Central Asia and Kazakhstan

Dear colleagues, good afternoon!

The shield bug Halyomorpha halys is actively spreading around Sochi, in Abkhazia, Georgia. No one has the opportunity to collect several individuals, put them in alcohol/vodka and send them to St. Petersburg? Not necessarily from Russia. Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other countries are also interesting. I am ready to pay for the shipment.

Thanks!

Dmitry Musolin (you can write to: musolin@gmail.com)

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I wanted to write a detailed report, so those who don't like the meticulous stories of beginners about banal sailboats can take a quick look at the pictures and the list of species at the end. Well, I will tell the whole story with details for lovers of romance)
On April 30, 2017, a little over a year ago, I made my first rapid foray into Kazakhstan. The report on that controversial trip is a couple of pages earlier. The deserts of Kazakhstan and the hills of the Syrdarya Karatau met us then in late spring, as a result, I was lucky enough to meet zegrys of three species and hipermnestra. But the handsome Apollonius and Alexanor alas, as it seemed to me, have not yet flown.
In the long winter evenings, I remembered the bumpy roads we used to return, the collapsed bridges, the crossed rivers, the dry desert wind, the hungry huge, nimble ticks.... But! The beauty of those places did not give rest and I wanted to return and achieve my cherished goal. And then May rolled up unnoticed. And at the last moment, we throw everything to hell, get in the car and cross the Russia-Kazakhstan border near Orsk on May 6. I already know what and where lies ahead, I know where not to go, so as not to jump on potholes, and therefore in Aktobe we go to the normal route Samara-Shymkent and forward-strictly to the south, the first night we spend just in the forest belt near the highway, because the night was cold, and to the deserts at Aralsk we didn't get there in time.
Early in the morning we move on, our first goal is a village with a simple sign "Seksaul", which is 30 km from Aralsk. Here we wanted to take a look at the deserted hills, by 10 o'clock we were on the spot near the village, it was cool +17C, but sunny and windless. With difficulty, we drove through the dump closer to Gorki. The scenery is very exotic. There is almost no vegetation on them and butterflies too, only small Euchloe daphalis, but even then it's not bad to start with, a good sign.







We wandered for a couple of hours and beyond. After driving another couple of hundred km, we disembark in the afternoon in an already familiar place before reaching Baikonur behind the railway near the Syr Darya, where Microzegrys and a couple of Hipermnestra flew last year. Well, this time-silence, only the same rare Euchloe daphalis and Pontia edusa. Nevertheless, I decided to go out and wander along the railway line and through the bushy desert. And not for nothing, Praephilotes anthracias pigeons rarely broke from the bushes, and on a small piece of the railway itself, I ran into a whole colony of Plebejus, which I recognized as Pylaon so far. The flowers that had been here last year a week earlier were no longer in full bloom, but others were in full bloom. I came across a flown Zegrys eupheme, which suggested that apparently microzegris had already flown away, and we went to Kyzylorda, where we spent the night.





In the morning-further south to Turkestan, an hour later we stopped at another place last year in the hope of finding Hipermnestra, they were here a year ago. And again figas two, new pigeons of several species, Cupido prosecusa, Philotes vicrama, a couple of species of Plebejus and only. Isn't it already and Hypermnestra is already over.... Mmm weird, but okay.







Let's go further along the highway. And after about 30 minutes, we literally began to be attacked by masses of white butterflies from the side of the road, I braked. What was our surprise when we saw heaps of Hypermnestra in a vacant lot by the road. Most of them were fresh. About fifty meters from the road, a small canal flowed, thickly overgrown with green bushes and grasses, and there life was in full swing… Lots of pigeons, Didymus's draughtsmen, and lots of Hypermnestra. The successful landing was delayed for another couple of hours.





As a result, we arrived at the first mountains of the Syrdarya Karatau about three o'clock. And then on the approaches immediately waited for a surprise, some large white butterflies flew. I didn't immediately understand what it was, and we went out to investigate right at the first entrance to the mountains. There were crowds of Hawthorn, for our latitudes it is clearly early, and here they were nemereno.... We decided not to waste time and get to the first familiar promising places. There were a lot of hawthorns along the way. I remembered with horror how in the same crowd a couple of years ago I tried to snatch Apollons to Ariadne in the Altai. Well, like Apollonius is bigger, should stand out. By 4 p.m., we landed on a mountain near the reservoir, and last year I thought the place was perfect for Aleksanor. So I jumped out and immediately rushed to the top of the head. Activity was already clearly on the decline, there were few hawthorns, rare draughtsmen and pigeons. At the top is a flock of swallowtails. Neither Alexanor nor Apollonius.... The tulips have almost faded, the ferula is in full bloom, but they are not there....tut-tut. What now to write off their absence.... !? Okay, don't give up, I thought, we've just arrived. After wandering around the mountains, we continued on our way and eventually arrived at our final stop in the mountains, which we noticed a year ago. I climbed a nearby hill, looked around, mapped out a large-scale route for the next day, and soon fell asleep waiting impatiently for the morning.
















