (Tabanidae)

Other Arthropods
Wasp Spider Argiope bruennichi

Habitat
River water quality
River improvements

Latest Updates:
23 January 2012 Xanthogramma citrofasciatum (a hoverfly) page added.
22 January 2012 Wormwood Artemisia absinthium page added.
22 January 2012 Wood White Leptidea sinapis page added.
22 January 2012 photographs added to the Mining Bee Andrena spp page.
22 January 2012 White Asphodel Asphodelus albus page added.
22 January 2012 Wall Lasiommata megera page added.

Assassin Bugs - Reduviidae

2009-12-07T09:00:00.001Z

Assassin Bugs Reduviidae are predatory true bugs with strong hypodermic beaks for piercing their insect prey and sucking out their soft parts. They have distinct necks and some have enlarged raptorlike front legs for capturing and holding prey.

Pirates hybridus
A species of hot open areas that does not occur much further north, it walks over the ground waving its antennae. The part directly behind the head, known as the pronotum, is in two distinct sections, with the front part much longer than the rear. Active April - October. Below, photographed in our orchard, April.

Pine Processionary Moth - Thaumetopoea pityocampa

2009-12-06T09:00:00.006Z

Scientific Name: Thaumetopoea pityocampa

English Name: Pine Processionary Moth

French Name: les Processionnaires du pin (='pine processionaries')

Caterpillar nests in a pine tree in a garden
near Charnizay photographed in March.

5 Key Characters:

hind wings white.
caterpillars move around together in long single file lines.
always in or near pine woods.
caterpillars dark with tufts of brown hair.
caterpillars live communally in silk nests on pine branches.

Lookalikes: Oak Processionary Moth T. processionea, however these are only associated with oak woods, not pine and the moths have discoloured hind wings. Don't confuse with other very hairy caterpillars such as the Garden Tiger Arctia caja.

Habitat: Pine trees and the ground nearby.

Flight Period: May-June-July.

Caterpillar: Live in nests from autumn to spring. Every evening unless very cold the caterpillars emerge in single file to feed on pine needles. They are a serious pest of pine forests. One day in late spring they form a single file procession behind one of the female caterpillars. They descend from the tree and the female leads them to a patch of ground where they will bury themselves in the earth to pupate. The caterpillars have extremely irritating hairs which hang in the air and fall from the nests long after the caterpillars have vacated. Neither the nests nor the caterpillars should be handled, and pet owners need to be on their guard in case animals are exposed to irritant hairs.

Host Plant: All types of conifers with Black Austrian Pine being the preferred host.

Status: Increasingly common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs are numbered from left to right, top to bottom. 1 rash caused by the caterpillars hairs. This is a moderately sensitive person who came into contact with the hairs by picking up a cat which had been outside in the vicinity of caterpillar nests and had collected hairs off the ground or floating in the air in its fur. 2 - 5 a caterpillar procession near Chaumussay, April.

Owlet Moths - Noctuidae

2009-12-06T09:00:00.004Z

Owlet moths Noctuidae are the largest moth family, robust and usually with dull, dark and / or cryptically (camouflage) patterned top wings and often brightly coloured underwings. They can be confused with Prominent moths Notodontidae. Their forewings often have 3 obvious spots on the forewing - roundish near the mid-point, as well as a kidney shaped mark and a more elongated mark. The wings are held over the body at rest like a pitched roof, or flat and overlapping. The caterpillars are somewhat plump and rarely have much hair. Some species are serious crop pests, and known as cutworms, living in the soil. They emerge at night and chew through plants at the base, often causing damage that can be mistaken for that caused by slugs. Newly planted lettuce and brassicas are favourite targets. They are active right through the winter, except in very cold weather. Their shiny brown pupae are often dug up by gardeners.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right, top to bottom. 1 a typical Noctuid caterpillar.

Tiger Moths - Arctiidae

2009-12-06T09:00:00.003Z

Tiger moths are fat rounded looking moths, usually hairy and poisonous. The bright bold colours on the underwings are an indication to birds that they are unpalatable. The more sombre colours on the forewings are no less striking, forming variable and cryptic camouflage patterns. The larvae are very hairy, but should not be confused with the irritant Pine Processionary caterpillars. Tiger moth caterpillars do not live communally and do not form long lines of nose-to-tail caterpillars. Tiger moth caterpillars are encountered individually, usually in long grass with lots of weeds.

Garden Tiger Arctia caja
The brown and white pattern on the forewings and the black spots on an orange background on the underwings are very variable. Occasionally the forewing has no white and the underwing is yellow. Adult moths can be seen June-August. Larvae are very commonly encountered crossing paths and tracks in the spring. They are probably the hairiest caterpillar you will ever encounter, with tawny hair below and forming a collar, and black with white dots covered in long pale hair on the back.

Photograhed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1-4 Garden Tiger caterpillars photographed in a vineyard near Saint-Aignan (strictly speaking just outside the area covered by this blog because it is in 41, but still in the Touraine) April.

Prominent Moths - Notodontidae

2009-12-06T09:00:00.002Z

The Notodontidae family of moths is often called the Prominents, because so many species have tufts of hair at the back of the wings which stick up when the moth is at rest. They are usually dark, dull colours but their subtle patterns give them a quiet beauty.

Lunar Marbled Brown Drymonia ruficornis
This species can be distinguished from other lookalike Drymonia spp by the black crescent in the white patch. The adults are active in April-May, caterpillars eat oak leaves. A quite common inhabitant of broadleaf woodland.

Lunar Marbled Brown found in the street, Preuilly-sur-Claise, April.

Lesser Bloody Nosed Beetle - Timarcha goettingensis

2009-12-05T09:00:00.023Z

Scientific Name: Timarcha goettingensis.

English Name: Lesser Bloody Nosed Beetle.

French Name: Le Petit crache sang.

5 Key Characters:

8 - 10 mm long.
Pronotum (the section between head and abdomen) has almost parallel sides.
black quite shiny domed body.
flightless, and walks ponderously.
exudes a red fluid from its mouth when alarmed.

Lookalikes: Bloody Nosed Beetle T. tenebricosa, which is larger and not so shiny.

Habitat: Grassland where there are Bedstraws Galium spp, as this is what it eats.

Active Period: Adults are most active from April to August, but can be seen in any month.

Status: Common.

Further information:
Post on Days on the Claise, our daily blog.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs are numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1 - 7 female, eating Galium sp, in the haymeadow in front of our orchard, April. 8 - 9 male (note felty pads on feet), details as female above.

Chafers - Scarabaeidae

2009-12-05T09:00:00.022Z

Chafers are part of the very large scarab family of beetles (Scarabaeidae). Chafers can be distinguished by their short elytra (wing cases) which leave the tip of the abdomen exposed. Their antennae end in clubs which can be opened out into a fan. They fly well. In French they are call hannetons.

Rose Chafer Cetonia aurata
Sometimes called the Green Rose Chafer. Usually metallic green, but can be bronze. Always has some white markings. Coppery red underneath. Adults active May - October, in the sun, eating flowers. The larvae live in rotting timber, especially old willows. Common and unmistakable in this area. In French - la Cétoine dorée or hanneton des roses.

A Rose Chafer buries itself in the soil in March.

Cockchafer Melolontha melolontha
Often called Maybug, this large beetle (25 -30 mm) is found in gardens, woods and hedgerows from April-June. Often observed swarming around trees on summer evenings or crashing into lit windows. Eats the leaves of deciduous trees. The larvae eat plant roots and can cause damage to crops and lawns (they are one of the prey that corvids in fields are seeking). Modern pest control has meant that this species is much less abundant than it used to be, but it is still common, with a lifecycle that means that every 3-4 years there are higher numbers. Called le hanneton commun in French. Don't confuse with the Summer Chafer Amphimallon solstitialis which is smaller. Below, 13 photos of a female Cockchafer, taken in Preuilly-sur-Claise, April.

Tropinota hirta
A common chafer often found eating the centres of flowers of many kinds. It can be an agricultural pest. Very hairy, with variable white markings on the elytra (wing cases). Do not confuse with Oxythyrea funesta, which has white spots on the pronotum (the section between the head and the wing cases) as well. Below, 5 photographs of this species in a buttercup Ranunculus sp, taken in our orchard, April.

Churchyard Beetle - Blaps mucronata

2009-12-05T09:00:00.009Z

Scientific Name: Blaps mucronata

English Name: Churchyard Beetle or Cellar Beetle

French Name: Le Scarabée funebre

5 Key Characters:

Flightless.
Nocturnal.
Secrets a foul smelling liquid when alarmed (be careful not to handle them, as the secretion is also an irritant).
Completely mat black.
Found in dark damp places.

Lookalikes: There are 3 other species of Blaps in mainland France, all of which look very similar. There is a simple key for distinguishing them on le Monde des Insectes.

Habitat: Caves, cellars, stables.

Active Period: All year.

Status: Apparently uncommon, but may be under recorded.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1-5 A specimen discovered near Preuilly-sur-Claise in a farmyard near an old stable, April.

Ground Beetles - Carabidae

2009-12-05T09:00:00.005Z

There are several hundred species of Ground Beetle in Europe and most of them are black. A few species are metallic. They are nocturnal, although the metallic species tend to be active by day also. Many of them have fused wing cases and cannot fly. They eat a wide range of invertebrates, carrion and plant material. They tend to be long lived and hibernate through the winter.

A typical Ground Beetle, Harpalus sp, photographed in March
and identified by Cédric Alonso of Le Monde des Insectes.

Common Toad - Bufo bufo

2009-12-04T09:00:00.009Z

The Common Toad Bufo bufo (le crapaud commun in French) is indeed common in this area. They are often encountered in gardens, where they bury themselves in the cool earth. During the mating season you may also see them in numbers on the banks of slow flowing rivers and ponds. Toads are surprisingly long lived (around 10 years) and return to the same communal mating ponds year after year. For a detailed species account go to the excellent English language French reptile and amphibian website HerpFrance. We have also written about Common Toads on our daily blog Days on the Claise here (a female in our garden) and here (a male on the banks of the Creuse).

Common Toads are brown and warty, with beautiful copper coloured eyes with horizontal pupils. Females are much bigger than males. Mating behaviour can be observed in the autumn, with numbers of males gathering on riverbanks but the main mating season starts in February and long strings of eggs are laid, submerged in the water of the breeding ponds (cf frogs, which lay floating clumps from March - photo). The tadpoles are black and tend to congregate together, often near the surface (unlike frog tadpoles, which are brown and speckled and tend to remain solitary, near the bottom).

