Invasive caterpillars destroy France's lavender fields

PARIS - A caterpillar may have caused millions of dollars in losses for France's lavender farmers this year, according to an agricultural association, which called on the government to help.

"There are dozens and dozens of hectares that were not harvested because it was not worth it. There was nothing left," said Alain Aubanel, head of the Perfume, Aroma and Medicinal Plants Association PPAM, based in Manosque, southern France. Farmers had lost 90 per cent of their harvest in some cases, he told German news agency (dpa).

"I estimate the loss at several million euros," he said. The Agriculture Ministry described the damage as severe.

The culprits are said to be owl butterfly caterpillars which arrived in France with the Sirocco, a hot wind from North Africa. The caterpillars ate lavender stems and dried out the plants.

Instead of shining purple, the lavender fields, which are popular as holiday destinations and postcard motifs, appeared grey-brown this summer.

The departments of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Vaucluse and Drôme were mainly affected - and especially the traditional cultivation areas in the mountains, meaning precisely the areas where farmers can hardly grow anything else, Aubanel said.

The fact that the mountainous cultivated areas are so much more affected is due to the fact that the harvest started later there.

Aubanel estimated that at least 50 per cent of the crop was lost to the damaging caterpillar in the mountainous growing area in the Drôme region. - BERNAMA-dpa