On the beach yesterday.
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The prolonged summer has meant that some butterflies were still around even well into late September:
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Sweet rainette! It should be hiding away keeping warm by now, I hope it is OK. The ones who live here have gone to ground for the winter.
Last year there was one living in the water butt. Occasionally popped its head out to say hello!
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Heard buzzing then found these little blighters today:
Confirmed by fountain of knowledge aka @Rob_le_Pest to be Asian Hornets - he has also advised how to get rid of them as they don’t look/sound too cuddly.
(@james - what a fantastic forum to be able to get such help!)
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I’ve been stung by one of these and it’s not something you forget quickly. Marginally the most painful experience I’ve ever had. Being stung by an entire swarm would probably be fatal. Bog standard wasp stings are nothing by comparison.
We do not actually have our own garden but squirrels thrive in the communal area and make much more noise than I thought possible.
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Ken is that here in France?
It is a grey squirrel and should be destroyed - we don’t have many (and didn’t have any until some idiot thought it would be nice to let some loose in northern Italy,now they are working their way into France) they are a menace to our native squirrels (you know, the ones which have become so rare in the UK since the greys were introduced).
No Veronique - in North London. The last time I saw a red squirrel might be 40 years ago in Kilmarnock, Scotland.
Some fabulous photos here. Just spent a lovely 10 minutes looking at them all.
Izzy x
What are those little red and black beetly things, Colin? Our garden is fullor them,usually joined at the rear end!
gendarmes… (aka firebug) said to be inoffensive…
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That’s them! Thank you Stella - they’re everywhere at the moment. We always have a few but this year they are nearly as prolific as the ants and slugs 
I’m sorry I’m never quick enough to photograph things but I’m trying to identify an insect I’ve never seen before. It’s roughly the dimensions and shape of a damselfly but it’s dull coloured with an ovoid bulbous bit at the end of the “tail” and very long trailing legs from the front body part as it flies. I looked at lots of pictures of damselflies on line and couldn’t see anything like it so probably not a damselfly. Any hints as to where I can look?
Possibly Enicospilus ??? it’s a sort of wasp…
as kids, we (incorrectly) called them wood-wasps…
vaguely like this… the ones I’ve seen have been so slender, with the bulb at the end as you say…
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