Common Toad tadpoles in a known breeding pond in a hamlet near Saint-Aignan, April.

Agile Frog - Rana dalmatina

2009-12-04T09:00:00.006Z

The Agile Frog Rana dalmatina may be encountered from time to time in fields and woodland clearings in the spring and summer. For an excellent species account, see HerpFrance.com, including key features for identification and a recording of the call. It is nowhere near as common as the Green Frog Pelophylax spp group, but seems to be more common that the Common Frog Rana temporaria, which isn't common at all in this area.

In French they are called la Grenouille agile. Like all amphibians here, it is a protected species.

Agile Frog photographed in a field the Brenne, April.

Green Frog Group - Pelophylax spp

2009-12-04T09:00:00.002Z

The Green Frog Group are three related and interbreeding species:

Edible Frog Pelophylax kl. esculentus (la Grenouille verte) - see the HerpFrance page for more information.
Pool Frog Pelophylax lessonae (la Grenouille de Lessona) - see the HerpFrance page for more information.
Marsh Frog Pelophylax ridibundus (la Grenouille rieuse) - see the HerpFrance page for more information.

For photos of Green Frogs taken by Loire Valley Nature in the Foret de Preuilly, see our other blog Days on the Claise.

Look out for frogspawn in still and slow moving water in March.

Frogspawn in a ditch in Preuilly in March.

A Carpenter Ant - Camponotus vagus

2009-12-03T10:00:00.004Z

Scientific Name: Camponotus vagus

English Name: A Carpenter Ant

French Name:

5 Key Characters:

one of the largest European ants (6 - 20 mm long).
body completely mat black.
body has lots of silvery white hairs.
recorded in 37 but not 86 or 36.
can be found on ground in unimproved tradtional pasture or waste ground.

Lookalikes: C. aethiops, which has also been recorded in Preuilly-sur-Claise.

Habitat: Nests in tree stumps or dead tree trunks laying on the ground and can be a problem for the forestry industry by damaging felled trees. Particularly fond of pines and beeches.

Active Period: Swarm May-June.

Status: Present in Indre et Loire (37) but not recorded in Vienne (86) or Indre (36).

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Mining Bees - Andrena spp

2009-12-03T09:00:00.021Z

Bees are generally easy to identify to genus level using a simple wing venation based key (such as the FSC Aidgap Key to Bees, Ants and Wasps) if you have a specimen. They are not so easy to identify from photos or to species level.

Andrena is a very large genus of bees, many of them difficult to identify to species level as there are many lookalikes. There are about 150 species in France. Some are very rare, some are very common. Several Andrena spp emerge particularly early in spring.

One important clue to the identity of any Andrena you see is to note the flower you see it feeding on. Most species restrict their foraging to a very few, or even sometimes single plant species.

A typical Andrena sp, photographed in early March.

Even with high quality detail, expert hymenopterists such as you will find on the HymIS or BWARS forums cannot identify most Andrena for certain from photographs. Superficially, many of them look like Honey Bees. They tend to have rather flat abdomens.

Andrena spp are called Mining Bees because they generally nest in holes in the ground. They are not a social species, but they often nest in colonies, digging individual burrows in close proximity to one another.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs are numbered from left to right and top to bottom. All photos can be enlarged in a new window by clicking on them. 1 - 2 Andrena sp in the haymeadow in front of our orchard, April.

Mason Bees - Osmia spp

2009-12-03T09:00:00.020Z

Bees are generally easy to identify to genus level using a simple wing venation based key (such as the FSC Aidgap Key to Bees, Ants and Wasps) if you have a specimen. They are not so easy to identify from photos or to species level.

If you can provide several good quality photos the experts on the HymIS and BWARS forums may be able to identify your Osmia spp, but many are difficult from photos.

For information about some common Osmia species, see a post on Days on the Claise, with photographs of European Orchard Bee O. cornuta and Red Mason Bee O. rufa.

European Orchard Bee Osmia cornuta
See post on Days on the Claise for further information, including photographs of male. Below, a female investigates the possibilities of drainage hole in our back door as a potential nest hole, April.

Nomada spp

2009-12-03T09:00:00.019Z

Bees are generally easy to identify to genus level using a simple wing venation based key (such as the FSC Aidgap Key to Bees, Ants and Wasps) if you have a specimen. They are not so easy to identify from photos or to species level.

Nomada is a large genus of bees that parasitise Andrena spp. There are 97 species in France. They are rather wasp like in appearance, often being yellow and black, although there are quite a few red and black species and brown and black species.

Nomada fabriciana female, photographed in March and
identified by Christian Schmid-Egger of HymIS.

It is tremendously helpful with Nomada if you have noticed them trailing a potential host. If you can get a picture of both Nomada and its Andrena host you can probably get IDs for both, as each Nomada species only parasitises one (or occasionally a small number) of Andrena species.

To identify Nomada you need to be able to see:

1. The tegula (the joint at the wing base) - is it yellow or black?
2. The scutellum (the little separate lump on the end of the thorax in front of the abdomen) - how many yellow spots does it have?
3. The hairs on the underside of the hind femur - are they pressed against the leg, or standing up?
4. What combination of yellow, brown and black does the abdomen have (including the difficult to see area near the thorax).
5. Ideally, a full facial view to see what colour the labnum ('top lip') is.

Males are easier to identify than females.

If you can provide several good quality photos the experts on the HymIS and BWARS forums may be able to identify your Nomada, but many are impossible from photos.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photos are numbered from left to right, top to bottom. 1-5 N. fabriciana female, in our orchard, March.

6 - 10 Nomada sp, April, Parc de Boussay.

11 Nomada sp, April, the Brenne.

Honey Bee - Apis mellifera

2009-12-03T09:00:00.013Z

Scientific Name: Apis mellifera.

English Name: Honey Bee or Hive Bee.

French Name: L'Abeille européene.

A Honey Bee forages on apricot blossom in March.

5 Key Characters:

very distinctive wing venation, with a very long thin apical cell almost to wing tip.
a social species, living in large colonies, both domestic and wild.
makes wax comb nest of 6 sided cells (suspended vertically in the wild) and produces honey.
brown medium-large bee.
swarms in the spring.

Lookalikes: Other similar sized brown bees eg Andrena spp. There are also some flies which mimic Honey Bees very closely in appearance and behaviour in the field.

Habitat: Wild colonies build nests in hollow trees. Domestic hives can be found almost anywhere from the rooftops of high rise buildings in the city to rural gardens and orchards. Although common and welcomed in gardens as pollinators they are unable to pollinate vegetables of New World origin eg potatoes, tomatoes, chillies and peppers, and they are often not the most important pollinator of fruit trees.

Flight Period: Early spring to autumn.

Status: Very common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

More Info:
Post on Days on the Claise about Feral Bees.

Sweat Bees - Halictus spp

2009-12-03T09:00:00.011Z

Bees are generally easy to identify to genus level using a simple wing venation based key (such as the FSC Aidgap Key to Bees, Ants and Wasps) if you have a specimen. They are not so easy to identify from photos or to species level.

Halictus is a very large genus of bees, with 30 species occuring in France. They are ground nesting, and sometimes social, forming colonies, sometimes nesting individually. Nests are about 5mm in diameter, surrounded by a little pile of excavated soil. They are small-medium sized bees with dark bodies and pale bands on their abdomen. Identification to species level from photographs is usually very difficult and requires expert opinion. Many species are so similiar in appearance that even the experts on forums such as HymIS and BWARS often cannot tell them apart without examining actual specimens. They are also very difficult to tell from Lasioglossum spp (the key difference is the position of the abdominal bands, which are at the top of each segment in Halictus and at the bottom in Lasioglossum).

Halictus rubicundus, female (identified by Christian Schmid-Egger
on HymIS) photographed in March.

Halictus have more cylindrical abdomens than Andrena. They fly from early spring to mid-summer.

H. rubicundus has clear yellow hind tibiae and white abdominal bands. It is common and widespread.

Common Carder Bumblebee - Bombus pascuorum

2009-12-03T08:00:00.006Z

Scientific Name: Bombus pascuorum

English Name: Common Carder Bumblebee

French Name: Le Bourdon des champs

5 Key Characters:

tawny coat ranging in colour from foxy orange to pale ginger brown with variable amounts of black.
coat often thin and scruffy.
distinct black hairs among the ginger thorax hairs and black hairs on the abdomen.
a medium sized bumblebee.
round abdomen.

Lookalikes: Brown-banded Carder Bumblebee B. humilis and Moss Carder Bumblebee B. muscorum, neither of which have long black hairs on the hind feet or on the abdomen. B. pascuorum emerges before the others so prior to mid-April there should not be any confusion. B. humilis and B. pascuorum are very alike in behaviour and in open dry flowery grassland, both can be common. However, B. humilis and B. muscorum are restricted to this type of habitat (and B. muscorum is less common), whereas B. pascuorum can be found everywhere. If you find a bumblebee that looks like this in woodland it will almost certainly be B. pascuorum. Neither B. humilis nor B. pascuorum are particularly bothered by being approached (unlike the third lookalike, B. muscorum, which will fly off before you can get very close).

Habitat: Gardens, urban wasteland, woodland edges, suburban parks. Nests on or just under the ground, and in old bird's nests. A highly adaptable forager., but particularly fond of legume and dead nettle flowers and will also visit foxgloves regularly.

Flight Period: One of the earliest bumblebees to emerge in the spring, with nest seeking queens visible from March, and one of the last bumblebees to disappear in the autumn

Status: Common and one of the few bumblebee species that is thriving.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1-2 On White Deadnettle Lamium album in April.

Red-tailed Bumblebee - Bombus lapidarius

2009-12-03T08:00:00.004Z

Scientific Name: Bombus lapidarius

English Name: Red-tailed Bumblebee

French Name: Le Bourdon des pierres

5 Key Characters:

black with orange red tail which is less than 50% of the abdomen length (males also have yellow faces and yellow 'collars').
abdomen longer than wide.
a large bumblebee with a thick, neat velvety coat.
particularly fond of yellow flowers, especially Birdsfoot Trefoil, but also likes Scabious and Knapweed.
black hairs on the pollen basket on the hind leg.

Lookalikes: The much less common Red-shanked Carder Bumblebee Bombus ruderarius, which has a much shorter abdomen, red hairs on the pollen basket on the hind leg, and a scruffier coat.

Habitat: Found in many habitats, but especially open country. Nests underground or in wall cavities in open areas.

Flight Period: Queens are very visible searchng for nests March-June.

