Sighting in Monceaux-sur-Dordogne, May 22, 2010

At about 1:54 p.m., the witness was taking photographs of a child on a motorbike. Only when looking at them afterwards, on a computer screen, did they notice a strange object in one of the pictures that they had not seen when taking it. There was therefore no direct visual observation. The witness filed a report with the gendarmerie, and the report reached GEIPAN only late.

The gendarmerie's preliminary inquiry, along with checks on air traffic and among the neighbours, could not establish what the object was, which only the witness had photographed. GEIPAN then analysed the photograph the witness had sent and concluded that it showed an insect passing very close to the lens. This fits the shutter speed and the focus, which was set on the nearest subject, the child. To look so blurred, the object had to be closer than the hyperfocal distance, so well under one metre. Given the camera's characteristics and settings, an object 1 cm long would have been about 13 cm from the lens, which is consistent in scale with a winged insect. Its lighting is also consistent with sunlight.

The case was classified B: the photograph most probably shows an insect very close to the camera.