19th July

Had a ringlet butterfly (Aphantpus hyperantus) land on my finger this evening. Also had a saddle back bush cricket land on the back of chair.

The local farmers have spent the last couple of days bringing in the hay harvest. This area of France is known for it's cattle but one forgets that cattle must be fed through the winter, so a good hay harvest is important. Back in Cambridgeshire hay was seen almost as a by product as the main use of the land was for arable but here it is the other way round with only occasional fields of wheat or barley. One other nice thing is there is a lot of wild mint in the fields which gets harvested with the hay so the smell is fantastic.


This beastie landed on the back of a chair on the patio. It is a saddle backed bush cricket |(Ephippiger cunii), or grillon or cri-cri in French

It is a large cricket about the size of my thumb and of course totally harmless. It is not a species found in the UK so another first for me.

As an amateur naturalist this area of France is amazing, the region has predominantly a mix of Oak and Chestnut woodland and very little chemical use judging by the number of wildflowers and the lack of dense stands of stinging nettles which thrive on phosphates. I can't wait to get into our own property and begin to record the wildlife living there.