Status: Common and widespread.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1-2 Nest seeking queen in April.

Early Nesting Bumblebee - Bombus pratorum

2009-12-03T08:00:00.000Z

Scientific Name: Bombus pratorum.

English Name: Early Nesting Bumblebee.

French Name: Bourdon des pres.

5 Key Characters:

Relatively small for a bumblebee.
Yellow collar, yellow 2nd abdominal segment, orange-red tail.
Rather shaggy.
Appears early in the spring and disappears before summer is over.
Often seen on soft fruit flowers in gardens.

Lookalikes: Red-tailed Bumblebee B. lapidarius, which are bigger and have no (or much less) yellow.

Habitat: May nest in old bird nests, bird boxes or holes in trees well above ground, but also at the base of bushes. Often in gardens and visits a range of shrubs and perennials, especially Raspberries and Blackberries.

Flight Period: March-April-May-June-July-August-September-October.

Status: Common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Xanthogramma citrofasciatum

2009-12-02T09:00:00.021Z

Scientific Name: Xanthogramma citrofasciatum.

English Name: None. A hoverfly Syrphidae.

French Name: Une syrphe, sans nom commun.

5 Key Characters:

strong lemon yellow stripes down the sides of the thorax.
long narrow lemon yellow wedge shaped triangles on the second abdominal segment.
wings faintly enfuscated (as if they are tinged with brown).
entirely orange legs.
medium sized (11 - 15 mm long).

Lookalikes: The rumour in taxonomic circles is that X. citrofasciatum is likely to actually be a species complex of two separate species, but until such time as this is announced officially, the only confusion should be with the X. pedissequum group. X. pedissequum was also until recently thought to be a single species, but it is now known to be three - X. pedissequum, X. dives and X. stackelbergi. These three species all have broader yellow triangles on abdominal segment 2, clearly dark hind legs from just above the 'knee' down and more darkly shadowed wings. By far the easiest of these characters to judge in the field and from photos is the leg colour. The X. pedissequum group is more abundant than X. citrofasciatum, but still not common.

Habitat: Grasslands with many Lasius spp nest mounds (especially Yellow Meadow Ant L. flavus), such as meadows, large gardens, pasture and woodland rides, especially if well drained, dry and on chalk or limestone. The hoverfly larvae seem to live in the ant nests, feeding on the root aphids that the ants 'milk' for honeydew.

Flight Period: April-May-June-July-August-September.

Status: Scarce. We see maybe one or two a year near Preuilly-sur-Claise. A lowland species.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Craneflies - Tipulidae

2009-12-02T09:00:00.020Z

Craneflies are a group of very long legged flies in the sub-order of more primitive flies known as Nematocera - you could say they are really giant non-biting gnats. In the UK they are often referred to as 'daddy-long-legs'. They have several distinctive features and wing venation, so can be identified to family level from good photos fairly easily. Use a simple wing venation key such as A Key to the Families of British Diptera, an AIDGAP by D. Unwin, published by the FSC and available as a free download (scroll down to the titles list) or a more detailed key which includes many physical characters such as The European Families of the Diptera by P. Oosterbroek. The expert dipterists on the DipteraInfo forum are also very happy to identify, sometimes to species level, from good photographs. Be prepared to wait though, as there are not very many cranefly experts, they are busy and it is a specialist area. If you want to have a go at identifying your cranefly yourself, do try the extraordinary and marvellous Catalogue of the Craneflies of the World, a fully searchable database with many photos and illustrations.

At rest they mostly sit with their wings spread open, but some species rest with wings folded over their bodies. Some species have the habit of bobbing up and down on their absurdly long legs. Be careful not to handle them, as the legs are fragile and snap off very easily. Females have pointed abdomens, with an ovipositor for laying eggs in the soil or decaying plant material. The larvae live on decaying material in soil or water. They dessicate easily, so in dry years do very poorly. The larvae are known as leatherjackets and some species are crop pests. When you see flocks of corvids in ploughed fields it is often leatherjackets that they are hunting.

Adult Tipulidae range in appearance from the subtle browns of Tipula spp to the striking black and oranges of Nephrotoma and Ctenophora spp. Several species are common and some engage in mating swarms.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photos are numbered from left to right and top to bottom.

1-6 A female Tipula sp lays her eggs on plant material in a ditch in Preuilly-sur-Claise in March.

7 - 9 Spotted Craneflies Nephrotoma appendiculata, mating on our garden fence, April. The female is on the left.

10 - 11 female Nephrotoma crocata, a tiger cranefly, resting on box topiary in our front courtyard, April.

12 male Tipula vernalis, a common springtime species with a prominent dark line down the middle of its body, in the haymeadow in front of our orchard, April.

More info:
A post about Tipula maxima, the largest Tipulidae species in the region, on Aigronne Valley Wildlife.
A post on Days on the Claise with photos of Nephrotoma quadrifaria (including as prey of the Assassin Fly Empis tessellata).
A post showing mating Nephrotoma appendiculata on Days on the Claise.

Parasitic Flies - Tachinidae

2009-12-02T09:00:00.016Z

Tachinidae flies are a large family, with hundreds of species in France. They range in size from about 2 mm up to about 20 mm. Most of them are very bristly and many resemble blowflies (Calliphoridae). They are generally parasites of caterpillars and other pre-adult insect forms (occasionally adult bugs and grasshoppers). The female Tachinid lays her eggs either directly on a caterpillar or on a plant where the egg will be ingested by the caterpillar. The egg hatches into a larva inside the caterpillar and this larva consumes the caterpillar from the inside before pupating and emerging as an adult fly.

They can be distinguished by their subscutellum, a cushion like body part which sits below the scutellum (the crescent shaped part that sits between the thorax and the abdomen on a fly). Only one other fly family has a post-scutellum. They also have a very sharp bend in the main long vein on their wing. Chris Raper has posted a photo of a typical Tachinid wing and subscutellums on his excellent blog / website, the Tachinid Recording Scheme.

Chris is extremely approachable, so if you would like a fly you suspect to be a Tachinid identified, do not hesitate to contact him. The other highly recommended site for getting flies identified from photos is the DipteraInfo forum, where there are a number of Tachinid experts happy to help. Remember that identification to species level usually depends on having several photos taken from different angles, in focus and showing a high level of detail (down to the exact position of each hair being visible, for example).

Further information on our daily blog, Days on the Claise:
Gymnosoma sp (includes photos of the lookalike species, Ectophasia crassipennis).
Tachina sp

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1 - 2 Tachina cf magnicornis in the Parc de Boussay, April.

Migrant Hoverfly - Eupeodes corollae

2009-12-02T09:00:00.008Z

The Migrant Hoverfly Eupeodes corollae is a typical black and yellow hoverfly. Males and females have different shaped yellow spots - males are rather square and sometimes joined, females are crescent shaped. The side edges of the abdomen are mostly yellow.

A mating pair in our garden, April.

The adults are 5 - 8 mm long and are on the wing between March and November. Numbers peak in July and August. They are found on flowers on the margins of arable land, meadows, road verges, hedgerows, heaths, gardens and waste ground in both rural and urban settings. One of the commonest hoverflies of open habitats, and abundant in some years.

For full details of how to identify this species, go to British Hoverflies by Stubbs and Falk or the Diptera.info forum.

Dark-edged Beefly - Bombylius major

2009-12-02T09:00:00.007Z

Scientific Name: Bombylius major

English Name: Dark-edged Beefly

French Name: Le Grand bombyle

5 Key Characters:

a brown furry bee lookalike.
long rigid proboscis which can't be retracted.
makes a clearly audible high pitched whining buzz when hovering or flying.
dark brown patch along leading edge of wings (not visible when flying).
very variable in size, from small to moderately large (6 - 12.5 mm body length).

Lookalikes: Other Bombylius and Villa spp of beefly, which do not have the large dark patch on the wings; Hemipenthes spp, Thyridanthrax spp and Anthrax spp, also beeflies with dark wing patches, but which are much more velvety black in appearance. B. major is by far the commonest early spring beefly, so if you are seeing a beefly in March or April it is likely to be this species.

Habitat: Gardens, woodland rides and edges, sunny sheltered places, especially where solitary bees are nesting nearby (B. major is a parasite of Andrena spp mining bees). Visits a very wide range of spring flowers, including primrose, lesser celandine, wood anemone, blackthorn and other Prunus spp, wild cherry, ground ivy, violets, bugle, and sallow. They are particularly partial to blue flowers such as Narrow-leaved Lungwort Pulmonaria longifolia and in the garden Honesty is a great attraction for them.

Flight Period: March-April-May-June.

Status: Common and abundant.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1-3 a female, resting on a Columbine Aquilegia vulgaris near Chaumussay in April.

March Flies - Bibionidae

2009-12-02T09:00:00.004Z

These primitive gnat like flies are not to be confused with the group of flies in Australia known as March Flies (which are Tabanidae, called Horse Flies in Europe).

European March Flies are often called St Mark's Flies if they are of the genus Bibio (because they appear around St Mark's Day, 25 April) or Fever Flies if they are of the genus Dilophus.

Female Bibio cf marci (below). 'Cf' means the species identification is not certain, but it is probably the species mentioned, or a closely related species. B. marci is a common species with completely black legs. Photographed in April.
They can be present in large numbers in the spring, drifting listlessly around in long grass, legs dangling. Most of them are black, but some of the females are red-brown. To identify them to species level you need to observe whether they have dark or light hair and whether their legs are entirely black or have some red-brown.

Male Bibio cf lanigerus, a fairly common species with pale hair and brownish legs (below). Photographed in April.
Males and females look rather different because the males have large eyes and females small eyes.

Marmalade Hoverfly - Episyrphus balteatus

2009-12-02T09:00:00.001Z

Probably the most common hoverfly in the world, this species can be seen in any month of the year (numbers peak July-August). The photo below was taken in February and the hoverfly is taking advantage of a sunny day to drink nectar from an early flowering plant, Lesser Celandine Ranunculus ficaria. The species is quite variable in terms of the amount of black on the abdomen and how dark or bright overall that they appear. There are double black bands on 2 of the abdomenal segments, which is unique amongst hoverfly patterning. This hoverfly is about 10-15mm long and is strongly migratory. Males can often be observed hovering in a shaft of sunlight in woodland.

Tufted Vetch - Vicia cracca

2009-12-01T12:00:00.002Z

Scientific Name: Vicia cracca.

English Name: Tufted Vetch.

French Name: La Vesce craque; Vesce de Cracovie; Pois a crapaud (='toad pea'); Vesce a épis (='spear vetch').