May 9 at 6 am wake up, breakfast, a small backpack on your shoulders and go-to search! I go to the first southern exposition, black stones cut through the dense greenery on the slope. The grass and flowers here are already like we have in the middle of summer. Surprisingly, hawthorns are already flying around in the early morning. There aren't many of them, but there are. I climb up. I stare at the white butterflies gliding down the slopes. Strange glide, strange.... One not so far away catches my attention, lands on a flower, and I see black spots on the upper wings-Apollo!!!!! I run up, and then again a surprise – a huge Mnemosyne, almost 2 times larger than our Ural, with two clear black spots on the lower wings. I go around the mountain, check out white butterflies, Mnemosyne a lot, even very much! But not the Apollonians.
I go higher to the next series of hills to heights over 1000 m. The Karatau mountains are not high, but they are undulating, like the ascent is not so big, but before you enter it, suddenly there is a descent preceding it. And you have to climb up more than you thought. There are no butterflies. Empty flowery meadows. I go to the top of the ridge, move along it. Then the tier is under 1300 meters, with attractive beams, but far away, and the time is already 11. Here comes across an unusual lone pigeon-Neolycaena submontana-interesting! Lots of Swallowtails, but they're all Swallowtails! Liliella myops, which a year earlier was in bulk came across only a few. The Tomares and Zegrys of Fausty were no longer there.
I pass near the rocky cliffs, there are many ferulas, yellow butterflies, like swallowtails, glide along the cliff. I pass a little further and decide to go down a little behind the ridge, to see what is flying on the slope. Then a bright, orange-colored butterfly flies up from below – it flies right up to me at point-blank range. Black stripes on a bright yellow background. This is Alexanor!!! Haven't seen it since Turkey 2014, an exciting moment! I sit down to watch. Every 10-15 minutes it sweeps down the slope, very quickly slides down, a little harder up, but it behaves quite differently from Swallowtails. The strangest thing is that at the very top, where the Swallowtails arrange a party and fights, for some reason there is no Alexanor. He glides up and down the slope. After watching for a little over an hour to no avail, I decide to retreat and continue exploring along the route.









Surprisingly, there's been no wind all day, and the sun is starting to fry me pretty well. After walking along the ridge and its slopes to the end, making a big circle around the mountains, I return to the camp, already on the approach to the southern exposure again Mnemosyne and another Neolycaena submontana. After lunch, I went to the other side of the mountain near the camp. Mnemosines, hawthorns, and Swallowtails. A friend says that he saw a large white butterfly among them, but did not really see it. The report is not much, but there is. Ferula is plentiful everywhere, but the camp at 700 Alexanor is not. So a full day passed in the mountains.
At night we tried to catch the light, it was cold, 10-12 degrees. I had no illusions about last year. So a few different dippers, a Kindermani hawk moth, a local yellowish small wine and some Hyles like centralasiae were a pleasant surprise.








In the morning, I get up again at 6 and already aimlessly go to a meeting with Aleksanor, in 2 hours I quickly got to the place. The sun has just lit up the slope, so I sit in ambush. At 9: 30, the first Alexanor appears. Then clouds and 2 hours of silence and agonizing waiting. And here's the sun. Knocked up! There are not so few of them. They glide along the slope, but more often sideways under the rocks below. I go down there and ambush them in their corridor. Have a couple in 15 minutes!!! I watch further, periodically fly from the side rocks – I'm there. The rocks are almost sheer, 10-15 meters below the top, not very large. It was in them that they huddled together. Males literally hovered over the rocks circling within a radius of 2-3 meters. Ate as I climbed there. For a long time I sat on the rocks watching this beauty, until I noticed that treacherous ticks crawled over me. So the parasites got here, too. But they didn't manage to bite me this time. Once a large white butterfly swam along the lower edge of the slope… Mnemosyne or...? But the phenomenon did not repeat itself, I focused on the Alexanors. As a result, by one o'clock, clouds flew in and the flight ended. I returned to the camp happy.
The weather forecast was lousy, there was only one warm but cloudy day left, and then haha weather. We quickly packed up and rode back through the mountains to explore other places. It was decided to go deeper into the mountains in the part where they landed for the first time on Aleksanora. The time is 4 hours, we call in, break through the path by car deep into the mountains. Huge southern slope, looks a little different from the previous places. We're going out. Crowds of hawthorns, shashechnitsy, rare Mnemosyne. A fat Kazakh runs out of nowhere to meet me. He mumbles something, perplexed.
- They say th is necessary,
-we are biologists-tourists in response.
"Ah.... tourists, there are good places on that road over there.
- We say, yes, we are not bad here.
The guy is worried, cutting circles around us. It turned out-the rubble steals, the dump truck is waiting))) And I have already climbed the slope and I see that he is here – Apollonius, flying among the hawthorns!!! We drove away 100 meters, so as not to confuse a person with his dump truck))) And I climbed up. And then he came straight from the flower to me, a huge fresh male, there is, luck at the last moment was on our side! I climbed higher and took two more. It was already late afternoon and the years were waning. Otchitka here was a lot, butterflies flew apparently already like 2-3 days. Maybe in the camp zone they will fly just about, maybe those lonely white giants that we came across once with a friend were the first individuals. As a result, all the goals were achieved. In 2 days, absolutely without any adventures, we returned home on a comfortable road. This time Kazakhstan was more favorable to us, the trip turned out to be cool and full of extremely positive emotions!

