French lepidopterists

[thejsonboss]

I was looking at doing a trip to France in the next few years since they are more collector friendly than most and I know a good bit of the language. I want to avoid trouble as much as possible so I was hoping to connect with collectors in the country so I can avoid catching anything where I shouldn't. If anyone knows of any groups related to this or have experience in France I would greatly appreciate responses or DMs. Thank you.

[Trehopr1]

Perhaps, Olivier can get you in touch with Jean-Marc.gayman (JMG) who is on the insect collectors forum. I believe, he heads or is part of one of the lepidoptera societies there in France.

He seems a very nice and outgoing "gentleman". He may even be able to help you find places to stay or perhaps you could even go collecting with him whilst there.

[Rumina]

Hi Trehopr 1, Having read your post I wonder whether you could help me navigate to a site where I can contact French lepidopterists / collectors please? Kind Regards, Rumina .

[adamcotton]

I am sure you will get answers right here, as the owner of Insectnet is French. I expect he can advise when he sees the thread. There are also a number of other French members.

You could try the following link for the Association des Lépidoptéristes de France (ALF):
https://www.lepidofrance.fr/

Adam.

[thejsonboss]

Hi Trehopr 1, Having read your post I wonder whether you could help me navigate to a site where I can contact French lepidopterists / collectors please? Kind Regards, Rumina .

I have found this forum, which is surprisingly very active. I haven't seen a lot of collectors though.
https://www.insecte.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=2

[wollastoni]

Sorry for my late reply, I am in holiday in the French Alpes.

The best areas for collecting in number of species are Provence and French Alpes. I think Provence is the best for a foreigner as it is a wonderful place with great food and wine too. But it can be very hot in summer. French Alpes would be cooler thanks to elevation (but can be a bit rainy).
In Provence, I would recommend Luberon mountains.

You can collect everywhere in France, except National Parks.
There are few protected species : https://inpn.mnhn.fr/reglementation/pro ... Arrete/625 (Parnassius, Zerynthia, Euphydryas, Maculinea and few others).

If you respect these 2 easy things, collecting in Provence will be fun. There are plenty of foreign collectors there in Spring/Summer.

If you really go there, let me know, and I will give you some collecting spots I know.

[wollastoni]

Hi Trehopr 1, Having read your post I wonder whether you could help me navigate to a site where I can contact French lepidopterists / collectors please? Kind Regards, Rumina .

I have found this forum, which is surprisingly very active. I haven't seen a lot of collectors though.
https://www.insecte.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=2

Why surprisingly ? There are PLENTY of entomologists in Europe.

There is also Insecterra forum with more than 8000 members : https://insecterra.forumactif.com/

[thejsonboss]

First, thank you so much for your reply. I feel much less blind.

You can collect everywhere in France, except National Parks.

I know you said everywhere, but are the regional nature parks like le parc naturel régional du Luberon ok then or are those considered national parks?

If you really go there, let me know, and I will give you some collecting spots I know.

Barring something horrific it will be happening. Next year is the plan unless there are very bad drought conditions.

I understand that it's not the time for specifics necessarily, but the french alpes are a big area (and seem to be mostly national parks). If you were to go to only one or two areas in them where would it be? Need to consider flights, lodging etc in making the big decision.

Thank you again.

[wollastoni]

Yes you can collect in "Regional Parks" : in fact they are not parks, they are "nice natural areas" with small villages and so on.

Best time to go :
- Provence : April/June. (airport in Marseilles / Avignon)
- Alpes, you can go to Haute Savoie : July (airport in Geneva / Annecy)

Between Provence and Alpes, I would recommend Provence except if you really want some high altitude species like Erebia.
In Provence, Luberon is great. Alpilles too. But I prefer Luberon