5 Key Characters:

climbing plant up to 2 m.
individual leaflets 10 - 25 mm long, arranged in 8 - 13 pairs.
10 - 40 flowers on long spikes (racemes) 2 - 10 cm with stalks about the same length.
tendrils branched.
only the bottom pair of calyx (green 'cup' the flower sits in) teeth long.

Lookalikes: Fodder Vetch V. villosa is very like, but has very long flowers (>10 mm) and more long teeth on the calyx.

Habitat: Hedges, woodland fringes, scrub.

Flowering Period: April-May-June-July-August.

Status: Common. One of the caterpillar food plants of the Wood White Leptidea sinapis butterfly.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right, top to bottom. 1 on a trackside bordering woodland on a limestone spur near Preuilly-sur-Claise, April.

Common Vetch - Vicia sativa

2009-12-01T12:00:00.001Z

Scientific Name: Vicia sativa

English Name: Common Vetch

French Name: La Vesce commune

5 Key Characters:

a member of the pea family.
very variable and can be erect, trailing or scrambling up to 40 cm high.
tendrils can be single or branched (or absent in young plants).
flowers in groups of 1 - 3, 10 - 30 mm long.
calyx (the green 'cup' the flower sits in) teeth almost equal.

Lookalikes: Other Vicia and Lathyrus spp.

Habitat: Was once widely cultivated for pasture or hay. Hedgerows, grassland, scrub.

Flowering Period: April-May-June-July-August-September.

Status: Very common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Pale Dog Violet - Viola lactea

2009-12-01T11:00:00.004Z

Scientific Name: Viola lactea.

English Name: Pale Dog Violet.

French Name: La Violette lactée, la Violette blanche (='the white violet') or la Violette blanchatre (='the whitish violet').

5 Key Characters:

narrow spear shaped leaves.
pale milky violet or greyish pink flowers.
short greenish spurs projecting from the back of the flowers.
unscented.
creeping stems with no basal leaf rosette.

Lookalikes: Heath Dog Violet V. canina, which is more widespread but has wider leaves.

Habitat: Look for it in hot sunny places. It often grows in acid soil, very poor in nutrients and quite dry. It will take partial shade though and you can encounter it in a variety of habitats - heaths, damp grassland, heath or woodland fringes. In the Brenne its preferred habitat is warm neutral heathland and the associated grassland.

Flowering Period: April-May-June.

Status: Rare and localised (ie occuring only on a relatively few specific sites dotted about the area). In the wider scheme of things, very much restricted to the western half of France with the area covered by this blog more or less the centre of its range. It has never been a common plant.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. All photos enlarge in a new window if clicked. 1 - 2 on a ride in the Parc de Boussay, April.

Wild Pansy - Viola tricolor

2009-12-01T11:00:00.002Z

Scientific Name: Viola tricolor.

English Name: Wild Pansy.

French Name: La Pensée sauvage or la pensée tricolore.

5 Key Characters:

Flowers 1.5 - 2.5 cm from top to bottom.
Flowers yellow, blue-violet or a combination of both.
Petals flat.
Petals do not overlap.
Can be annual or perennial.

Lookalikes: Garden Pansy V. x wittrockiana, which generally has bigger flowers (although they reduce with each generation in the wild) and the petals overlap.

The specimen below may be a naturalised Garden Pansy several generations from its garden origins, or perhaps a hybrid between a Garden Pansy and a Wild Pansy. The petals overlap sufficiently to indicate it may not be a pure Wild Pansy.
Habitat: Wasteland, arable land, dry grassland, dunes.

Flowering Period: February-March-April-May-June-July-August-September.

Status: Common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photos are numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1 Garden Pansy naturalised for several generations or hybrid with Wild Pansy.

Common Dog Violet - Viola riviniana

2009-12-01T11:00:00.001Z

Scientific Name: Viola riviniana

English Name: Common Dog Violet

French Name: La Violette de Rivin

5 Key Characters:

unscented.
flower spur curved upwards, blunt and notched at the tip.
flower spur paler than petals.
flowers violet blue, athough they vary a bit from plant to plant.
strong purple veins (nectar guides) especially on lower petal.

Lookalikes: Sweet Violet V. odorata, which is scented and has darker (or white) flowers with less pronounced nectar guides and spurs which are the same colour as the petals. They are probably equally common in the area.

Habitat: Woods, hedgerows, grasslands, rocks.

Flowering Period: March-April-May and again August-September-October.

Status: Very common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Sweet Violet - Viola odorata

2009-12-01T11:00:00.000Z

Scientific Name: Viola odorata

English Name: Sweet Violet

French Name: La Violette odorante

5 Key Characters:

the only scented violet in the area covered by this blog.
flower spurs the same colour as the petals.
flowers dark violet or white.
broad glossy leaves that become larger in the summer.
sends out rooting runners.

Lookalikes: Other Viola spp, e.g. Common Dog Violet V. riviniana, but none of them are scented.

Habitat: Hedgebanks, woods, scrub, usually on calcareous soils.

Flowering Period: March-April-May.

Status: Very common. Often a garden escapee.

More Info:
Post on Days on the Claise about Viola spp.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Ground Ivy - Glechoma hederacea

2009-12-01T10:00:00.001Z

Scientific Name: Glechoma hederacea

English Name: Ground Ivy

French Name: Le Lierre terrestre (= 'ground ivy')

5 Key Characters:

creeping.
round toothed leaves.
tubular pale violet flowers with 3-lobed lower lip.
leaves on rather long stalks.
flowers with purple spots.

Lookalikes: None really.

Habitat: Woods, scrub, hedgerows, grassland.

Flowering Period: March-April-May.

Status: Very common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Bugle - Ajuga reptans

2009-12-01T10:00:00.000Z

Scientific Name: Ajuga reptans

English Name: Bugle

French Name: La Bugle rampante

5 Key Characters:

stems are hairy only on 2 opposite sides.
upper bracts (leafs in amongst the flowers) are shorter than the flowers.
lower leaves in basal rosette oval and shiny.
upper bracts bluish green.
grows in damp places.

Lookalikes: Pyramidal Bugle A. pyramidalis, which grows on dry calcareous sites and is much hairier, with purple upper bracts much longer than the flowers.

Habitat: Damp woods, hedgebanks and meadows.

Flowering Period: April-May-June.

Status: Very common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Wormwood - Artemisia absinthium

2009-12-01T09:00:00.046Z

Scientific Name: Artemisia absinthium.

English Name: Wormwood.

French Name: Absinthe.

5 Key Characters:

very aromatic.
30 - 90 cm tall.
leaf segments blunt tipped and silvery grey with silky hairs on both sides.
drooping yellow globular flowers in a pyramidal spike.
leaves deeply cut, with segments wider than 2 mm.

Lookalikes: Mugwort A. vulgaris, which has leaves with pointed tipped segments which are dark green on top and felty white below.

Habitat: Wasteground, uncultivated land, roadsides, rocks, scree and hedgerows.

Flowering Period: July-August-September.

Status: Fairly locally common around Preuilly-sur-Claise, but not present in the Brenne. Often naturalised in France, as it was the principal herb used to flavour the drink Absinthe and some vermouths. It was also used as a stimulant, vermifuge (worm treatment), insecticide and in brewing instead of hops. Its medicinal and commercial use is regulated.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs are numbered from left to right and top to bottom. All photos enlarge in a new window if you click on them. 1 on a roadside bank near Preuilly-sur-Claise.

White Asphodel - Asphodelus albus

2009-12-01T09:00:00.045Z

Scientific Name: Asphodelus albus.

English Name: White Asphodel.

French Name: L'Asphodele blanc, Baton royal or Baton-blanc.

5 Key Characters:

lots of long stiff leaves, V-shaped in section, 1 - 2 cm wide, coming from the base.
robust flower stem up to 1 m.
white flowers clustered together in a spike.
favours damp limey soil.
seed cases brown with ridges.

Lookalikes: Spiked Star of Bethlehem Ornithogalum pyrenaicum, a much smaller plant.

Habitat: Heaths, grassy places, thickets, banks.

Flowering Period: April-May-June-July-August.

Status: Restricted to the south-west and far south-eastern corner in France. Locally abundant and a common plant of road and trackside ditches in the forests near Preuilly-sur-Claise.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. All photos can be enlarged in a new window by clicking on them. 1 flower spike on a ride in the Parc de Boussay, April.

Speedwells - Veronica spp

2009-12-01T09:00:00.044Z

Speedwells Veronica spp are difficult to identify to species level. All speedwells only have 2 stamens. Once you have determined you have speedwell you need to look at the following to get to a species identification:

Leaves - shape, hairiness, stalked or not.
Habit - creeping (rooting at nodes) or erect.
Flowers - colour.
Flower stalks - length.
Stems - hairy all over or in 2 distinct rows.
Fruits - shape, hairiness.

They are divided into the following groups:

Those with solitary flowers in the leaf axils.
Those with flower heads at the ends of main stems.
Those with flower heads in the leaf axils.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Below, 2 photos of Veronica sp, in our orchard, April.

Below, 1 photo of Common Field Speedwell V. persica, on the side of a track through a vineyard near Saint-Aignan, April. A spreading non-native (introduced from Asia) with roughly triangular leaves and single flowers that come on long stems from the leaf axils. Very common, especially in arable and waste land. Flowers all year.

Below, 2 photos of Thyme-leaved Speedwell V. serpyllifolia, on a ride in the Parc de Boussay, April. This is a creeping plant with small smooth edged leaves and pale flowers in erect spikes at the ends of stems. Common in grasslands, heaths, open woodland and waste ground. Flowers from March to October.

Greater Star of Bethlehem - Ornithogalum umbellatum

2009-12-01T09:00:00.041Z

Scientific Name: Ornithogalum umbellatum.

English Name: Greater Star of Bethlehem.

French Name: La Belle-d'onze-heures, la Dame-d'onze-heures or l'Orthinogale en ombelle.

5 Key Characters:

'petals' (technically perianth segments) 20 - 30 mm long.
fewer than 10 leaves per bulb.
leaves have a white stripe down the middle.
flowers in an umbel like spike, with the lower flowers having longer stalks that bring them up to the level of the upper flowers.
'petals' white with a strong green stripe down the back.

Lookalikes: None.

Habitat: In grass, especially on roadsides.

Flowering Period: April-May-June.

Status: Fairly common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1 - 2 in our orchard, April. 3 on a roadside bank in Descartes, April.

Sanicle - Sanicula europaea

2009-12-01T09:00:00.040Z

Scientific Name: Sanicula europaea.

