local wildlife (fur,feathers and beasties)

[Mick Dempsey]

Go on then, what are they? I’m stumped.

[gand]

It's a bee's nest. If you look carefully you can see one in the last pic

[Rough Hewn]

Haven't posted on this thread for a couple of months so first up are a few beetles taken over the summer - in no particular order but one of them definitely wasn't welcome. 

That last photo is a European longhorn beetle!
Kill it!!!

[chopperpete]

Some great photos posted by others as good as any seen on the Country file calendar.....We saw this slow worm in our garden when clearing a corner....plus a newt, both gently moved to our pond area... 

Edited September 15, 2020 by chopperpete

[ABtrees]

9 hours ago, Rough Hewn said:

That last photo is a European longhorn beetle!
Kill it!!!

 

Hi Rough,

 

I don't mean to be rude but what is a 'European' Longhorn Beetle ?   And why do you think I should kill it ? 

 

[Paul in the woods]

12 minutes ago, ABtrees said:

I don't mean to be rude but what is a 'European' Longhorn Beetle ?   And why do you think I should kill it ? 

 

Possibly confused with the Asian Longhorn beetle, but that's black with white markings I think.

 

Is your green longhorn a musk beetle, Aromia moschata?

[Rough Hewn]

 

Hi Rough,

 

I don't mean to be rude but what is a 'European' Longhorn Beetle ?   And why do you think I should kill it ? 

 

They are little bastards!

They lay eggs under the bark of oak trees.

The larvae eat the tree heartwood for 7-8 years before emerging as the beetle you photographed to breed.

I’ve seen thousands and thousands of dying and dead oaks in France covered in exit holes.

If a single one is found in a container of imported oak, customs will burn the whole shipment.

Kill them on sight!!!!!

Not a joke.

[emoji106]

[ABtrees]

1 hour ago, Paul in the woods said:

Possibly confused with the Asian Longhorn beetle, but that's black with white markings I think.

 

Is your green longhorn a musk beetle, Aromia moschata?

Hi Paul

 

Good spot. It is indeed a musk beetle.  Lives off (or rather in as a larvae) willow.

[ABtrees]

25 minutes ago, Rough Hewn said:

They are little bastards!

They lay eggs under the bark of oak trees.

The larvae eat the tree heartwood for 7-8 years before emerging as the beetle you photographed to breed.

I’ve seen thousands and thousands of dying and dead oaks in France covered in exit holes.

If a single one is found in a container of imported oak, customs will burn the whole shipment.

Kill them on sight!!!!!

Not a joke.

 

Hi Rough

 

As above,  that was a musk beetle.  Yes it is a longhorn but then so are thousands of others (worldwide) - there's over 200 longhorn species here in France.  Many (of their larvae) don't live in trees at all.  The picture before is also a longhorn, the Tanner beetle (aka : the Great British Longhorn beetle). 

 

I think you might be referring to the Grand Capricorne  (Cerambyx cerdo) photo below taken in May.  This is a seriously impressive beetle which we see from time to time and I don't doubt it damages (and occasionally maybe kills) Oaks.  Its numbers are reducing (you be pleased to hear !) and it's now a fully protected species in France.  Their lifecycle is only 3 or 4 years and they don't live in dead trees.  There are plenty of other beetles that will do at least as much damage as these guys but worse than all of them put together, right now our biggest oak killer is drought.

[Rough Hewn]

Thanks for the education AB,
In Brittany it’s a major problem as you can’t export the wood.
Cut up a 5’ dbh oak once, it was like Swiss cheese inside.
[emoji106]