Around Les Aigladines

2 points of interest

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  Agriculture

  Aigladines

  The first written traces of Aigladines, which is the collective name for all of the plateau’s hamlets, date from the 13th century. In 1560-1561 ot was the site of the first synod of the Protestant churches of Southern France. The one-street hamlet grew up along the draille (drovers’ road) of Jalcreste. Herds of sheep left the plains at Tornac, headed due north to the ridges of the La Vieille Morte and used the Col de Jalcreste pass to reach the Margeride plateau in Lozère.

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  Fauna

  Guests of the holm oak grove

  This oak forest is home to great capricorn beetles and European stag beetles, which can be spotted in June and July.

  The great capricorne is the largest member of the longhorn family. It can be identified by its antennae, which, in males, are almost twice as long as the body. They serve as stabilisers during flight. 

  The stag beetle is attracted by oak sap. In its brown shell, it is nearly nine centimetres long and has impressive mandibles, which it uses as a weapon during combat.

  Both beetles have a strong connection with old oak forests, where their larvae complete their life cycles ranging from two to six years. Once they have reached maturity, they only have two to three months to reproduce – their days are counted.