English Name: Sanicle.

French Name: Le Sanicle d'Europe.

5 Key Characters:

an umbellifer (Carrot family Apiaceae).
20 - 60 cm tall.
long stalked palmate leaves, up to 6 cm across, with shiny undersides.
small clusters of umbels of white (or sometimes pink) flowers.
umbels almost spherical.

Lookalikes: Leaves might be confused with Wood Anemone Anemone nemorosa, but this species has much larger white star shaped flowers.

Habitat: Oak and beech woods on rich limey soil.

Flowering Period: April-May-June-July-August.

Status: Very common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Purple Gromwell - Lithospermum purpureocaeruleum

2009-12-01T09:00:00.038Z

Scientific Name: Lithospermum purpureocaeruleum.

English Name: Purple Gromwell.

French Name: Le Grémil pourpre-bleu.

5 Key Characters:

bright deep blue star shaped flowers 12 - 15 mm across.
spreading downy plant up to 60 cm high.
long pointed stalkless rough dark green leaves.
flowers have white throats.
flowers start off red-purple.

Lookalikes: Green Alkanet Pentaglottis sempervirens, which has fewer flowers, with round petals and wider leaves.

Habitat: Open woodland and scrub on calcareous soils.

Flowering Period: April-May-June.

Status: Widespread, locally common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1 - 7 by a track on a limestone spur near Preuilly-sur-Claise, April.

Hairy Rockcress - Arabis hirsuta

2009-12-01T09:00:00.035Z

Scientific Name: Arabis hirsuta. Hirsuta = 'hairy'.

English Name: Hairy Rockcress

French Name: L'Arabette hérissée. Hérissée = 'bristly' (as in the French for hedgehog, which is hérisson).

5 Key Characters:

you guessed it - it's hairy!
basal rosette of elongated oval - hairy! - leaves.
leaves up flower stem are stalkless and sit close to the stem.
many small (3 -4 mm) white flowers up a long erect stem.
long (15 - 50 mm) narrow (1.5 mm) erect seedpods (technically fruits).

Lookalikes: other Arabis spp, including much larger flowered garden escapees.

Habitat: Calcareous grasslands and rocks.

Flowering Period: May-June-July-August.

Status: Locally common (ie does not occur on many sites, but where it does it is common.) On the northern edge of its natural range, but has been introduced further north. It is an important food plant for Orange Tip Anthocharis cardamines butterfly caterpillars.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Garden Asparagus - Asparagus officinalis

2009-12-01T09:00:00.034Z

Scientific Name: Asparagus officinalis - 'officinalis' indicates the plant was considered to have a medicinal use.

English Name: Garden Asparagus

French Name: Asperge

5 Key Characters:

smooth sturdy erect stems, with many fine branches, to 1 m, emerging in April.
green feathery 'leaves' (actually modified stems).
bell shaped greenish yellow flowers.
red berries.
edible.

Lookalikes: other Asparagus spp - there are 6 in France, but most are rare and / or restricted to the south. Wild Asparagus A. prostratus is restricted to a few sites on the Atlantic coast, prostrate and has blue green 'leaves'. Do not confuse with Spiked Star of Bethlehem (aka Bath Asparagus) Ornithogalum pyrenaicum - the flower buds bear a superficial resemblance to Garden Asparagus shoots and are sometimes prepared and eaten as 'wild asparagus'.

Habitat: This is a Mediterranean plant which has naturalised from gardens. There may be a few sandy areas where it occurs naturally. Often appears on waste ground.

Flowering Period: June-July-August-September.

Status: Quite common as a naturalised garden escapee. Very rare otherwise.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Milkworts - Polygala spp

2009-12-01T09:00:00.031Z

Milkworts Polygala spp are low growing plants with small narrow leaves. The flowers are small and an unusual shape, with a little fringed tube between 2 large strongly coloured lateral 'wings'. The flowers are blue, purple, mauve, pink or white, in spikes. Flower colour is no indication of species - they can be any shade of blue, pink or white.

Lousewort - Pedicularis sylvatica

2009-12-01T09:00:00.030Z

Scientific Name: Pedicularis sylvatica - 'sylvatica' = 'of the woods.'

English Name: Lousewort - any plant name with a 'wort' suffix indicates a plant that was considered useful medicinally. Presumably Lousewort was used to treat lice.

French Name: Le Pédiculaire des bois or pédiculaire des forets - 'des bois' = 'of the woods'; 'des forets' = 'of the forests'.

5 Key Characters:

low growing (10 - 20 cm).
pink tubelike flowers.
calyx (the green 'cup' the flower sits in) 5 angled and rather fat.
upper lip of flower 2 toothed.
flower spikes short and with few flowers.

Lookalikes: Marsh Lousewort P. palustris, which is rarer and taller with more flowers.

Habitat: Damp heaths, grassland, avoids chalky soils.

Flowering Period: April-May-June-July.

Status: Fairly common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1 on a ride in the Parc de Boussay, April.

Dogs Mercury - Mercurialis perennis

2009-12-01T09:00:00.028Z

Scientific Name: Mercurialis perennis. 'Mercurialis' means pertaining to the god Mercury, who revealed the 'medicinal' properties of the genus Mercurialis. 'Perennis' = perennial (there is an Annual Mercury too, M. annua).

English Name: Dogs Mercury. Any plant prefixed by the term 'Dogs' is a plant long considered useless medicinally. In this case the term more properly indicates that the plant is actually harmful if used medicinally. Also Snakes Flower, Snakeweed and Boggart Posy - all names that indicate that it is poisonous (a boggart is a malevolent household spirit).

French Name: La Mercuriale vivace (='perennial mercury'), mercuriale pérenne,(='perennial mercury'), chou de chien (= 'dogs cabbage'), cynocrambe.

5 Key Characters:

one of the earliest plants to emerge in the new year, sending out new shoots in January.
a plant of damp shady places.
flowers inconspicuous (plants are male or female, with different flowers depending on sex).
15 - 40 cm tall.
unbranched stems with pairs of opposite oval leaves with small teeth.

Lookalikes: Enchanters Nightshade Circaea lutetiana.

Habitat: Mainly woods on basic or calcareous soil, but it can exist in a wide range of soil pH, from quite acidic to fairly alkaline. It rarely occurs on peat or sand, but is abundant on lime rich clay and loam so long as they are not prone to waterlogging. It is particularly shade tolerant and can form dense stands of up to 500 shoots per square metre in undisturbed woodland and exclude all competitors. In areas with more light it shares the forest floor with Bramble Rubus fruticosus agg., Rosebay Willowherb Chamerion angustifolium, Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Enchanters Nightshade Circaea lutetiana, Primrose Primula vulgaris, Male Fern Dryopteris felix-mas, Herb Robert Geranium robertianum and False Oat Grass Arrhenatherum elatius. Female plants are more abundant in low light conditions, male plants more abundant in more intense light.

Flowering Period: January-February-March-April-May. The seeds are attractive to ants, bullfinches and greenfinches. Various hoverflies, moths, beetles and slugs visit the flowers or eat the leaves regularly.

Status: Widespread and locally common i.e. it is abundant at many scattered sites, but does not occur at many other places. Curiously, on the one hand it is seen as an indicator of ancient forest habitat, and on the other hand it is capable of tolerating high levels of heavy metal contamination in the soil. It is sensitive to disturbance by forestry activity, as well as trampling and grazing by deer. Stands of Dogs Mercury are long lived, but as they reproduce via rhizome extension, they are slow to (re)colonise new areas. The species has declined in abundance since the 1950s due to habitat disturbance.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs are numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1 a dense stand in well managed mixed forest on a limestone ridge near Preuilly-sur-Claise, April.

Common Fumitory - Fumaria officinalis

2009-12-01T09:00:00.024Z

Scientific Name: Fumaria officinalis

English Name: Common Fumitory

French Name: La Fumeterre officinale

5 Key Characters:

weakly scrambling or erect up to 20 cm tall.
fine divided grey-green leaves.
fine tubular pink flowers 6-8 mm long.
commonest Fumitory species.
often found on chalk or sand.

Lookalikes: Other pink flowering Fumitory species.

Habitat: Arable land, especially chalk and sand.

Flowering Period: April-May-June-July-August-September-October.

Status: Very common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs are numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1 Flowering on the side of a ditch in April at Boussay.

Common Columbine - Aquilegia vulgaris

2009-12-01T09:00:00.023Z

Scientific Name: Aquilegia vulgaris. 'Aquilegia' refers to the flowers' resemblance to an eagle (presumably upsidedown with talons outstretched to take some prey). 'Vulgaris' means common.

English Name: Common Columbine (referencing a completely different bird to the scientific name, the dove). Often called Grannys Bonnet, also a clear allusion to the shape of the flower.

French Name: L'Ancolie commune.

5 Key Characters:

large flowers with 5 spurs.
flowers all blue or violet-blue, occasionally pink or white.
found in calcareous woods and fens.
rounded lobed leaves.
tall and spindly stems.

Lookalikes: Larkspur Consolida ajacis, which has finely divided leaves and a single long spur on the flower.

Habitat: Calcareous scrub, woods, fens.

Flowering Period: April-May-June.

Status: Locally quite common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1 In a woodland clearing on a limestone spur near Preuilly-sur-Claise, April. 2-3 Near Chaumussay on the edge of a wooded limestone spur, with a resting Dark-edged Beefly Bombylius major, April.

Carduncellus mitissimus

2009-12-01T09:00:00.021Z

Scientific Name: Carduncellus mitissimus

English Name: None

French Name: In this area the 'official' French name is Cardoncelle doux, but it is also called Cardoncelle molle, Cardoncelle sans épines, Mitine, Petit chardon sans épines, or Cardoncelle mou, depending on which region you are in.

5 Key Characters:

Basal rosette of more or less stemless leaves.
A single blue thistle like flower rises from the centre of the leaf rosette.
Flower stem usually about 20 cm.
Found on dry grassy calcareous slopes.
Only found on a few sites in the area covered by this blog.

Lookalikes: Dwarf Thistle Cirsium acaule, which has prickly leaves and bright reddish purple flowers, usually on very short stalks. It also tends to flower slightly later, up to September.

Habitat: Dry grasslands and calcareous slopes.

Flowering Period: April-May-June-July.

Status: This is a Mediterranean plant on the northern edge of its range. In this area it is rare, occuring on a handful of sites in Indre et Loire (37) - including one within 5km of Preuilly-sur-Claise - and a couple in Indre (36). It probably isn't any more common in Vienne (86).

