Grasshoppers at la Cabane

La Cabane is a Zone Naturelle d'Intérêt Ecologique, Faunistique et Floristique that I have been monitoring for some years. It is grassland with scrub, surrounding a former kaolin extraction pit which is now full of water. The site is waterlogged in the winter, hot and dry in the summer. In early September Ingrid and I visited to survey for the caterpillar food plants of a rare moth. We didn't find any of the target species but we did take the opportunity to record and photograph these grasshoppers.

Broad Green Winged Grasshopper Aiolopus strepens (Fr. Oedipode autumnal or criquet farouche):  The hind tibiae are red, the femora particularly thick, and the wing cases have a characteristic clear contrasting pattern of two pale spots. The wings are bluish at the base and have a dark spot at the tip. The species is found in the southern half of France, and Corsica, on hot dry sites.

Photo courtesy of Ingrid de Winter.

Jersey Grasshopper Euchorthippus declivus (Fr. Criquet du brome): A species that favours long grass on dry calcareous soil. Typically they have wings that are shorter than their abdomen, but long winged individuals are sometimes seen.

Photo courtesy of Ingrid de Winter.

Photo courtesy of Ingrid de Winter.

Woodland Grasshopper Omocestus rufipes (Fr. Criquet noir ébène): This species is found throughout Europe and northern Asia. In France it is present in most areas, but absent from Finisterre and Paris and surrounds. The abdomen is green at the front, turning yellow in the middle and red at the tip. The legs often have some red too. This grasshopper isn't fussy and will live in a range of habitats. It can be found in hot arid grassland, rocky areas, but also damp grassland and fallow ground. Adults can be seen from June to November.

Female.

 

Male

Photo courtesy of Ingrid de Winter.

Walking in the Forest of Boussay

On a warm evening 19 September les Galoches walked 5 kilometres in the Forest of Boussay. We thought we might see some edible mushrooms, but none were spotted. Here is some of what we did see.

Panther Cap mushroom Amanita pantherina (Fr. Amanite panthère).

Agile Frog Rana dalmatina (Fr. Grenouille agile).

Managed oak forest.

Goldenrod Solidago virgaurea (Fr. Solidage verge d'or).

A humungeous tree stump.

European Crane Fly

The European Crane Fly Tipula paludosa (Fr. cousin or Tipule des prairies) is the best known of hundreds of crane flies in the Tipulidae family of flies. They resemble gigantic mosquitoes with enormously long legs, and indeed are often mistaken for mozzies. But they lack the mouthparts to bite and are entirely inoffensive. Their larvae, known as leatherjackets, are capable of doing considerable damage to lawns, sports fields, arable crops and seedlings.

 

A female European Crane Fly Tipula paludosa, resting on the exterior wall of our house near the back door.

The scientific name means something like 'abundant wetland spider'.

They are around 20 mm long, with exceptionally long hind legs. Their heads are weird and elongated and their grey thorax has dark lengthwise stripes. The wings have a very slight cloudiness and a brown leading edge.

 

Close up of the head.

The European Crane Fly closely resembles the Marsh Crane Fly T. oleracea (Fr. Tipule potagère). They are a nightmare to separate if you are trying to accurately identify them, especially from photos. My colleagues and I spent several hours to-ing and fro-ing on Facebook discussing my photos. In the end we settled on T. paludosa because of the colour of the antennae ie they are reddish on the first two segments, then grey. Importantly, and how most are identified, T. paludosa has 13 antennal segments and T. oleracea has 14 -- but you will go cross-eyed counting them and the segment at the tip is easy to miss in a photo. Female T. paludosa have wings that are shorter than their abdomens, whereas T. oleracea's wings are longer. But because they always rest with their wings spread at an angle it is very hard to judge this character. There are supposed to be subtle differences in the wing venation too, but I'm damned if I can see it. Likewise in the shape of the eyes - but to see that you have to have a photo from underneath and face on. Of course, if you really have to know which species you have you must take a specimen and look at the genitalia under magnification. Crane flies are notoriously difficult and fragile, so very few people take the time.

The larvae are 3-4 cm long maggots known in French as 'vers gris' (grey worms) on account of their dirt grey colour. They are squishy but tough, hence their English name of leatherjackets. They don't have legs but shift along by contracting and extending lengthwise in quite an animated way. They live underground and eat the roots of plants.

 

Female European Crane Fly resting on the outside of our house last week.

Adult European Crane Flies live for about a fortnight. They start appearing in June and can be seen until October. They tend to fly morning and evening, and favour damp habitats. Once the weather cools down in autumn they become more visible as they seek shelter, often entering houses. A female will lay several hundred black eggs, in batches of 5 or 6, as she flies or wherever she pauses to rest. The eggs will hatch in 15 days and the tiny larvae will go underground for the winter. In June they will pupate underground, finally emerging as adults in 2 or 3 weeks. The larvae are quite an important source of food for birds and amphibians.

 European Crane Flies' natural distribution is throughout Europe and they have been accidentally introduced to North America.

Baked Rice Pudding

 Homemade baked rice pudding. The milk has caramelised and been absorbed into the rice.

Riz au lait is a French classic but it is a stove top risotto style pudding. The rice pudding of my childhood is much simpler, and baked in the oven, no fussing, faffing or watchful stirring required. We've been eating rather a lot of it lately, as it is something Simon's poor radiotherapy ravaged intestines can tolerate. Luckily it is a favourite with both of us.

 

Sugar and rice in the bottom of the pie dish.

 

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter

¾ cup pudding/round/risotto rice

1/3 cup white sugar

4 cups milk

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Method

1. Heat oven to 180°C.
2. Generously butter a deep oval pie dish.
3. Tip the rice and sugar into the dish.
4. Pour in the milk and stir.
5. Sprinkle the surface with nutmeg.
6. Place the pie dish on a baking tray and put into the oven.
7. After 30 minutes remove and stir.
8. Bake for a further hour. It will form a skin which the family will fight over because it's the best bit.
   
9. Remove and serve quickly if you want the pudding to be at its sloppy best. The longer it sits the more the rice will absorb the liquid.

 

 Just out of the oven.

 

On My Way pt2

I have an early start today. So early I  was able to take this photo from the taxi and post it here.

Today is day 25 of 35. Only another two weeks to go.

Odd Fog

We wrote at Christmas 2018 and again in September 2022 about the effect the Loire River has on local weather. 

Yesterday, as I was on my way to the hospital, I saw a bank of cloud and thought "the Loire is up to its tricks again".

I was wrong. At Chapelle Blanche St Martin we drove into some quite serious fog.

Meanwhile, in Preuilly it was a beautiful sunny day.