So much poetry in your stories.
Everything is easier for me.
I started the car, drove over the Kirghiz Ridge, and set traps.
The next morning I packed up and went back to Bishkek.

I know that much) But you are there often, and I am there 10 days a year...

This is on the way home I feed the beautiful laying hens. I'll write the full report soon=)

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The Tien Shan.

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I spent an hour proving that this snake is not a cottonmouth)))

I spent an hour proving that this snake is not a cottonmouth)))

The pupil is round. So, not the family Viperidae, which also includes cottonmouths.

Now for the Tien Shan.
We left Penza on the 20th, and got to Bishkek almost without sleep or other problems. Along the way, the vegetation of the steppe changes. First it's elms and sage, like in our south, caraghan jackets, then salt marshes and fierce deserts with saxaul-like shrubs and nimble lizards, and if you listen closely, you can hear from them: "Legs, wings... the main thing is the tail." Outside Aktobe, they fished for rams, and there they also found worms of the clover cocoonworm.

The combination of camels and gulls breaks the patterns, the horizon level can be used in the construction of adobe architecture, and the shadow is simply absent. To the south, in the Syr-Darya floodplain, tugainiki and camel thorn appear. The road repeatedly crosses irrigation channels, where you can perform ablutions by carefully reaching the water through cow cakes. Most of the aqueducts are already dry. Road signs "gas station-65 km" are common.

Ground squirrels, you know, but there are also jerboa-it's just a brain explosion. I used to call them the Snufkin boys. Two were shot down... Then the foothills begin with a verdant abundance of woody vegetation, and the desire to live reappears.
23 Drove up to Stanislav Konstantinovich.

We threw our things in a Land Rover and arrived in Suusamyr. Then, out of three days, there were 2 hours when it didn't rain, and we recruited apollonius, mostly dran, and spent all our efforts collecting eggs and raising laying hens.

Kolias Romanovi saw a lone male at the top. We haven't flown yet. Just for a thousand rubles I avoid a long penetration at the entrance to Kazakhstan and by noon we will be in Almaty on Medeo (27th) We go up by cable car-visibility is 5 meters. The next morning we go up again, only with backpacks, we pass the pass,

phantasmagorical darkly transparent delphi rush by. My pulse was racing and my mouth was dry, but I had to get to the parking lot. We go down to the stream in the Christmas trees. Across the stream on the slope of the male tianshan and mnemosyne. There are no females. Vasya finds a flat rock, on it we put the tent, of course at an angle... It is clear that the place is habitable, everyday life is established.

And this is me frying raincoats, and Vasya socks.

In the morning we get out for Delphi. The first catches, lust, and trembling hands.

A thunderstorm is scheduled for lunch.
We spend the night, repeat the event and go down to Medeu.

30 walk around the neighborhood towards the waterfall, catch local Apollo transiliensis and a single female awesome yellow hue. Driving back, in the Syr Darya Valley, we accidentally get on the spark-jet Cigaritis epargyros. We rejoice, catch the sun and fall on July 4, We come home.
Conclusions:
1 Never go to Kazakhstan via Saratov, because there is no road for almost two hundred kilometers.
2 Never exceed the speed limit in Kazakhstan...Skimmed and dried.
3 A car with a condee is better when the Celsius is 35.4
Never argue with Korb.
5 There are no mosquitoes in Bishkek.
6 Take a more compact partner.
7 Use gas cylinders, save your time and effort.

This post was edited by t00m - 24.07.2018 09: 46

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Sorry for the side photos, I didn't figure out how to do it in a human way, but I think who needs it-will consider it.

Sorry for the side photos, I didn't figure out how to do it in a human way, but I think who needs it-will consider it.