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1-2 Near Preuilly in April (flowering early due to hot dry weather).

Butchers Broom - Ruscus aculeatus

2009-12-01T09:00:00.020Z

Scientific Name: Ruscus aculeatus

English Name: Butchers Broom

French Name: Le Fragon faux houx or Fragon épineux or Petit-houx

5 Key Characters:

small shrub (25 - 100 cm tall).
'leaves' are actually flattened stems.
'leaves' oval, tough, evergreen, spine tipped.
flowers insignificant.
red berries 1 cm across.

Lookalikes: None.

Habitat: Dry woods.

Flowering Period: January-April.

Status: Uncommon and local.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Box - Buxus sempervirens

2009-12-01T09:00:00.018Z

Scientific Name: Buxus sempervirens

English Name: Box

French Name: Le Buis

5 Key Characters:

evergreen small tree.
green angled stems.
oval shiny leathery leaves.
flowers insignificant.
found in woodlands on calcareous soils.

Lookalikes: The introduced Wilson's Honeysuckle, which has round stems.

Habitat: Widely planted, but native to scrub and woodland on steep hillsides with calcareous soil.

Flowering Period: April-May.

Status: Locally common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Black Bryony - Tamus communis

2009-12-01T09:00:00.016Z

Scientific Name: Tamus communis

English Name: Black Bryony

French Name: Tamier

5 Key Characters:

veins on leaves form a net pattern.
flowers insignificant.
leaves very glossy and heart shaped.
berries red and poisonous.
climber, twining clockwise, but without tendrils.

Lookalikes: White Bryony Bryonia dioica, which has palmate lobed leaves and tendrils.

Habitat: Open woods, scrub, hedgebanks, on richer or calcareous soil.

Flowering Period: May-June-July.

Status: Fairly common. The new shoots are edible and were once gathered for the pot.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Mistletoe - Viscum album

2009-12-01T09:00:00.010Z

Scientific Name: Viscum album

English Name: Mistletoe

French Name: Le Gui

Photographed in March.

5 Key Characters:

parasitic woody shrub
repeatedly forked branching.
narrow blunt elliptical leathery leaves.
flowers with 4 tiny petals.
white sticky berries.

Lookalikes: None.

Habitat: Trees, especially poplars, apples, hawthorns and limes.

Flowering Period: February-March-April.

Fruiting Period: November-December.

Status: Very common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

More Info:
Post on Days on the Claise.

Grape Hyacinth - Muscari neglectum

2009-12-01T09:00:00.009Z

Scientific Name: Muscari neglectum.

English Name: Grape Hyacinth.

French Name: Le Muscari a grappes or Muscari négligé.

5 Key Characters:

dense cylindrical flower head 2-3 cm long.
flowers plum scented.
flowers dark blue.
individual flowers oval with white teeth.
long thin half cylindrical leaves.

Lookalikes: Garden Grape Hyacinth Muscari armeniacum, which has more globular flowers and no scent.

Habitat: Dry calcareous grassland.

Flowering Period: March-April-May.

Status: Uncommon and localised.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Cowslip - Primula veris

2009-12-01T09:00:00.007Z

Scientific Name: Primula veris.

English Name: Cowslip

French Name: Coucou.

The first Cowslip of spring, photographed in March.

5 Key Characters:

10-30 flowers in a head, spread in all directions, not just drooping to one side.
petals apricoty yellow with orange streaks.
flowers are cup shaped and fold down into a tube.
flowers are held in a downy, blunt oval toothed calyx.
very wrinkled leaves.

Lookalikes: Some hybrid garden primulas.

Habitat: Meadows, grasslands, open woods on basic or calcareous soils.

Flowering Period: March-April-May.

Status: Common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Daisy - Bellis perennis

2009-12-01T09:00:00.001Z

Scientific Name: Bellis perennis.

English Name: Daisy.

French Name: La paquerette.

5 Key Characters:

all leaves in a basal rosette.
flower stems leafless.
only one daisy per flower stem.
flowers 16-25mm across.
white daisy flowers with yellow centres.

Lookalikes: Mexican Fleabane Erigeron karvinskianus, which has more than one flower and leaves on the flower stems.

Habitat: Short grass, meadows.

Flowering Period: March-April-May-June-July-August-September-October.

Status: Very common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Field Woodrush - Luzula campestris

2009-12-01T08:00:00.004Z

Scientific Name: Luzula campestris

English Name: Field Woodrush. Sometimes Good Friday Grass or Sweeps Brush.

French Name: La Luzule champetre

5 Key Characters:

sparsely hairy.
although the species is a rush, it has flat blade leaves like a grass, not round like a rush.
brown and yellow flowers surprisingly conspicuous.
small knob at the tip of each leaf.
rarely more than 15 cm high.

Lookalikes: Great Woodrush L. sylvatica, which is a much larger and rarer plant.

Habitat: Almost everywhere - grasslands, banks, heathland paths, damp patches in woodland.

Flowering Period: March-April-May-June.

Status: Very common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Sedges - Carex spp

2009-12-01T08:00:00.000Z

Sedges have edges, rushes are round
And grasses are hollow right down to the ground

This mnemonic for distinguishing between sedges, rushes and grasses is worth remembering, even though there are plenty of exceptions to the rule.

Basically, it is the many Carex spp sedges that have the edges i.e. their stems are more or less triangular in section, a characteristic that is usually easy to see and certainly easy to feel with your fingertips. The French for sedge is laiche.

To identify them reliably to species level it is best to run the seed capsules through a key. You will need to learn some technical language relating to the parts of the plant and a 10 or 20x magnifying loup to see the level of detail required. Each species has a distinctive grainlike seed (technically a 'fruit'). Useful references books are the Colour Identification Guide to the Grasses, Sedges, Rushes and Ferns of the British Isles and north-western Europe by Francis Rose, the Field Flora of The British Isles by Clive Stace and the BSBI Handbook Sedges of the British Isles. They are not easy to identify from photographs.

Glaucous Sedge C. flacca: La Laiche glauque in French. Very common, with flattish leaves that are generally greyer or duller on top than underneath. Found in calcareous grasslands, meadows, fens, flushes. Fruits June-September. Below, Glaucous Sedge photographed flowering in the Parc de Boussay, April.

Field Cricket - Gryllus campestris

2009-11-01T08:00:00.003Z

The Field Cricket Gryllus campestris is called le Grillon champetre in French. They are robust ground dwelling insects, 17 - 23 mm long, common in fields, grassland and gardens that are not too disturbed. The males' chirping is a familiar sound of warm weather here.

Below, in April a juvenile female (wings still not covering her abdomen yet) sits on a platform in front of the burrow.
The base of the wing tends to be yellow and the hind femur is orange underneath. They live in burrows and are active both day and night. Adults can be seen sitting at the entrance to their burrows from April to September.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from right to left and top to bottom. 1-2 Juvenile female at burrow entrance in the field opposite our orchard, April.

Caddis Flies - Tricoptera

2009-11-01T08:00:00.001Z

I photographed this fascinating caddis fly larva in a ditch in Preuilly-sur-Claise one sunny February day.

Most caddis flies spend their larval period in water, protected by a casing made from debris they pick up from their surroundings.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Some further photos from the same place in March.

Dragonfly Species List

2009-10-01T09:00:00.008+01:00

This checklist of dragonflies gives you all the species it would be possible to see in the French départements of Indre (36), Indre et Loire (37) and Vienne (86). Those species marked with ‡ are common in the Brenne, those marked with * have been recorded by us within a 5km radius of Preuilly-sur-Claise, i.e. an easy walk or cycle ride from the town. Preuilly is located more or less at the intersection of the three départements, on the western boundary of the Brenne wetland, and for more information about the area, please go to our blog Days on the Claise.

The links column provides further information in some cases, with photographs. In time there will be more photographs and species accounts. All photographs on Loire Valley Nature have been taken by the blog authors unless otherwise noted and the text written by Susan, using a variety of references and personal observation/experience. The links will be added to periodically as time and material allows.

If you wish to obtain a checklist for personal recording please email Susan.

Common Winter Damselfly - Sympecma fusca

2009-10-01T08:00:00.002+01:00

Scientific Name: Sympecma fusca.

English Name: Common Winter Damselfly.

French Name: Le Leste brun.

5 Key Characters:

Pale brown body with dark brown markings.
Drab and extremely well camouflaged so easy to overlook.
Thick straight dark brown lengthwise stripes on the thorax.
A medium sized damselfly (34-39mm long).
Can be seen in any month of the year.

Lookalikes: None really, but take care with pinky brown juvenile male Bluets and Featherlegs.

Habitat: Unpolluted, well-vegetated stagnant water, especially if there is floating vegetation - ponds, fish ponds (étangs), lakes, marshes, temporary pools, oxbow lakes. Sunny forest clearings, fallow land. A lowland species. The adults hibernate under stones, in dry grass, moss, litter, reeds and bark.

Flight Period: All year, but the peak is April and May. Juveniles, with their coppery sheen, are often very visible in the autumn.

Status: Common, but for this situation to continue lake water must be free of agricultural pollution, pisciculture must not be over exploited. The winter cutting of reeds, too dense a growth of riverbank trees and the destruction of forest undergrowth also impacts by reducing their winter hibernation sites.

More Info:
Common Winter Damselfly Sympecma fusca on Days on the Claise.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photos are numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1 February. 2-3 March.

Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos

2009-09-07T09:00:00.002+01:00

Mallards Anas platyrhynchos, or les Canards colverts as they are known in France (='green necked ducks') are by far the most abundant species of duck in the area. The males below were photographed in April in one of the moat canals at the chateau of Chenonceau.

For general information about Mallards in English, see the RSPB page, and for detailed information in French, go to Oiseaux.net.

Great Tit - Parus major

2009-09-07T09:00:00.001+01:00

The Great Tit Parus major, or Mésange charbonniere in French is an extremely common little bird here, found in gardens and woodland everywhere. For a bit more information in English, go to the RSPB page, or if you read French, the very comprehensive Oiseaux.net.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs are numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1 leaving the nest with a fecal sack produced by the chicks. 2 entering the nest in a terracotta urn in our garden. 3-7 returning with caterpillars to feed the chicks.

Small Heath - Coenonympha pamphilus

2009-09-01T09:00:00.029+01:00

Scientific Name: Coenonympha pamphilus.

English Name: Small Heath.

French Name: Le Procris or le Fadet commun.

