chris pp

Just get as close as you feel comfortable and blast it, it won't hurt you and you don't need any help. Well spotted, that is the beginning of a nest that can be a good 60cm high and produce a lot more queens. Chris

The bees in the ground are something completely different, try Googling Miner or Digger bees. Good luck, Chris

Where you are they should be fairly common. If you get to see it again when it's croaking the single vocal sac should appear a bluish or violet colour. They sound a bit like a cricket or someone rapidly running their finger down the teeth of a comb.[:D] Chris  

Thanks for that link Craig, I've just e-mailed them to be added to it and  I'll put it on planetepassion as well. Nice one.[:D] Chris

You need to be fairly on your toes with it, they won't hang around and may move into the roof and then you can never get them out. In theory they can stay in that temporary ball for a week but in practice it's no more than three days.Evening is the best time to take them followed by early morning. Chris

That's a swarm of honey bees, you need to try and find a beekeeper fast, I wish I lived near you that's a fantastic swarm. Chris

Any chance of getting a quick photo of the nest and one of the insects? They won't be going anywhere, so it's not life or death. Chris

Because only a male would present a female with a tasty morsel. One can speculate that there are a couple of obvious reason why he would do this, both are commonish in the bird world. One is to endear her, a bonding process. The other is to show her that he will be a good provider for her and her young that will enable her to fulfil her most important mission in life - to continue her genes into another generation. Chris

Male and Female. A few seconds later the male pulled a leather-jacket, (Crane fly larva out of the ground and gave it to the female). Sadly missed the photo opportunity. [IMG]http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q73/unautremonde/Birds/Happy-couple.jpg[/IMG] Chris

It will only be a queen at this time of year. http://www.planetepassion.eu/WILDLIFE-IN-FRANCE/Hornet-or-Frelon-in-France.html Chris

They have been around here for about a month now. Chris

I can't wait Margaret, I may not sleep tonight in anticipation and I've got what they call a "long day" tomorrow.... Chris

But you were "talking" to the man who knows, his name is Craig.[;-)] and it's really good that he's around. Anyone else want to grovel to anyone?[:D] Chris  

Oui, mais c'est du boulot quand même.   Possibly many people wouldn't make the effort to Google the subject which isn't a criticism because they may not know where to start.   Chris

They are around, often in woodland but usually not evident as they hide away. Well done Craig, that website must have taken some finding.[:D] Chris

Probably not by the sounds of things. Chris

Thank you Margaret, that's very kind.[:D] Now I just have to see if there are any in your part of the world, I'm sure there are but they are bound to be localised. The individual  flowers are very small but frequently form a "carpet". Chris

There are a number different milkworts in France, but they all look very similar, here's one, there are more on the site. http://www.planetepassion.eu/WILD-FLOWERS-IN-FRANCE/Chalk-Milkwort-France.html Chris

As I wrote above somewhere, it's not a carpenter bee, it looks to be a red mason bee. From  http://www.insectpix.net/solitary_bees_gallery.htm Osmia rufa  is one of the first bees you can expect to take up residence in a bee post.  It is one of our commonest bees. This is another bee that causes concern  each spring. The red Mason bee nests in all kinds of holes or crevices, frequently in numbers, in crumbling masonry. It's very unlikely that the bee causes much, if any damage to buildings, as it only excavates mortar that is already crumbling. The female uses mud to construct her cells, hence the name mortar bee. She has two special horns on her face that she tamps mud with during nest building. There is plenty on the web if you google Osmia rufa or red mason bee. Chris

First of all, Grand Capricorne. Contrairement à d'autres longicornes le cerdo attaque le bois vivant, et de surcroît assez profondément, ce qui peut induire une notable dévalorisation de l'arbre, et le cas échéant de ses grumes. Quand l'attaque est importante, et répétée, on peut même dire que le bois de chauffe est la seule solution possible tant l'arbre est taraudé en tous sens. In answer to your question one possibility is that you have had work done on your house that involved using new wood, if any of this is new hardwood, oak or chestnut it may have had larvae present and if this was adjacent to your existing timber it may be that they are exiting via historic tunnels in the old timber. Seasoned oak that is dry is as hard as iron a few millimeters from the surface, nothing eats it, if anything did eat it these houses that are hundreds of years old would have fallen down long before now, especially as these species were more abundant in the past. Like many species their populations have been in steep decline. Solitary bees of the type "mason bees" simply use an existing hole to lay their eggs in, each egg has it's own little food packet of nectar and pollen, the larvae do not eat the wood. The other solitary bees of the type "mining bees" do dig their own hole but only in soil. Sure, if a solitary bee is using an existing hole there is likely to be some existing wood dust and particles that will be pushed out of the hole one way or another but this is not digging or chewing, it's just existing crumbs. Chris        

Yes you will have different types of solitary bees using wood that is that badly damaged, no they will not dig or eat it, just use the holes. I simply refer to my earlier post for now, I'll do it on the web site. I'd love to meet your experts.[;-)] No offence, I just would. Chris

That isn't a carpenter bee Araucaria and it most definitely would not be digging holes, there's just so much confusion here that rather than write a page on this forum I will add a page to Planetepassion as soon as I get a chance.None of these solitary bees cause damage to dry, sound timber, they use an existing hole. Also, very briefly, what people call "Capricorne" is another area of total confusion, "Capricorne" is a word that is added to a number of different Longhorn beetles and the only one that is of any concern is Capricorne des maisons (Hylotrupes bajulus) and this only attacks softwoods, not oak, walnut, chestnut etc. The Grande capricorne that is found in oak only uses living trees, once the timber is seasoned and after and larvae already present in the wood have departed that's it, there will be no more. Chris  

There are feral cats everywhere in France and although kittens normally have short fur when born I wondered if a cat had aborted. Just a thought. Chris

Kittens?? Chris  

Yes, but that is the American Carpenter Bee and is not the same as the European Carpenter Bee, they are actually quite different in behaviour.  Perhaps you could describe the situation in more detail, (photos would be good). What are you actually seeing? What and how old is the wood? Were there holes there before? Chris