France in Focus

On the way from Normandy to the Nièvre, two things struck us. Firstly, how strikingly yellow the fields all looked; the harvest had been brought in almost a month earlier than usual. Everything was still surrounded by, or interspersed with, strips of light and dark green: trees, copses and woods. It was almost as if we were driving through a Van Gogh painting.

South of Paris, at one of the many motorway service areas, we saw something we hadn’t seen before: traps for processionary caterpillars. Combating the damage caused by these caterpillars along motorways is here to stay I'm afraid. I did a quick search on the Autoroute Info website, just to be sure.

<< Green spaces along motorways are not immune to the effects of climate change. Last summer, the drought affected the soil, flowers, trees and their fruit. But this is not the only example. Karine Tourret is Head of Biodiversity, Natural Environments and Living Environments at APRR.
She explains a little-known phenomenon: “There can also be more indirect effects caused by pest infestations. For example: processionary caterpillars, such as those found on pine or oak trees. These pests are spreading from south to north and also to higher altitudes, because temperatures are rising. INRAE, the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, Food and the Environment, has shown that, over the course of a decade, they have spread by 60 kilometres >>

Terrible creatures. I'm glad they are trying to eradicate them.

The Processionary moths reached the north west of France for decades ago and communes in Brittany have been putting traps out for some years, generally in areas most likely to be frequented by the public. It's nowhere near enough as these moths are particularly partial to Maritime and Corsican Pine which are planted as a crop and plantations are very widespread. These trees are a popular crop as they grow in poor soil and there need little maintenance once well established (we had a plantation in Maine et Loire). Another method of reducing the population is to lop off branches with a cocoon and burning it. But it's a laborious job and anyone doing it needs to be well protected. They are often high up and out of reach.

There's a very large municipal campsite near Cap Frehel in Côte d'Armor (22) which is 300 hectares of Maritime pine as well as other trees, and rolling dunes. They have used an aeroplane sprayer to combat the problem. It's reasonably effective but costly and they also put traps on some of the trees.

Yes, we have to live with the problem. The resulting skin lesions/rashes (urtica) as a result of skin contact are difficult to treat and very painful. Pets also suffer badly if they try to eat them or step on them.