5 Key Characters:

small to medium sized (forewing 14 - 17 mm long).
pale irregular band crossing the underside of the hind wing.
prominent eyespot on the underside of the forewing, near the tip, but none on the hindwing.
tawny orange brown (fauve) and grey brown.
never rests with wings open.

Lookalikes: Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus, which often rests with open wings; Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina, which is much larger; Pearly Heath Coenonympha arcania, which is brighter and more clearly marked on the underside, with eyespots on the hind wing.

Habitat: Grassland, waste ground, crop margins and woodland clearings.

Flight Period: March-April-May-June-July-August-September-October-November.

Caterpillar: Green, all year. Overwinters as a caterpillar, and can spend anywhere between 1 and 11 months as a caterpillar, depending on the season and the area.

Host Plant: Annual Meadow Grass Poa annua, Crested Dogs Tail Cynosurus cristatus.

Status: The second most widely distributed butterfly species in France and in the top 10 most abundant. Nevertheless it is a Grassland Indicator Species in strong decline. Grassland Indicator species are monitored to predict or judge the health of natural grassland habitats. It is often the most abundant and visible species of open grassland in this area.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Wood White - Leptidea sinapis

2009-09-01T09:00:00.028+01:00

Scientific Name: Leptidea sinapis.

English Name: Wood White.

French Name: La Piéride de la moutarde or la Piéride du lotier.

5 Key Characters:

always rests with wings closed.
medium sized butterfly (forewing 19 - 24 mm long) but small for a White Pieridae.
white, rather elongated wings with rounded tips on the forewings and subtle grey markings on the underside of the hindwing.
males have grey forewing tips and white on the antennal clubs.
the amount of grey is reduced and the wings may be yellowy on those individuals emerging later in the year.

Lookalikes: In 2011 there was a lot of excitement regarding DNA testing of Leptidea specimens from the British Isles. This has established that there are 3 distinct species of Leptidea where we had thought there was only two. These 3 species, Wood White L. sinapis, Réal's Wood White L. reali and Cryptic Wood White L. juvernica are indistinguishable in the field. However, the population in the area covered by this blog seems to be restricted to L. sinapis. The other two seem to be more upland species in France, not occuring on the central and south-western lowlands.

Do not confuse with Small White Pieris rapae, which has different shaped wings and darker grey markings, or female Orange Tip Anthocharis cardamines, which also has darker grey markings and a marbled underside.

Habitat: Woodland fringes, clearings, open woodland and wooded grassland. They fly in a leisurely fashion, keeping low along hedgerows and woodland fringes. Males often gather on damp earth and excrement to feed and drink. In courtship the male lands in front of the female, touching her with his antennae and flapping his wings periodically. She also engages in wing flapping in response.

Flight Period: March-April-May-June-July-August-September-October-November.

Caterpillar: Green with a stripe down the side, April - October, overwintering as a chrysalis.

Host Plant: Various Legumes Fabaceae (Meadow Vetchling Lathyrus pratensis, Tufted Vetch Vicia cracca, Birdsfoot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus, Prostrate Canary Clover Dorycnium pentaphyllum).

Status: Very common, widely distributed and abundant.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs are numbered from left to right and top to bottom. All photos will enlarge in a new window if you click in them. 1 female on Lady Orchid Orchis purpurea, Bois des Pretres.

Wall - Lasiommata megera

2009-09-01T09:00:00.025+01:00

Scientific Name: Lasiommata megera.

English Name: Wall, or sometimes Wall Brown.

French Name: Females are called la Mégere (='the shrew', as in the taming of), males are called le Satyre (='the satyr'). The sense in English would be more like 'the Witch' and 'the Warlock'.

5 Key Characters:

medium sized (forewing 20 - 25 mm).
upperside tawny orange (fauve) with dark brown markings.
upperside of the basal half of the hind wing brown.
a large eyespot near the tip of the forewing.
underside mottled camouflage grey.

Lookalikes: Females might sometimes be mistaken for the orangey phase of Speckled Woods Pararge aegeria aegeria, but the Wall has a series of well marked eyespots on the underside of the hindwing. The Large Wall L. maera is a bit bigger, and is plain brown on top with orange patches around the eyespots. Males might be mistaken for male Gatekeepers Pyronia tithonus, especially in flight, because of the strong 'sex mark' on the upper side of the forewings. Also not dissimilar to several fritillary species that could be flying with them eg Violet Fritillary Clossiana dia.

Habitat: Open areas and sunny woodland fringes, with a preference for dry stoney places (low walls, steep banks and slopes, scree). Males glide along sun drenched ridge crests and slopes, assembling on rocky outcrops.

Flight Period: February-March-April-May-June-July-August-September-October-November.

Caterpillar: Green with a yellow stripe down the side, all year, overwintering as a caterpillar.

Host Plant: Sheep Fescue Festuca ovina, Bulbous Bluegrass Poa bulbosa, Smooth Meadow Grass P. pratensis.

Status: Very common, but in steep decline in recent years. A Grassland Indicator Species (used to monitor and predict the health and sustainability of natural grassland habitats).

Further Information: A photograph of a female resting on earth turned over by Wild Boar in the Brenne showing the remarkable camouflage colouration on the underside. A post on our daily blog Days on the Claise describing courtship behaviour we observed in Preuilly-sur-Claise, with photos, including the one also shown above.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right, and top to bottom. All photos will enlarge and open in a new screen if you click on them. 1 female on Purple Gromwell Lithospermum purpureocaeruleum at the side of a track up a limestone ridge near Preuilly-sur-Claise, April. 2 male (right) and female (left), details as 1.

Violet Fritillary - Clossiana dia

2009-09-01T09:00:00.024+01:00

Scientific Name: Clossiana dia.

English Name: Violet Fritillary or Weavers Fritillary.

French Name: La Petite Violette.

5 Key Characters:

hindwing a distinctive violet brown underside with shining white spots.
a medium sized butterfly (forewing 16 - 17 mm long), small for a fritillary.
upperside tawny orangey brown (fauve) with strong black markings.
flies quickly, jerkily and erratically.
the first fritillary to appear in spring.

Lookalikes: Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary C. selene and Pearl Bordered Fritillary C. euphrosyne, but both these species are larger and have orange not purple undersides.

Habitat: Grasslands, especially if they are dry with dense vegetation; heaths; woodland fringes and clearings.

Flight Period: March-April-May-June-July-August-September-October.

Caterpillar: Black and bristly, June - May, overwintering as a caterpillar.

Host Plant: Violets (Sweet Violet Viola odorata, Hairy Violet V. hirta, Early Dog Violet V. reichenbachiana, Common Dog Violet V. riviniana).

Status: Locally very common and the most abundant fritillary in this area. The species benefits from the selective felling of trees and the opening up of forestry tracks and clearings, which permit colonisation by violets.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. All photos will enlarge into a new window if clicked. 1 & 5 on Purple Gromwell Lithospermum purpureocaeruleum on the side of a track up a limestone ridge near Preuilly-sur-Claise, April. 2 - 4 & 6 - 8 & 10 in our orchard, April. 9 & 11 - 20 on a grassy terrace along the side of a wooded limestone ridge, Chaumussay, April. 19 is sitting on a violet viola sp leaf. 21 males fighting on a bank of irises, Preuilly-sur-Claise.

Swallowtail - Papilio machaon

2009-09-01T09:00:00.019+01:00

Scientific Name: Papilio machaon.

English Name: Swallowtail.

French Name: Le Machaon or le Grand Porte-queue.

5 Key Characters:

a large butterfly (forewings 32 - 40 mm long).
yellow wings with black bars and lines.
hind wings extend to form a quite long tail.
prominent orange spot on the inner bottom corners of the hind wings.
black bordered grey and blue bands close to wing outer edges.

Lookalikes: Scarce Swallowtail Iphiclides podalirius, which is white, not yellow, with black 'tiger stripes'.

Habitat: Open places. They often engage in 'hill topping' ie gathering on elevated points, together with the Scarce Swallowtail. A great wanderer, so sometimes encountered in towns, in gardens, where it is attracted to Buddleia.

Flight Period: March-April-May-June-July-August-September-October.

Caterpillar: Large, green and black striped with orange spots, May - November. Overwinters as a chrysalis.

Host Plant: Umbel family Apiaceae (Fennel Foeniculum vulgare, Giant Fennel Ferula communis, Honewort Trinia glauca, Ptichotys saxifraga, Laserpitium gallicum, Peucedanum oreoselinum, Wild Carrot Daucus carota, Pepper Saxifrage Silaum silaus, Burnet Saxifrage Pimpinella saxifraga, Moon Carrot Seseli libanotis, S. montanum, Wild Angelica Angelica sylvestris).

Status: Very widely distributed and common but rarely abundant.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1 - 4 on a track on the perimeter of the Parc de Boussay, April. 1 - 2 nectaring at a Common Dog Violet Viola riviniana.

Provencal Short-tailed Blue - Everes alcetas

2009-09-01T09:00:00.015+01:00

Scientific Name: Everes alcetas.

English Name: Provencal Short-tailed Blue.

French Name: L'Azuré de la faucille.

5 Key Characters:

small (forewing 13 - 16 mm long).
male upper violet blue.
female upper blackish.
lands often, sitting with wings half open.
a black dot at the base of a tiny 'tail' on the hind wing.

Lookalikes: Short-tailed Blue E. argiades, which has orange crescents on the hind wings; Small Blue Cupido minimus, which does not have the black dot and tiny tail.

Habitat: Grassland and waste ground. Prefers ground that is neither very dry nor very wet.

Flight Period: March-April-May-June-July-August-September-October.

Caterpillar: Small and green, June - April, overwintering on the host plant.

Host Plant: Black Medic Medicago lupulina (Minette in French).

Status: First recorded in this area less than 10 years ago, but now locally common (eg it breeds in our orchard, but is uncommon in the Brenne). This is the northern limit of its current range, but it appears to be pushing northwards fairly rapidly, presumably in response to climate change.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right, top to bottom. 1 underside - note absence of orange, April, in our orchard. 2 - 4 female on the edge of a woodland ride near Preuilly-sur-Claise, April. 5 female, April, natural grassland on the edge of the Parc de Boussay. 6 as 2 - 4.

Orange Tip - Anthocharis cardamines

2009-09-01T09:00:00.011+01:00

Scientific Name: Anthocharis cardamines - 'cardamines' refers to one of the host plants, Ladys Smock Cardamine pratensis.

English Name: Orange Tip.

French Name: L'Aurore (='the dawn', or more precisely, presumably, in the sense of 'the rising sun').