Morning exercises are not only harmful, but also useful, especially for tonic syndrome of trapezius and belt muscles!

Kestrel cool! sletok?

Kestrel cool! sletok?

Yeah, right in the middle of medeo. Apparently tryndets him.

Kazakhstan: Saur, Markakol, Altai. June-early July 2018 Overall good. We had pleasant meetings with colleagues and friends from Katon-Karagai, St. Petersburg, and Moscow.
Team: V. Doroshkin, my students Artem and Valentin, driver Sasha Cherepanov and I. 24 days. the estimate from Barnaul is 130 tr.

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I forgot myself

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I forgot myself

Smoking is harmful :P

We gave up after the Naryn flight this year. Two weeks ago. We smoked for one day. We still can't clear our throat )))

we will not show this to students))))
to the previous post-and who in Kazakhstan exceeds the speed limit??? Only inexperienced people

This post was edited by Yakovlev - 25.07.2018 16: 56

Guys photos of drivers are good, but write at least th caught.

 
Conclusions:
1 Never go to Kazakhstan via Saratov, because there is no road for almost two hundred kilometers.

Who goes through Saratov then? How do we have roads here?)))

Dolon Pass. We didn't catch almost anything interesting, although the weather was excellent.

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Sary-Jazz and Inylchek.

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Field van =)

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The pupil is round. So, not the family Viperidae, which also includes cottonmouths.

But it's poisonous, isn't it?

Field van =)

Could you clarify the title of Arthur C. Clarke's novel? It's not visible in the photo.

Could you clarify the title of Arthur C. Clarke's novel? It's not visible in the photo.

A date with Rama. A rare haze, the book went to the fire as kindling.

But it's poisonous, isn't it?

No, this is a patterned runner (Elaphe dione).

My belated addition to what Denis said about our trip. This is my first trip to those parts, so if you describe it in three words, it's VERY COOL!!! Of course, the road is long and tedious, Kyrgyzstan gave us rain, my friend eats too much and a lot of other small things, but I sooooo liked it!

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My belated addition to what Denis said about our trip. This is my first trip to those parts, so if you describe it in three words, it's VERY COOL!!! Of course, the road is long and tedious, Kyrgyzstan gave us rain, my friend eats too much and a lot of other small things, but I sooooo liked it!

Don't think it's boring, but never set up a tent in the bed of the sai in the mountains of Central Asia, especially in spring, even if the sai is completely dry. This can be deadly.

Don't think it's boring, but never set up a tent in the bed of the sai in the mountains of Central Asia, especially in spring, even if the sai is completely dry. This can be deadly.

Thanks for the tip, but it was the only flat spot in the area)

Don't think it's boring, but never set up a tent in the bed of the sai in the mountains of Central Asia, especially in spring, even if the sai is completely dry. This can be deadly.

I also immediately noticed it and became somehow uncomfortable

Thanks for the tip, but it was the only flat spot in the area)

I also noticed it right away. Never!

He swore, like a decent man, not to go to the mountains. Family, work and other mortgages... "Pay off, Denisushka" - my conscience told me. But closer to the new year 2019, the longing in my eyes became more and more pronounced, and with it the desire to visit new corners of Kyrgyzstan.
At the next Saturday meeting of the quorum with Shurik, it was decided to take tickets, and then, through social networks and profanity, the route was determined.
Here it is "Time H"! On June 26, we take the train to the capital. We arrive there and get into the weather of October. Until the evening, we had to move from one cafe to another in the rain, it was rather boring, we took our backpacks from the storage rooms and went to Sheremetyevo. Then there was a short night, taking into account the three-hour difference between Moscow and Bishkek, and now a flock of sparrow Kyrgyz taxi drivers literally carry us out on their hands, pushing their elbows for their 700 soms. We got to Kok-Zhar (a village adjacent to Bishkek in the south-east) Stas meets us, gives us his signature coffee, buys food, and after hearing once again that there is nothing to do in Bishkek, that we will be eaten, dismembered and raped there, we get out to the central streets of the Kyrgyz capital.

From the first moment I fell in love with the charm of the southern city. There are parks, squares and fountains along Chui Avenue. Huge weeping willows generously give their shade to all comers, splashes of water appease the hot skin. Flower beds, flower beds, roses. Clipped green fences made of privet and tin. On every corner there are barrels with local drinks Maksym, Chalap and Tan, delicious ice cream in cups of 10 soms (9.5 rubles) is about one and a half times more than domestic ones. The final joy was the Metro pub with beer for 55 som, a friendly bartender and air conditioning.

But we didn't come here to enjoy urbanism. 28 we load up, meet Andrey Shaposhnikov at the airport and go to the first point of our tour - Suusamyr. I was there a year ago with Stas and Vasya, but then we got into bad weather, and now everything is sunny and safe. I'm going up for Apollonius females, because there's never much living material, and collecting Parnassus eggs is always promising and profitable. The views on the mountain are not dense. I catch a couple more tienshanikus and a few male Staudinger's jaundice. The night fishing was mostly about covering the drinking event, and on the second day we start and drive south to the vicinity of Son-Kel Lake.

We stood at an altitude of 3300 meters, almost at the pass. In front of us is a high-altitude field, where you can get to the dry land and the stream – all 33 pleasures. The weather starts to frown. As soon as we get out of the car, Palearctia and Ferghana are flying right away. Life takes on meaning, eyes lit up. We set up tents and prepare for night fishing. At night, Sasha tirelessly packs everything that moves. Several dozen types of dustpans on mattresses, closer to one o'clock in the morning, his hands began to freeze to the net, and he still stopped exterminating raznoustykh. It should be noted that at this point we encountered the first technical difficulties, such as the lack of firewood. To everyone's sadness, it turned out that the pair of gas cylinders that Stas had taken from the garage were almost empty, which plunged us into despondency and even pushed us to try to light dung, and this, it turns out, is not the most efficient energy carrier. But here's the long-awaited morning. Shivering, we get out of the tent. The weather is normal, and we are heading for a dry land richly overgrown with lagotis and fedchenoana. Soon our hopes are dashed against the harsh reality. Early, and the Delphi have only just begun to grow, their numbers are negligible. Hypothetical badromis and other "simonius" if there are any here, they will fly in a couple of weeks. We descend from the dry land and move to the saddle. Here is the new joy of Kyrgyz entomology-Colias cocandica, affectionately called "poop" by Sasha. In the brazen flies on the saddle 10 cm from the ground furiously fluttering in the wind. He leads a rather sporty lifestyle and tries to confuse the trajectory with sumbeka and disorient the hapless catcher. They took a few copies, then tizo flew in the same place. Having had enough of playing catch-up, I go down to the stream and have fun in the Palearctic mountains. Smooth, comfortable, and effective. I find two of their females walking on the grass. They're in terrible shape. I take it, hoping to get offspring. Let's go to the camp. Stas spent the whole day tirelessly destroying elves in an online game, and hardly anyone could compare with him in valor and courage in this field. I'm trying to have a constructive conversation with him about going back down to get some wood so I can stay here for another day. But, as predicted by Andrey and Sasha, the diplomacy failed. He is bored and wants to continue driving for Davydovi "risto". Rule number one on this expedition is don't argue with Stas. Go.

We crawl through the drizzle along the blue Son-Kel, and then down and down into the human climate, where ultraviolet light does not burn out the eyes, and the clouds do not press down with lead, and here we are in a village whose name I do not mention, until the subspecies "risto" has been reduced to a synonym with the nominative one. And everything is fine there, and watermelons and vodka, but there is no bread, well, let's chew the crusty stocks, and then according to the situation. We arrive at the point. The resort! Water-aryk, firewood - only drag, a place for tents as on the level, to the store from 12 km. Orchids adorn the banks of streams, thyme, oregano, sage and rosehip ask for tea, and honeysuckle, barberry and ephedra berries are already an amateur. Neymetsya. We quickly set up tents and rush to the khokhlatochny slopes for a beautiful white butterfly. Well, there are no problems with the slopes and the tuft, it grows on a clay vertical, it spikelets in half-meter bunches, and there are no butterflies, in general, as I predicted. Something somehow flew on the fifth day in insignificant quantities, and during the entire expedition I was able to grab one rotten male. Shurik drew a few pairs, and Andrey was content with the scenery and the luxury of human communication.
So, what did we do there for 9 days? Shurik came off on local neolicenes and tailless tails. This death harvester packed 100 of them. In the same black list went and riparty (R. I. P.) and other agrodietuses. I made tea from all the herbs I knew, and sometimes even from unknown ones, and only once did I misfire, but everyone was still alive. I also milked dolphins and they threw me 135 eggs from two females, but I later lost all this material. And it happens. Stas wetted the elves, and Andrey-a business manager and extreme athlete in one person-rolled on the lower back and upper legs on a clay slope from the height of a five-story building and did not break a single bone. This man combines the wisdom of a diplomat and fatal recklessness in a wonderful way, but after the abrasions around the perimeter of Andrey dried up, he began to make only a positive impression, and not by reproach, but by example, he was able to direct me to get wood and wash dishes.
Our way of life was organized at the highest level. Tables and chairs were set up under a canopy that protected them from the rain and sun. There is a tripod above the fire pit. There was water for the evening ablution in the beer pans, and a sponge and a bottle of dish detergent lay on the bank. It was always possible to charge from the generator, although two of Stas's three phones were mostly stuck in the sockets, but he needed it more, he had elves.

But a little bit of good, and on the ninth day I got tired of looking at the clay cliffs to death, I made a fuss, raised a boil, and without much synchronicity we still left our place. We drove, it seemed to me, for a long time. We bought food and went to Dolon, Dolon pass or per. Dolon, as the table says. It was drizzling on Perdolon. Spoilt for comfort, we adjusted the awning to the car, the dining room is ready. At night, I was cold as a dog, got up at dawn and went to study the local succulents along the road. I had to walk for a long time, until my fellow soldiers rebelled. We waited for a break in the clouds and climbed up, in the direction of a large rash. I am a simple man and am content with little, fifteen minutes from the camp I found a swarm of tienshanikus and actius and hung in a wonderful gorge with streams and flowers, which was framed by vertical walls of rocks with a scum. As I know from Taldy-Bulak, tienshanikus fly a lot of places, but they flock along damp gullies or gorges teeming with honeybees. With aktius it turned out similar, only the height he needs is more than three. I watched the females sit on the "balconies" in the rock and calmly lay eggs. They are so engrossed in what they are doing that you can take them with your hands if you reach them. At the foot of this cliff, there were many mating sea anemones. Apparently, the females are born into the world, and the molester swoops down from above and does their dirty work, often not allowing the ladies to properly spread their wings. I was somewhat impressed by the scene of a gang rape, where three guys were holding on to one female with a sphragis, poking their belongings everywhere they got. I stopped this mess, and the lady went to the cage as a laying hen. Here was also caught the freak delphius, whose red spots decrease from left to right and disappear. A little higher up the ravine, the tizo males I had predicted from the feeding trough were flying in small numbers. Towards evening, I went up the gorge and saw Sasha and Andrey spit out their lungs three times. They reached the dry land, Sasha turned over a ton of stones and found 8 caterpillars of unknown yellow-crested Parnassus under them, which I was very happy about, he also caught black delphi and ginandromorphic boloria generator. The next day I noticed that I had lost my phone and wallet, so I repeated my walk through the gorge, of course, I didn't find it and started to get eggs, and then we decided to go down to the comfort of the low mountains and headed for Issyk-Kul.

By the will of fate, our train ended up on the northern shore of the sacred lake in a house with a speculative infrastructure, and if not for Andrey's sociability, they would have left there without knowing that there are radon baths for 50 soms a hundred meters away. Here it is a simple human happiness, to get down from the mountains and steam. After midnight, we were sitting on the veranda with a high mood and low coordination, eating watermelon and beer and indulging in a discussion of our past adventures. Stas was wetting the elves.

Then there was Bishkek, where I decided to stay for a few days so that I could finish feeding the laying hens and, if I was lucky, the caterpillars with my own hands, then change my gear and rush to the final point of my Ala-Archa tour. The schedule of these two days was determined by the weather conditions of the city, or rather the heat of forty degrees. The ascent was very early, for with the first rays of the sun the flies wake up, very angry flies, and begin to gnaw everything that sticks out from under the sheets, and the second rays of the sun directly fall on the cot and incinerate the sleeping foreigner. So quick tea, feeding butterflies and running to Bishkek under the air-conditioned pubs. By Sunday, I decided that Parnassus eggs and alcoholism were enough for me, and I asked Stas to take me to the mountains, which he did absolutely free of charge, that is, for nothing. His wife, Nuriyana, said that she would look after my caterpillars while I was away. Andrey also wanted to see me off, to show me which mountain I should go to.

So, then, Ala-Archa, or motley archa, if in our opinion. The national park is located two villages away from the capital. I pay 450 soms at the checkpoint for the passage of the Rover and the veil, I'm at the beginning of the trail. I say goodbye to Stas and Andrey, wish them a successful trip for Charlton, choose the azimuth and go. The weight of the backpack greatly spoils the impression of lifting. Stas gave me a two-person "marmot" tent, heavy as a mortal sin, but without it, obviously, my stay in the mountains would not have been so comfortable. I walk quietly along the river and head up to the waterfall, where I meet a German family with very sociable children. I say to the little one, "Enschuldigen, ich, fershte dich nicht, ""filen gluck," and trudge on. This hike is, in fact, of kindergarten complexity. Two hours without hurrying to the waterfall, and the same time to Ratsek's hut. In view of my extreme slowness, and the fact that after the waterfall I several times surveyed whether to go up or stay in the "forest", I crawled to the hut after sunset. I ask the first person I meet where I can put up a tent and immediately get to a tea party, and this is a very pleasant moment after walking almost a kilometer vertically. I put on bagels. The table in the cabin is warm and delicious. It turns out that this team is organizing mountain hikes for a group of Koreans. They feed them rice and kimchi, show them where to go, set the pace, and even have a medic to accompany them. The guy who invited me-again Stas - is a citizen of Kazakhstan. He looked at European life and now does not seek to take Russian citizenship even under the "simplified procedure". I am struck by the unity of our views on the surrounding reality, even though we have known each other for half an hour. In general, it is no wonder that people want civil liberties and take pictures of flowers. I thank my new friend for the tea and rice and go to sleep in the spacious marmot . I mentally thank Sasha for the air mattress he provided, because this time I am standing directly on the gravel, but I am nursing my frail body in a recumbent position, not feeling any inconvenience. The night was cold and fiercely starry, which is not uncommon at an altitude of 3300m.
Morning. I cook hercules, look around at the surrounding glaciers and rashes, and I understand that it's pale yellow to catch here. I decide to go lower. A few steps away from the camp, I climb to the green "balcony" and notice the flight of actius over the rocks, already familiar from this expedition, and later kokandika. I take out a net, take a few butterflies, but then a tourist or a meteorologist appears on this balcony. Ugh-you! Truly pale yellow. I hurriedly fold the net, swear, go down to the" forest " to the waterfall, meeting "bonjours" and "gutentagas"along the way. At the bottom, I hid my backpack under a large rock, wandered along the slope, met 3 tianshan and 3 actius. The day is lost.
I deal with everyday issues. The place for a tent here is perfectly flat. I distribute food by day, because I was going for three nights, and left for four. Here was a set: 2 cans of stew, 2 cans of canned fish, 1 condensed milk, 1 flatbread, a pack of pasta, a handful of buckwheat, a handful of oatmeal, a handful of sugar, 3 chocolate bars, tea leaves, a spoonful of salt and a pack of bagels, which we had already eaten upstairs with the guys. The 190-gram gas cylinder was a joy for me every time I cooked, and it was not empty even at the end of the expedition, I left it with pasta on a stone for those "who still have the top ahead".
Three people come. "Do yoo vonna stei heer?" I ask the man. He answers in Russian, but in a way that would be better in English. Then a rather pleasant lady with a passable Russian voice entered the conversation, and it became clear that they were Poles. They talked until nightfall, and I realized from the conversation that they didn't like Putin (God, even the Poles are tired of him), that this lady is stupid in the office for 8 hours a day and dreams of becoming a pensioner, going to the mountains and crocheting toys for children. I sing them with thyme, but these office savages do not know what it is and take a long time to sniff the invader's treats. The next evening I gave them sprat to try, they also did not know such fish. ОМГ.

In the morning Poland went to Racek, and I went to another mountain, beyond the stream. I went up for a long time, black tianshanikus Alexander flies along the archa, above-actius. Both species are sparse, caught one female per species. On the descent, I catch a lone female kokandiki, which, apparently, wanted to rush to its feeding trough. Well, at least so. I meet Poles in the parking lot, take photos as a souvenir and they leave, they need to go to Karakol. The day is lost, but especially dreary in the evening, I indulge in melancholy and poetry.

It's a shame when no one is standing
in your parking lot.
Ships are floating in the Clouds,
And somewhere, perhaps, kayaks.

And in the noise of the rushing water
, you can hear musical notes.
Although the voice is not real,
I will ask myself: "Who are you?"

The answer to me will be a leaf
that fell on the tent awning.
I don't seem to be a pessimist,
But in the evening I lay down on my shoulder blades

Yesterday the Poles came:
Eva, Maryush, Agnishka.
I was nice to them
,maybe a little too nice to Eva.

And I have to look at the time,
Yes fuck look-nine
Again until the dawn of the sun
I will have nothing to do

I didn't think
I'd be so lonely tonight.
It's a shame when it's not worth it,
but at the moment it's not bad!

Third morning. I quickly hide my things under a bush and go in the direction of Ratsek, where halfway I also saw kokandika right on the path, but the place is open there,and you can find people from a distance. I went up there before the sun shone on the clearing, waited, and started chasing the green yolks. Oh, how breathtaking it is. See, catch up, catch up, pack up and don't get burned! But then, of course, clouds began to fall, and then the sky was completely obscured. I go down with seven kokandikami. I seem to have accepted that this expedition is not about entomology. I go to the "forest".

In the late afternoon, a crowd of 16 helmets arrived. I find out that they are Russians: the Moscow State University tour club. I was ready to kiss them in joy, I rush to help set up their non-crowded tents. I get acquainted, talk, and listen. Now I know for sure that introversion was not brought to me, and I don't need to go to a desert island. The climbers I met are Alena, Veronika, Irina, and Masha… Alyona has a guitar with her: small, shitty, but real. With genuine joy, we sing Friday, Tsoi and Soviet classics, an evil tincture is added to the tea, oh, how I plunged into my youth. At the beginning of the eleventh hour, the children go to Morpheus, because they have to get up at 5 in the morning and drag themselves up.

Fourth morning. July 18. I get up in sync with the Muscovites, drink tea, wish you good luck, and I have to go to Bishkek. Finally, I walk along the slopes, look at marmots and hares, catch a few tianshan and go down. On the highway, I stopped a small red car with two guys who did not say a word in Kyrgyz during the whole journey and incessantly broadcast their vision of the essence of the world order and the comprehensive ***ets, with nostalgic references to Soviet times. They took me there, but they didn't take any money. Thank you, guys. I spent the night with Stas's Kyrgyz relatives, and on July 19, at lunchtime, after saying goodbye and thanking them for the warm welcome, I impatiently went to the airport, where everyone didn't care about my contraband, which included succulent roots, crested duck seeds, live solpugas and 3 boxes of packaged butterflies, 2 of which were from Baryshev. Flight, passport control, luggage on the tape. In Moscow – it's almost home.
In the evening, on the bus to Penza, I composed the following lines. Let them be the epilogue of this story.

I haven't been stupid on social media for a month
, I've been looking at clouds and mountains.
I didn't see overcast faces
and didn't participate in the crowd.
But, by a special sign,
It was pleasant to talk
With people who went up to the Sun
On a mountain stone path.

choose a photo for the text by its meaning yourself

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The melancholy of the middle lane got out, we took off for two weeks to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. In Kazakhstan, you can catch katokal, and in Kyrgyzstan you can enjoy the beauty, but some people wanted to go yellow on the Route Altyn-Emel, Bishkek, Kyrgyz ridge, Gulcha, Taldyk, Kyzyl-Eshme. On the route, it is clear that a gallop through Europe, continuous driving, a minimum of time for day fishing, at night Sergey was delayed by collecting gray mass, mowed down 25 mattresses, a hundred cuckoos, hawkmoth and other shnyagi. Kyrgyzstan is very beautiful!!! If you need a result on fees, then each point needs to be hoed for at least 3 days, otherwise you just enjoy the scenery, the weather is changeable, and the time for fishing is very limited. At night, at 3400, it is almost always minus, but this is not a hindrance to frost-resistant nightlights. Kakandika flies almost everywhere, starting from 3000, like tizo, but it starts lower. Alta is a typical hiala, slightly larger, but it flies like a bastard. Of the bears near Gulcha, there are many chelis Fergan and Kai, we didn't have enough time for rukbeyli, but we took one for show. Colias are all banal - erats, violas, tizos, eugenes, kakandiki, romanovs. Whiteflies with eyes no one really caught, so nothing interesting and did not take, Delphi, tianshaniki, mnemosyne, Apollo, sea anemones. On Taldyk, they collected caterpillars (see photos), the bears thought, scored a hundred, fed them, and now stupid wingless female volnyanki, most likely selenophores, have already left half a row of 70 females and not a single male From the catokal was 12 species, the most massive timur, about 100 pieces, but most of them were beaten in the bushes, They took an Afghan in Milyanfan. The photos show landscapes and my part of the catch. I'll add a little more. First, 57 wingless worms emerged from the caterpillars, and this morning the first male came out! Then two more males came out. Thus out of 60 butterflies there are only three males

This post was edited by sdi-30.07.2019 22: 54

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who can say something sensible about the conditions of arrival and the peculiarities of Darvaz? naturally, we are talking about collecting insects ) it is better to send r-mail#inbox. ru

Dear colleagues, good afternoon!

We are continuing the Russian Science Foundation's project on invasive pests in the south of Russia. Part of the project is a genetic analysis of the pathways of invasion of the brown marble bug Halyomorpha halys in the European part of Russia (and more broadly - in Europe).

In this regard, we need specimens of adult bedbugs and/or larvae of this species caught in nature in different regions of Russia and in other countries. Ideally-15-25 individuals from one region, but even 1-3-5 is also better than 0.


Regions and countries of particular interest are: Chechnya, Dagestan, Volgograd, Astrakhan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Poland, Moldova, Turkey, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Romania, Portugal.

If you have the opportunity to collect (in alcohol, in vodka, keep in the cold, better individually or from one point in one test tube; or even dry material) and send it to me, I personally would be very grateful.

Now is the perfect season - they just fly into the houses to spend the winter. Winter is better in alcohol!

If you have good contacts in the listed regions or countries, please write to them, or send me your contact details and I will write to them myself.

Hoping for help,
DM