5 Key Characters:

males have extensively orange tips to their forewings.
medium sized (forewings 19 - 24 mm long).
undersides of hindwings are marbled yellowy green in both sexes.
males spend their time patrolling linear territories such as hedges.
upperside of females white with black tips and a dot on each forewing (very like Small White Pieris rapae).

Lookalikes: Males are unmistakeable, with no lookalikes in this area. Females might be confused with Western Dappled White Euchloe crameri (a much rarer species, with less finely stippled looking marbling); Small White P. rapae (which does not have a marbled underside).

Habitat: Woodland edges, clearings and unimproved grassland. Usually avoids dry habitats.

Flight Period: February-March-April-May-June.

Caterpillar: Green, May - August, overwintering as a chrysalis on a stem.

Host Plant: Brassicas (Garlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata, Ladys Smock Cardamine pratensis, Hairy Rockcress Arabis hirsuta especially, but also Buckler Mustard Biscutella laevigata, Tower Mustard Arabis glabra, Common Whitlowgrass Erophila verna, Field Pennycress Thlaspi arvense, Hairy Bittercress Cardamine hirsuta).

Status: Very common, widespread and abundant. A grassland indicator species, in decline in Europe but stable within the EU. Grassland indicator species are those which are monitored to collect data which helps predict the health of natural grasslands.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right, and top to bottom. 1 the remains of a mating pair that has been caught by a spider, showing the marbled undersides, April.

Grizzled Skipper - Pyrgus malvae

2009-09-01T09:00:00.009+01:00

Scientific Name: Pyrgus malvae

English Name: Grizzled Skipper

French Name: Le Tacheté (='spotted'); l'Hespérie de la mauve (='mallow skipper')

5 Key Characters:

very small (forewings 11-13 mm)
upperside grey brown with numerous white rather square spots.
often a series of white spots running close to the edge of the hind wings.
underside mottled greyish yellow or greenish, sometimes brick red.
often encountered on dark damp soil, where it is well camouflaged.

Lookalikes: Red Underwing Skipper Spialia sertorius, which has a brighter, less mottled underside and less square looking white spots. Other Pyrgus spp, which are all rarer and have less white on the hind wings.

Habitat: Unimproved grassland.

Flight Period: March-April-May-June-July-August-September-October.

Caterpillar: Green with dark head. May - September.

Host Plant: Cinquefoils Potentilla spp (P. hirta, Creeping Cinquefoil P. reptans, Spring Cinquefoil P. tabernaemontani, Tormentil P. erecta, Trailing Tormentil P. argentea) and other Rosaceae (Agrimony Agrimonia eupatoria, Wild Strawberry Fragaria vesca).

Status: Widespread and quite abundant, but seems to be in regression in the north and west.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1-4 in our orchard, April.

Dingy Skipper - Erynnis tages

2009-09-01T09:00:00.006+01:00

Scientific Name: Erynnis tages

English Name: Dingy Skipper

French Name: Le Point-de-Hongrie. The name probably refers to a particular style of parquet floor, which resembles the pattern on the forewings.

5 Key Characters:

often encountered drinking at a patch of damp soil.
upperside of forewing crossed by irregular contrasting bands of grey and dark brown.
underside light brown.
a series of tiny white dots along the wing margins.
sits with wings open when at rest and looks like a moth.

Lookalikes: Mallow Skipper Carcharodus alceae, which has a more blotched, camouflage pattern of browns and no row of white dots.

Habitat: Unimproved grassland.

Flight Period: March-April-May-June-July-August-September.

Caterpillar: Small and green with a dark head. June - April, overwintering as a caterpillar.

Host Plant: A variety of legumes - Horseshoe Vetch Hippocrepis comosa, H. glauca, Crown Vetch Securigera varia (syn. Coronilla varia), Common Birdsfoot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus.

Status: A grassland indicator species that is in decline but still common. Data on designated grassland indicator species are collected to provide an indication of the health of natural grassland ecologies.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1-5 drinking at a patch of damp soil along a ride in the Parc de Boussay, April. 6 resting on Gorse Ulex sp, May.

Common Blue - Polyommatus icarus

2009-09-01T09:00:00.004+01:00

Scientific Name: Polyommatus icarus

English Name: Common Blue

French Name: L'Argus bleu or l'Azuré de la bugrane

5 Key Characters:

upperside of male blue, female brown washed with blue.
reddish orange crescents around the border of fore and rear wings on the upperside of the female.
wings fringed with white.
background colour of underside varies according to the season (greyer in spring and autumn, browner in summer).
the upperside of the females in summer often do not have the blue suffusion at the base of the wings.

Lookalikes: Females can be easily confused with Brown Argus Aricia agestis, which have a black spot in the middle of the upperside of the forewing.

Habitat: Open landscapes of all kinds, heaths and open woodland. Adaptable and with caterpillars able to eat a variety of plant species, they have readily colonised manmade habitats such as garden lawns and flowerbeds, banks and tracks where Black Medick or White Clover grow.

Flight Period: March-April-May-June-July-August-September-October-November.

Status: A grassland indicator species in decline in much of Europe, but stable within the EU. Data collected on grassland indicator species is used to determine how well grassland habitat is doing. One of the top 10 most widely distributed, common and abundant species in France.

Caterpillar: Small and green with a fine yellow stripe down the side. June-April, overwintering as a caterpillar.

Host Plant: Numerous legumes (Fabaceae) - Common Birdsfoot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus, Greater Birdsfoot Trefoil L. pedunculatus, Bur Medick Medicago minima, Lucerne M. sativa, Black Medick M. lupulina, Barrel Medick M. truncatula, Red Clover Trifolium pratense, White Clover T. repens, Prostrate Canary Clover Dorycnium pentaphyllum, Hairy Canary Clover D. hirsutum, the Sainfoin Onobrychis supina, Montpellier Milk Vetch Astragalus monspessulanus, Spanish Gorse Genista hispanica, Hairy Greenweed G. pilosa, Dwarf Gorse Ulex parviflorus.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs numbered from left to right and top to bottom. 1-2 Male, April. 3 Unusually blue female.

Brown Argus - Aricia agestis

2009-09-01T09:00:00.003+01:00

Scientific Name: Aricia agestis (syn. Plebeius agestis)

English Name: Brown Argus

French Name: Le Collier-de-corail or l'Argus brun

5 Key Characters:

a complete series of reddish orange crescents running just inside the outside edge of each wing on both sides.
a small butterfly (forewing 12-15 mm long).
upperside brown.
a black dot in the middle of the upper side of the upper wings.
browny grey undersides with black spots bordered in white.

Lookalikes: Female Common Blue Polyommatus icarus, which does not have the black dot on the forewing.

Habitat: Poor or dry grassland, woodland edges and open woods.

Flight Period: April-May-June-July-August-September-October.

Caterpillar: Small and green with a red and yellow stripe down each side, overwintering as a caterpillar, June-April. Pupates in leaf litter.

Host Plant: Geraniums (Cut-leafed Cranesbill Geranium dissectum, Doves-Foot Cranesbill G. molle, Round-leaved Cranesbill G. rotundifolium, G. purpureum, Stemless Storksbill Erodium acaule, Three-lobed Storksbill E. chium, Sand Storksbill E. ciconium, Common Storksbill E. cicutarium), Rockroses (Common Rockrose Helianthemum nummularium, White Rockrose H. apenninum) and Common Birdsfoot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus.

Status: Very common, widespread and quite abundant.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Glanville Fritillary - Melitaea cinxa

2009-09-01T08:00:00.019+01:00

Scientific Name: Melitaea cinxa.

English Name: Glanville Fritillary.

French Name: La Mélitée du Plantain.

5 Key Characters:

A series of black dots in the submarginal band that are visible on both sides of the lower wings.
Medium sized (front wing 15-20mm long).
Rich ochre colour with a black net pattern on the upperside.
Males often pose with their wings open on bare earth patches or the tips of tall grasses.
Very flighty, not easy to approach closely.

Lookalikes: Knapweed Fritillary Melitaea phoebe, which does not have black spots on the upperside of the lower wing and has a more banded appearance on the upperside, with the ochre varying from yellow to red.

Habitat: Poor, short grassland, fallow land and grassy banks.

Flight Period: April-May-June-July-August-September.

Status: Common. Widely distributed and abundant.

Caterpillar: July - May, living communally when young. Overwinters as a caterpillar in a silk group nest. The red head and black body makes the mature caterpillar easily identifiable. Young caterpillars are pale ochre with a dark head, greatly resembling the flower buds of the host plant Ribwort Plantain. You can often find the caterpillar nests in crop margins and along rural tracks colonised by Plantains.

Host Plant: Ribwort Plantain Plantago lanceolata (Plantain lancéolé) and Greater Plantain P. major. Sometimes Speedwells Veronica spp (les Véroniques)

More Info:
Glanville Fritillary Melitaea cinxa caterpillars
Glanville Fritillary Melitaea cinxa caterpillars
Glanville Fritillary Melitaea cinxa caterpillars
How to distinguish Knapweed and Glanville Fritillaries

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:
Photographs number left to right and top to bottom. 1-5 Caterpillars in February (note nest). 6-9 Caterpillars in March. 10 female (note the tip of her genitalia is just visible under her abdomen near end). 11-14 in our orchard, April. 12 female genitalia (possibly a sperm plug inserted by the male after mating, but the image isn't good enough to be sure).

Black-veined White - Aporia crataegi

2009-09-01T08:00:00.015+01:00

Scientific Name: Aporia crataegi

English Name: Black-veined White

French Name: Le Gazé or la Piéride de l'aubepine

5 Key Characters:

large butterfly (forewing 28-35mm).
very visible black veins on wings.
translucent but very pure white wings.
often present in large numbers.
found in grasslands with nearby hawthorn, whitebeam, service tree, rowan, amelanchier, blackthorn or damson.

Lookalikes: None.

Habitat: Hedges, wooded grasslands colonised by trees in the rose family (Rosaceae) .

Flight Period: April-May-June-July-August.

Status: Very common, but every few years appears in particularly high numbers.

Caterpillar: August to early June, overwintering communally in a silken nest. The photograph below was taken in April. The caterpillar was probably searching for a suitable grass stem to pupate on. They sometimes cause damage to fruit trees.

Host Plant: Members of the rose family (Rosaceae). Often Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, but also Sorbus spp (Whitebeam S. aria, Service Tree S. domestica, Rowan S.aucuparia), Amelanchier Amelanchier ovalis, Blackthorn Prunus spinosa and Damson P. institia. Occasionally Apples Malus spp.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature: