Central Asia and Kazakhstan

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31.01.2013 22:36, Sergey Rybalkin

Alexanor, how did the car pass such tests, were there any breakdowns?
What was used to power the lamps when fishing for light?

I was lucky with the car, I bought it new in 2008. maximum configuration. In 2009 I went to Akhtuba (4500 km), in 2010 to Dagestan (8000km), in 2011 to Altai (6000km), in 2012 to Kazakhstan (7000km).
Autumn and winter hunting and fishing. For the entire time of 55000 km, there was one puncture of the wheel and replacement of the generator on a new car with a mileage of 500 km under warranty. I didn't do ANYTHING else with it, well, I did the planned ones at the dealer of course once every 15000 km.
The only drawback of the car is a weak engine and almost no trunk. After returning from Kazakhstan, I sold the car due to the purchase of a new car-Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. But I remember Niva with a kind word.
He powered the DRV-250 and DRL-250 lamps with a Chinese Endress 900 generator.

Altai, Aktash, 3000m. 28.06.2011

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01.02.2013 9:28, Sergey Rybalkin

Continuation of the report on Kazakhstan

23.06 in Dzungara, we camped in an excellent clearing at an altitude of 1570m, the confluence of the Bolshoy and Sredny Usek rivers.
Background species of Hipparchia autonoe orchomenus, Melanargia russia-there are just hundreds of them. There were also Coenonympha mahometana, Chazara briseis magna, Pseudochazara hippolyte mercurius, Satyrus ferula altaica, Chazara enervata, Chazara heydenreichi , Erebia turanica laeta, mother-of-pearl aglai, adippa and paphii, swallowtails, padalirias, Hemaris fuciformis, various whiteflies, including Metaporia leucodice, Gonepteryx rhamni tianschanica, many Colias erate, various pigeons, in including Maculinea rebeli imitator quite a lot, as well as on Saur Neptis rivularis ludmilla, just above 1800-2000m fly Melitaea ala ala, Coenonympha sunbecca and Parnassius apollo merzbacheri. One day I collect one specimen of Hyponephele dzhungarica and a new species for the Dzungars - Hyponephele przhewalskyi. 26.06.2012 g made an attempt to climb into the alpika on foot, for this it was necessary to cross the cable through the stormy Bolshoy Usek, it takes your breath away, I'll tell you, but you can't stop us, actii and delphi beckoned very much! And here I am on the other side of the Usek, 5 hours of ascent and I am at an altitude of 2700m. On the way, at an altitude of 2450m, I saw Colias erschoffii twice, but could not catch it. Sea anemones fly starting from 2600m, I catch about five pieces in half an hour, there are no delphi, I know that they are higher, a thunderstorm is dragging down the gorge, I decide to go down, I get wet on the road in the rain. Goal achieved Parnassius actius actius collected, got another beautiful female Colias thisoa aeolides, a lot of mother-of-pearl Clossiana hegemone, Argynnis niobe, Pontia callidice amaryllis. But I do not feel full satisfaction, I want to reach 3000m at least. But I don't understand it here. At night, a lot of things flew from hawkmoth poplar, lilac, small wine, milkweed, bedstraw, sea buckthorn, southern milkweed, a lot of kindermanni. There were a lot of scoops and moth-flies, and there were volnyanki, crested birds, and oak-leaved cocoonworms.
28.06.2012 moving 15 kilometers to the gorge of the Bolshoy Burkhan River. I put the car at an altitude of 2100m. at the ruined bridge over the river. In the morning of 29.06.2012 I move to alpika, the weather is super, I was lucky, at an altitude of 2400 I finally catch the first and only Colias erschoffii, pigeons Polyommatus (eros) stigmatifera, and at 2500m I catch several Polygonia interposita. Just above, Boloria sipora generator, Clossiana hegemone and Issoria lathonia begin to fly in large numbers. There are a couple of specimens of Polycaena tamerlana. And finally, at 2700-2800m, the long - awaited endemic of the Dzungarian region-Erebia ocnus tianshanica. Quite a lot of both males and females. But the road goes further and beckon ahead of the snow-covered three-thousandth mountains. I catch a couple of dozen erebi in half an hour and go on ahead. At 2900 erebia disappear, I reach 3100, catch a single nominative female Parnassius delphius delphius. In addition to it, only the rare Issoria lathonia and Pontia callidice amaryllis are at this altitude. I'm waiting for more delphiuses, but the clouds have come up and I'm going down. On the way in one place I meet a cluster of white-headed barn owls, apparently someone is finishing up...
29.06.2012 we go down to Zharkent, hotel, overnight and in the morning 30.06.2012 departure to the Ili river.

To be continued...

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03.02.2013 21:49, Sergey Rybalkin

I continue my report on my trip to Kazakhstan.

So, in the morning of 30.06.2012 we leave Zharkent and go to the Ili River.
The purpose of standing on the Ili River is to collect various species of Catocala and Mongolian hay Coenonympha mongolica, from the daytime.

We stopped in the floodplain of a river. There are tugai forests, turanga poplar and willows growing here. It is hot, dry, clear, but there are almost no daytime butterflies: Pieris rapae debilis, Colias erate, Gegenis nostradamus, Ochlodes sylvanus, Plebeius christophi. I catch a few Coenonympha mongolica,but already broken. At night, it is much more fun, there are a lot of scoops (including tapeworms: Catocala remissa, Catocala repudiata, Catocala artobolevskii, Catocala aestimabilis), hawk moth (Smerinthus kindermannii, Hyles hippophaes, Deilephila elpenor), Phragmatobia fuliginosa bears, interesting cocoonworms of the genus Phyllodesma have not yet identified them. On zakidushki catch small catfish, fry with potatoes-delicious, not like stew…I'm going from a night fishing trip, I tried to drive away from the camp one night, a hare runs in the headlights, stops, I also go out, fall on it, catch it with my hands, in the morning there is a great shulum with potatoes. Generally with animals on Or good!

At lunchtime on 2.07.2012 we leave for the Trans-Ili Alatau in the direction of Almaty. In the evening, we pass Almaty and go along the gorge of the Bolshoy Almaatinka River to 2750m and stop at the hotel in the observatory. In the morning, great weather, I go to 3200m, stop, look around, quite a lot of Parnassius delphius pulchra, Erebia meta (mopsos), Oeneis hora, a lot of Coenonympha sunbecca, Clossiana hegemone, Boloria sipora generator, I saw a couple of times kolias kokandika, but I couldn't catch it. Just below at 2750m Argynnis aglaja gigasvittata, Erebia turanica turanica, Parnassius tianschanicus tianschanicus, Eumedonia eumedon, Cupido buddhista. A lot of caterpillars of bears Arctia intercalaris, I took them home on the road, and brought them home after arrival, two generations without wintering.

To be continued...

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Bolshoe Almaatinskoe Lake

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Parnassius delphius pulchra and its biotopes

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Boloria sipora

Gonepteryx rhamni tianschanica

Thickets of mountain onions, quite tasty, although Altai is tastier.

Oeneis hora

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04.02.2013 15:44, Sergey Rybalkin

Continuation of the report on the trip to Kazakhstan...

Trans-Ili Alatau. 4.07.2012 we descend from the vicinity of the Big Almaatinsky lake in Almaty. At an altitude of 2000m I stop for an hour to fish, from interesting things, a lot of apollo, isolated Melanargia parce and Esperarge eversmanni.
Then through Balkhash, Karaganda, Astana and Kostanay, almost without stopping (except for swimming in Balkhash) we go home. By the way, the quality of the road on the way back is much better than through Pavlodar, Semey, Taldykorgan. If I go to the Dzungars, then through Astana and Almaty, through Omsk and Pavlodar, it makes sense to go only to Saur, and if you need purely Dzungars, then it will be faster to go through Balkhash and Almaty.

Thank you all for your attention.

I hope you brightened up our winter entomological days a little with memories of summer!

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Bolshoe Almaatinskoe Lake

Bear caterpillars Arctia intercalaris

Clossiana hegemone

Cupido buddhista

Erebia turanica turanica

Parnassius tianschanicus tianschanicus

Descent from the Trans-Ili Alatau

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Parnassius apollo merzbacheri

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16.02.2013 14:04, yuliabell

Dear entomologists, collectors and fans of butterflies and beetles!

In these beautiful winter days (but boring for all of us) I would also like to give you some fun by telling you about a funny incident that happened on one of our many expeditions. The narrative will be somewhat different than the description of whiteflies, parnassus, cabbage rolls, checkers, coordinates, heights... where and in what quantity they were met, seen, caught. So!
The expedition consists of four enthusiastic people.
Place of action-2008. Kazakhstan, southern Dzungaria, Katutau Mountains. Anyone who has been to the southern small hills, can imagine what it is – stones and clay, one and a half blades of grass and heat-a-a-a. Basically, all vegetation and wildlife is concentrated in a narrow strip along the rivers that have not yet dried up.

After a day spent with the benefit of mattresses, envelopes, jars, pretty tired, once again fried in the sun (but happy), we returned to the camp, deployed near a clean and cool river…

Enjoying a cold beer, the surrounding beauty and the long-awaited shade, we decided to treat ourselves to fresh fish, which (as we were told by local residents) are found in this river in a fair amount. We decided to use a local fishing method as well, since we didn't bring any fishing rods with us. It consisted in the following - one holds in the water a kind of net (made from improvised means-a piece of tulle on a slingshot), kindly provided by a local boy, and the other screws with a stick, scaring fish from under the rocks and trying to drive the fish into this device. A strong half of humanity went to get fish!

But, unfortunately, some points were not taken into account in the hurry - the current is strong, the stones are slippery, the excitement is mad and reckless, as a result, the slippers from the feet of the beloved were washed away faster than the first fish was caught! I had to interrupt the process of getting an even tan and climb into the water, after putting on sneakers.....

The process of catching dinner actively continued, but without losing personal belongings! Several fish were caught in an hour....

Very interesting and exciting way of fishing. It was a lot of fun until we saw our competitors - water snakes, which can be cute creatures (as my husband thinks!), and, admittedly, clever hunters – they intercepted our prey behind our backs with lightning speed. But when I meet them face to face, they make me want to get away.

After this meeting, we ran out of the river backwards

and I didn't feel like fishing anymore! The catch in the form of three ottomans and one minnow, of course, could not feed us. Ottomans baked on sticks turned out to be very tasty, but minnow is also a minnow in Kazakhstan. And since we didn't want to finish such an exquisite dinner with a banal stew, it was decided to continue the holiday and we decided to buy lamb from the shepherds! However, such a bright idea came to us late in the evening and the process of cooking shish kebab fell on midnight!
The whole crew, under the dim light of the moon, went along the coast to get firewood-the wreckage of the saxaul, but, remembering the "competitors", they acted extremely carefully, so as not to pick up a nice "friend"from the ground instead of a dry twig. True, the shish kebab did not have enough "endurance" - I really wanted to eat! But, in general, the day was a success!

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23.02.2013 0:31, yuliabell

Dear entomologists, collectors and fans of butterflies and beetles! Hello again.
A small gift to the strong half of humanity on the day of the most masculine holiday.

This time I will tell you about the second stage of the 2007 expedition. I would like to draw your special attention to the fact that I describe my feelings and experiences from my first entomological expedition, where I was already CONSCIOUSLY able to perceive the surrounding reality. The fact is that for me this expedition was already the second in a row, the first (on Saur) from the abundance of impressions turned into a huge shining ball in my mind, unfortunately, without nuances.
Our company consisted of four people: a local driver-ace Sergey, a lover of travel, butterflies and generally sunny person Valery A. (his small report was present on this branch-post 517 on page 11), the expedition leader (my husband) and me. We visited the Charyn Valley, Ketmen, the Trans-Ili Alatau (its eastern spurs Sogeti, Boguty, passed through the entire Asa valley).

Unfortunately, Valera's vacation was limited to two weeks and he was waiting for the road home. We also had 11 more days of autonomous hiking along the Issyk River gorge to Lake Akkol and Kok-Bulak pass! The task was to find Patricius. My husband spent the whole winter poring over maps and literature and chose this pass because of its inaccessibility for grazing cattle and potential unspoilt nature. One thing was a little disconcerting – there were no trails marked on the maps in this gorge. At all. He was filled with excitement and impatience... and, along with these feelings, a carefully concealed fear of the unknown.

When we parted, Valera looked at us with white envy – people still have almost two weeks of adventures ahead of them, and I looked at him with the same envy - he is going home, and I will have the first hike in my life on foot under a backpack weighing 15 kg, along the trail (the meaning of the phrase that the trail is missing on the map). still naively did not understand) where the devil will break his leg (how he will break it became clear the next day...)
But morning still came and, dropping Valera off at the airport, we drove to the starting point of our journey – two puddles left over from Lake Issyk. This place is very sad. In 1963, a terrible mudslide passed through the gorge and buried everything, including a sanatorium and a rest home, along with a huge number of people! Our driver didn't like this place very much! As a result, my morale was completely shattered…
Have arrived. I was shoved into my 90-liter backpack, my beloved took on his 25 kg and, catching a sympathetic look from Sergey at parting,we set off.
After 20 minutes of walking along the path, I got a little used to the backpack, after another 15 minutes I began to react to the birds, to the beauty of the surrounding area, and even tried to pick strawberries, which are pleasing to the eye with their abundance! But at the very first turn, my fun ended – the spillway, built after the tragedy, towered ahead!! A very serious structure that blocks the entire gorge (15 meters high). A reminder of the horror that happened here. And behind it-the wild nature in all its splendor - on both sides very steep slopes covered with Tienshan spruce, huge scree and a raging river!

After making our way through the spruce young growth, we got out into a microscopic clearing and then the path ended near an old fire pit. And then there was not only no trail, but also no land – a meter-long strip along the riverbed is covered with boulders of different sizes, which you constantly stumble over (the backpack suddenly became heavier)… Somehow getting used to this stone carpet, we covered another 500 meters. I didn't think it would ever get any worse. It turned out-it will be! In front of us, the first presser was drawn – a sheer cliff with a height of 6 meters breaks right into the river. I had to literally stick to the slope with all four limbs and, clinging to the bushes, crawl up to avoid the protruding rock. The first four meters (with a slope of 50 degrees) my husband had to take turns dragging both backpacks and me to the place where we could finally stand up conditionally. It was easier to crawl a few more meters – the goal was already close – a huge stump at the top of this damned cliff. And then it was quite interesting. When he reached the stump, he grabbed it, pulled himself up, and found himself nose-to-nose with a marten, which leaped over his shoulder and flew up to the nearest Christmas tree. I finally pulled myself up on that tree stump. Phew, now down. However, the way down was a scree.
And how to get down? Booty forward? There followed a detailed lecture on how to hold on to branches, turn around all the same face forward and together with the contents of the scree (small stones and pebbles) slide down on half-bent legs. You can still run, the main thing is to stop in time. I told him and ran downstairs. I didn't dare run, so I tried a half – crouch and immediately found myself on the fifth point and slid down in a cloud of dust. They quarreled, smoked, looked each in his own direction, made up, and wandered on cursing and stumbling. Another squeeze, again stuck, crawled.... as a result, we covered about 2 km in 6 hours. And then it started to rain and it became physically impossible to climb the slope on wet grass, bypassing the clamps.
All I wanted to do was recognize my goal as unattainable and get out of this terrible and deserted gorge faster. The aura of a long-ago tragedy still seemed to hang in the air. If not for the persistence and desire of my husband to carry out the planned and reach the pass-our hike would have ended on the third bend of the gorge! But he did very wisely, offering to put up a tent on the first suitable (very conditional!) a place near the river, spend the night and decide in the morning what to do next ... Horror! But I had to agree - there was no way out. At first, I very closely monitored the water level in the river - so as not to be washed away by a sudden mudflow (naive!!!!).... then my favorite reminded me about myself-it's time to have lunch, and at the same time have dinner. What surprised me very much - from the experiences that fell on me about food, I just completely forgot! But they tactfully hinted to me that my fears were fears, but it would not hurt to eat, and if I ate, my backpack would certainly become easier.

This argument was irresistible, and I busied myself with my supper, keeping an eye out for suspicious rocks the size of small houses that jutted out of the clay slope directly above the tent, as well as the water level. But it's raining, and if they are washed away. But when I decided to share my observations with my beloved, then ... I found him sniffing quietly in the tent, not paying attention to anything!!

In the morning, we woke up to some unusual sounds. We opened our eyes, got out of the tent, and saw people on the other side trying to explain something to us. And since nothing could be heard over the roar of the water, they explained with gestures. Moreover, the main gesture was twisting the finger at the temple. As a result, we realized that on our side there is no further way!!!

But the sight of people inspired some optimism. So, you can still pass it. You just need to go back half a kilometer (out of the two passed) and cross the river on a roll. Crossing to the other side at the place where we spent the night was tantamount to suicide. And now we're standing in front of a raging torrent. I don't understand how THIS is transitioned. I remember very well that I crossed my first mountain river in my life a week ago. It was AWFULLY WIDE (2 meters) and DEEP (ankle-DEEP). But here above the knee and the width of 25 meters. I chose the same wide place and still says that the weight of the backpack will give me extra stability. I don't remember much of what happened next, but we ended up on the other side.

And it's called " we're on vacation catching butterflies." Yes, at least one to see. After an hour, we saw and even managed to take a picture – Melitaea fergana paradoxa. The next one was seen two days later, already on the Alpika, but it was still like the moon.

A small coastal terrace appeared ahead of us, and we had a choice – whether to stumble further along the coastal rocks, or climb this terrace and follow it. Yes, the second one. Here it was easier to walk – a sparse aspen tree smoothly turned into a spruce forest, there were some fragments of paths (though for some reason leading in different directions). And suddenly, unexpectedly, the terrace ended with a cliff 20 meters high and completely sheer. And there's a river down there. It's strange, because it should be on the left. They took out a map – but this is the Jarsai, a left tributary of the Issyk. It was on this river that the bridge broke in 1963 and the mudslide destroyed all life downstream. And how to get down? And you won't be able to go here either. But on the other side there is such a nice scree, but if you go down the scree and climb that rock (it seems low), then you can go to the confluence and then it's easier. After the arrow, a trail was marked on the map.

So we climbed up the Jarsai, looking for a convenient way down from the terrace, but we couldn't find a smaller place. After I realized that we weren't going to turn back, I didn't care what bend, twist, or scree I would break my neck on, and I had to slide down huge rocks in parts – that is, separate backpacks, different body parts, and so on. We crossed and in a "great" mood hurried to the rock, which we observed from above.

Yes, everything looked a little different from above. The rock is about three meters high and you can't climb it with a backpack. Let's try to climb the scree to the next terrace, and then it's not far to the trail. But even here everything is not thank God. Why do I need such a punishment? The scree turned out to be made of clay with stones and its hardness resembled concrete. Well, how to crawl down a hill with a slope of 45 degrees up, when the toes of your shoes are driven into it about three millimeters? I don't have time for a manicure anymore, I'm digging my nails into the ground, but I'm still sliding down a little. And that one also outweighed the backpack. That's when I felt really bad - vishu, paralyzed with fear, in my eyes the longing of a shot dog!!!! Then I pass the word to my beloved.

(N. R.) I'm carefully crawling along the scree with attached steps, clinging with my hands and thinking about where to drive my foot once again, and suddenly I hear a "bang" from behind. I turn my head and see a picture I'll never forget. The spouse is lying flat on the scree, clutching this "concrete" convulsively, a backpack has covered her from above and only an eye with a very tense expression is visible from under it. And complete silence, only the sound of water below.

(Yu. S.) I don't know what inspired him more - my pathetic appearance or anger at the situation, but he flew up to the ledge with lightning speed, while sprinkling me with a lot of pebbles (that's what I need – don't go limp!), left his backpack there, and me, alternately with my backpack, dragged up! In general, how he did this is still a mystery to me.

(N. R.) This "lightning fast" took me almost an hour and took almost all my strength. Then I spent another half hour lying on the green.

(Yu. S.) So where is the promised path? And here it is, finally, now let's go faster. However, someone here passed before us, and quite recently. A pile of black droppings with the remains of berries, still warm. Only we did not have enough bear to complete happiness. Then they made their way noisily, clattering, shouting!!! I wonder who scared whom the most? And here is Issyk. Dinner and sleep, sleep, sleep.

Indeed, a person gets used to everything. In the evening, I already reacted almost adequately to the situation, there was hope that I would stay alive, and I was interested in what lies ahead. I was also inspired by the fact that I covered almost 2/3 of the way and my backpack became even lighter after breakfast and dinner.
However, that night, despite my fatigue, I managed to fall asleep with difficulty – the sound of falling stones prevented me! In the morning, after getting a boost of energy from the icy water and having breakfast, we went on! The rain accompanied us throughout the ascent! Having mastered a couple more kilometers, we saw such beauty in front of us....

The rain suddenly stopped! The final point of our journey was only a little over a kilometer away, but beyond this clearing was a moraine wall, beyond which was Lake Akkol. The mountains kindly offered us an indescribable experience again! In addition, the sky began to tighten terrible leaden clouds, it is clear what they carry with them. It was decided to set up camp in a hurry. After looking around for a while, my husband decided that tomorrow it would be easier to go, to go on exploration and lay along the proposed rise in the moraine racks of stones. In the morning, he left, and I busied myself gathering twigs for the fire. My lesson was interrupted by a powerful thunderclap, accompanied by the roar of a rockfall, but not at me. I quickly hid my wealth under the tent, and as soon as I got inside, it STARTED!
It takes a long time to describe how I felt when I first found myself under a severe thunderstorm in the mountains alone. It was very scary, it seemed that these hissing lightning bolts were trying to hit me! And I once again noted that it could be worse! However, I was not far from the truth. As my dear later said (he had just climbed up on the lintel by this time), lightning struck the ground not far from the tent! And the sun was shining up there. This is the top view of our parking lot.

Otgrokhotalo, otpolivalo, otleglo, returned favorite. We cheerfully shared our impressions. We prepared dinner and went to gather strength before the decisive assault – it is known that the last meters are the most difficult. In addition, a rather light rain began to fall again.
When I dragged myself up in the morning, I wasn't even happy about the beauty of the long-awaited Akkol Lake!

There was still about a kilometer to go along the lake on completely slippery rocks. My husband, elated, flew at full speed (as far as possible in our situation) forward to the goal of our journey, I dragged myself with the last of my strength, cursing, stumbling, my backpack, which was soaked in places, became terribly heavy! And suddenly I heard – "We seem to be met"! My first thought is, " I'm freaking out." But, indeed, a very cute dog was running towards us, and behind it was a man who was surprised and very puzzled by our appearance! It turned out that the KAZSELZASHCHITY observation post is located in the Kok-Bulak valley, and no one else comes here (it turns out that it was the shift going on vacation that we met below). And here are two idiots with huge backpacks, going nowhere! You'll be surprised here! We were kindly invited to visit, and when it became clear who we were and why we came here, we were offered to stay in their shack.

Sasha and Pasha. Five months (two-week shifts) sitting in this shack, where all the entertainment is three times a day to report on the radio the temperature of the air and water and its turbidity. You also need to go to the lake and mark its level on the poles (people were too lazy to go and made do with powerful binoculars). You can also listen to "Field of Miracles" on the radio, if you first spin a special speaker and recharge the battery. I sometimes warmed up in this way. And the most interesting activity is to watch the herds of teks roaming the surrounding slopes. Sasha has his own theory – each herd has its own shepherd – leopard and someday he will see it.

CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST

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23.02.2013 0:50, yuliabell

continuation

Altitude 3200 m, air temperature +6 C, water temperature +2C, turbidity 1 (if 3, then grab the most expensive and run higher). And rain, rain, rain… And so on for 2 days. All the vodka is drunk, cigarettes and interesting stories ended yesterday. On the third day, my husband's patience ran out and he went to look at the pass in the rain, and then a miracle came – the sun turned on. And then I realized what he meant when he told me to look for places where sheep were never grazed. There was a carpet of butterflies all around.

Instantly equipped and grabbing a net, I flew out on the long-awaited hunt. What a blessing it is! What will I find here?! Just a couple of meters later, I stumble upon a calm (frozen) white callidice sitting on a flower, shake it off into the net – and here's another one! More! The excitement is growing! But the clouds do not sleep, again cover the sun, but the clouds are not a solid curtain - there is hope! Again the sun, I run to the riverbed. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a faint movement near the rocks on the ground, some greenish fly slowly flying through the swamp near the lake?! I cover the hummock and study what I caught – kokandika! This is the first time I've seen it "live"! Hooray. Again the sun jumped and flew from stone to stone-dozens of kokandik-got an entomological shock! I just had time to swing a net and stuff envelopes. So in my mind there was a firm conviction that kokandika flies just like that-jumping from hummock to hummock – it's a pleasure to catch (although the next day I realized that I was mistaken, it was just because of the cold that they behaved like that). The joy didn't last long, the sun disappeared, it got dark, and it started to rain again. The weather is over! I looked around longingly, everything was dead, as if there were not such a large number of butterflies. I trudged into the hut to warm myself, turn on the speaker, and wait for my beloved to tell me about his hike to the pass. But that was the last cloud! The sky was completely clear and then the mountains decided to show what they are rich in! I ran after butterflies with puppy delight, filled almost all my envelopes, and then I see in the distance, but heading towards me, flies an unrealistically bright, fiery orange huge butterfly (compared to kokandika)! My hands are shaking with fear that I will miss, my thoughts are confused-who is it?! A wave after and a miracle beats in the net! Probably Romanovi?! Here is another yellow egg seen in nature, and how many more interesting things are ahead! All the bruises and bumps are completely forgotten, this is temporary, but this feeling of discovery is worth a lot! The hours allowed by the weather flew by unnoticed. It was with great regret that I was going back to the camp-tomorrow morning I would be on my way back! Proud of myself, I waited with great interest from the" hunt " of my husband, what will he bring delicious?!

(N. R.) I'm ready to howl in anguish. Tomorrow is the end of our allotted time, we need to drop down to catch the plane. Fortunately, the guys explained how to go and it won't take much time. Are we really so unlucky and will have to return completely empty (a few butterflies caught in the brief moments between the clouds do not count). I wander to the pass, looking for frozen cabbage rolls in the grass – only they and boloria sit in plain sight, sometimes in drops of water. At least take a couple of photos.

I climbed almost four thousand meters, only untouched snow is higher. Then a blue light appeared in the west, and there was another one. Really!!! It's done!!! Half an hour later, there was no sign of the clouds, and it wasn't even eleven o'clock yet – that is, 5-6 hours of full-fledged hunting. It's a pity that I'm sitting on the southern slope, because Patricius prefers the northern ones-they rise up opposite. Gorgeous scree, small glaciers, and there is a" puddle " of Muskol visible. But how far away – Kok-Bulak at the bottom of the valley looks like a thin blue thread. 800 meters down (hour) - crossing – 500 meters up the scree (2 hours, and then in the best case scenario). No, I won't make it, I'll crawl to the right place by three o'clock, and the locals are already lathering up at four. Okay, we'll hoe this plot. Who we have here! Well, very decent – delphius, actius, tienshanikus, kokandika, kallidice (usually found singly, but here they fly directly in flocks) boloria, solons, splendens, venuses. What's that orange butterfly, Romanovi?" Wow, that's Staudinger's egg yolk!!! It is very interesting, because it is a big question for the Trans-Ili Alatau. And there's another one, and there's another one…

(Yu. S.) In the evening, my beloved returned. It goes, already from afar it glows. I'm bursting with pride. I show off my orange treasure – look what I caught for you. He smiles and pulls out about thirty of them. It's even a little insulting, well, nothing, but I have a larger kokandik and almost all the females. And this orange one is not Romanovi, but Staudingeri, which, according to him, is much more interesting. In the evening, we laid out the catch on mattresses – almost a whole box turned out and this in one incomplete day.
And on the way back we were escorted by two young teks, sprinkling us with small stones from the slope. Probably for luck. In general, we found our own El Dorado. ACCOL FOREVER!!!

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25.02.2013 15:14, Penzyak

I read Julia's report with great interest... Thank you, your tests were not in vain!!
I am often asked - why do you need such torment for the sake of some butterflies, beetles, plants and other animals? And I ask them - What's the big deal, for example, tourists often just climb the mountains... we though animals il botany there plants study/collect... and what are they for? For the smell of taiga??...
As a rule, such questions are asked by people who have absolutely no hobbies in life... it is they who exclaim about travelers - "To watch the sun go down in the swamp - and the woodpecker beats his head against the pine tree.".. Ugh, poor devils, how much do they lose (Or have they already lost?) in life! How to convey those worldviews and a hundredth of adrenaline and an indescribable worldview of an evening sunset... finds of a rare insect or plant... yes, just communicating with like-minded people at the evening bonfire ... And to do this, you do not need to climb the mountains or go to the taiga... The unknown is nearby... just want to find it....

This post was edited by Penzyak-25.02.2013 15: 22

Pictures:

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24.03.2013 20:10, Protey2

I have already been asked more than once what you can catch in the vicinity of Tashkent at one time or another of the year. I will try to illustrate the already given and future answers with short photo reports.
A few photos from the Saturday trip to nature to get some air, admire the spring riot of flowers, collect mushrooms, and of course disturb the six-legged ones. I bring to the attention of colleagues the result of the venture.
So, the place is the foothills of the Chatkal range (approx. 50 km. from Tashkent), heights - from 700 to 1200 m, time-March 23, 2013, result-approx. 40 species of beetles.
I note that in March in the mountains for 1500 m on the northern slopes can still meet snow, so it is better to go on a bug hunt at altitudes up to 800-1000 m or on the plain.

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21.04.2013 14:14, Protey2

As far as I know, Central Asian deserts are rarely visited by entomologists. Therefore, I hope that a small photo excursion to this unknown land will not be uninteresting to forumchanam.

Spring in the desert begins at the end of February, but according to my observations, the greatest variety of invertebrates occurs at the end of April – May. The period of life of desert flora and fauna is very short and timed to moderate temperatures, and therefore adults of most species are found literally within a month. Therefore, it can be difficult to guess the period of activity of a particular species and get to the right place (biotope) at the right time. After all, despite the apparent monotony and "desolation", in fact, the desert is very, very diverse and, after driving just a few hundred meters, you can get into a completely different world of flora and fauna.
A desert expedition is not a picnic trip. Desolation, lack of gas stations, fresh water, shops, and generally any housing forces you to design your trips very carefully. In addition, the distance from my place of deployment (Tashkent) to the edge of the desert is at least 500 km, which is not conducive to weekend trips.
This year we have planned a trip in early April. The goal, among other things, is to catch the spring entomofauna characteristic of this time (mainly beetles). We were lucky with the weather and the temperature even at night did not fall below about +15 degrees, not to mention the comfortable +25-30 daytime. Running and flying was active and as a result, at least 100 species of beetles characteristic of this time were caught. Basically, of course, these are the most numerous representatives of Tenebrionidae and Scarabaeidae in the desert. But there were also more rare beetles, and some species were caught for the first time at all. For example, the early spring and therefore rare Calosoma reitteri. C. olivieri was first encountered. There were infrequent Megacephala euphratica and Mylabris audouini, etc. I am sure that a detailed and systematic analysis of fishing will bring many more surprises, especially among the small things.

At the edge of the desert, Dasytidae frolic on flowers.

Tomares fedtschenkoi is also representative of the greener outskirts of the sands.

Tulips cover the desert at this time of year with an almost uniform carpet, creating a unique blooming entourage.

Under the leaves of Turkestan rhubarb, some species of Curculionidae and Tenebrionidae often find shelter from the daytime sun, and therefore it is not superfluous to lift these "burdocks" that reach a meter in diameter.

The" puppy " of the steppe agama has not yet been painted in adult tones.

On the lonely flowers of the ferula, it is especially "crowded".

Ferula is a unique "skyscraper" for six-legged people. Sometimes more than a dozen and a half specimens of Plocaederus scapularis sit on one bush.

An adult male steppe agama surveys its possessions.

The eroded edges of the Kyzylkum depressions are not only picturesque, but sometimes hide traces of Cretaceous life – dinosaur bones, crocodiles and turtles, shark teeth and vertebrae, fossilized wood, and shellfish shells.

Zegris fausti is found only in the desert

The most species – rich biotope is ridge sands and woody shrubby vegetation (juzgun, cherkez, saksaul, sand acacia, etc.).

Blooming ephemera creates the illusion of a green meadow.

Fishing for light in ridge sands. The usual 25 W CFL and UV lamp are powered via an inverter from the car battery.

Years of the Lepidopteran masses. Among the beetles are representatives of the Aphodiini tribe, another dozen small plates have not yet been identified, Scarabaeus babori and transcaspicus (busy and numerous beetles strongly interfere with the normal collection of prey from the screen). Chlaenius inderiensis came into the light, and Chioneosomes and Madotrogus flew up. But, in my opinion, catching beetles in the desert for light is not particularly effective – most of the local fauna is born to crawl...

Night "fireflies". The head lamp clearly highlights the crimson eyes of a skink gecko. The animal is so calm that it can easily be stroked. Only in no case should you take it in your hands – the skin immediately peels off the lizard.

Thanks to cinematic cliches, many believe that the desert looks exactly like this. I'll disappoint you. Dunes in the desert are very rare. By the way, one of the goals of our trip was to visit the dunes.

A resident of the barkhany sands is a big-eared roundhead.

The king of the reptiles of the desert is a monitor lizard.

The green foothills of the Nurata range are the border of the desert and oasis.

In the borderlands there is a special fauna. Aethiessa albella.

Saturnia Neoris stoliczkana quickly eat the shoots of prickly rose almonds (foothills of the Nuratinsky district, the edge of the desert).

You can view a more detailed travel report on my personal website Protey-wood.

This post was edited by Protey2-22.04.2013 09: 45

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22.04.2013 9:37, Protey2

Both the text and the report are just an extraordinary quote,if there is still a photo material-then please give people the pleasure-at least to look!!!

Maxim, in principle, I posted the most characteristic photo moments in the entomological and natural context here, and the historical and educational part is on my website (Protey-wood). There are other photos as well.
Of course, I shot a lot, but I don't think I can reveal more about the topic by publishing photos that are close to the plot. I'd rather post photos from other trips as they become available.
By the way, I fulfilled your wishes. I'll sort out the accumulated cases a little and start forming them.

This post was edited by Protey2-22.04.2013 09: 38

24.04.2013 21:52, Maksim M.

Well, it happened-the God of work let go on vacation.Tomorrow I'm going to Volodarsky district of astr. obl, in the direction of Kazakhstan, 140 km from Astrakhan, in pripezhku with fishermen, I will catch everything.Deciduous plantings and floodplain forests that have died under the nests of fish-eating birds,from guano acid, are of great interest to children.In some places,the guano layer exceeds 1.2 meters.Dry forests of several hectares in some places.In addition, there are several gullies with steep slopes-0.6 km long.In terms of time, I can jump on the way back to dosang,spend a day or two near the dunes, but somehow the weather is not very good there,there is no heat and the wind is a little frightening with its meters per second,I had to order a grid screen from my wife, it will be easier, arrival before May 12, I will intensively make a photo report.Well, like everything..

14.05.2013 10:19, Svyatoslav Knyazev

Back in February, I came up with the idea to go to Kazakhstan during the May holidays - to open the season. This has become especially relevant, given the cold spring of this year. So, on May 3, 2013, I meet my fellow traveler and partner, a young entomologist from Irkutsk, Ilya, at the railway station. After a few hours, when everything we need is purchased, we get in the car and leave for Kazakhstan. We spend the night in Pavlodar with a good person, friend, entomologist, our forumchanin-Sergey.

In the morning, we are on our way again-through Karaganda to the south. Driving past the turn to Temirtau, we remembered another local forumchanin - Evgeny

There was such a sign on the highway Outside Karaganda:
picture: IMG_3123.jpg

we decided to choose the Almaty direction after all

In the evening we reach the first planned point - the Bektau Ata mountains. Here we set up a camp and prepare for night fishing.

The weather is sunny, but still cool. At night it becomes quite chilly, the flight of butterflies stops, we go to bed.

In the morning, we look around in search of daytime butterflies-a lot of P. afra, T. phryne, C. hyale, C. erate fly, P. machaon come across. A pleasant surprise here was the discovery of Lyela myops! Cute Oecophoridae from the genus Pleurota were found.

Under the stones are various beetles, young scorpions. We fished for a few hours, packed up, and drove on. Photos of daytime butterflies will not be enough because of the constant winds, which make it difficult not only to shoot, but often to catch.

picture: IMG_2663_2.jpg

Skirting Balkhash from the west. We are driving through the Zhambyl region (formerly Zhambyl region). Dzhambulskaya) at high speed, Ilya dozes in the next seat. Suddenly, a relatively large white butterfly flies out in front of me on the track and I realize that this is Apollonius! I tell my partner-look! Apollonius! at the same time, I hit him with my bumper. The story takes longer to tell than the fact of Apollonius ' appearance. it all happened in seconds. we stop and find a downed butterfly on the side of the road. we decide to turn aside, into the mountains and look for the population. I didn't have to search long. Literally immediately we come across two soaring butterflies, then two more... but it was already late afternoon and the activity of sailboats was on the wane. the females were still fresh, and the males were caught in varying degrees of flight. they did not stop here, but decided to drive to the southern samogy point on the bank of the Balkhash River. Said and done. We are standing on the shore of a huge and very beautiful lake with turquoise water! Frogs dance along the banks, and sometimes you can hear a lake frog jumping into the water with a loud slap (the splash is like a healthy carp turning over and over). it is said that this frog crushes even the chicks of gulls. it's so big.
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night fishing is clearly more active here. already come across hawkmoth, a lot of dustpans and all sorts of small things. species associated with coastal vegetation clearly predominate. we decided not to stay here for a day - the coastline is rather sparse in terms of vegetation composition and it was not possible to meet anything special from daytime butterflies here.

Then our way lay even further south - to the Saryesik-Atyrau desert, or rather to the western part of it. Already at the entrances to the sands, huge steppe spaces strewn with flowering poppies began to come across. Very beautiful! but there are not many butterflies - single zegrys and didyma draughtsmen. All the time fishing was hindered by a strong wind.
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We refuel in Kangshengel and turn into the sand dunes. In spring, everything here breathes life. Lots of greenery, fragrant flowers, birds, lizards and turtles.
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Already at the entrances to the delta. Or we come across a whole network of small lakes - a kind of oasis among the sands. Here the vegetation is even more lush and you get the feeling that you are driving through some kind of park area. The place fascinated us so much that we decided to stay here for a day out of the plan. and they did not lose. we met a lot of different insects here. However, there were no fewer ticks, which somewhat overshadowed the overall impression. But, despite everything, very satisfied with the results of day and night fishing, we decided to move on - to the final point of our route.
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We move to the other side of Ili, a little more and we turn off the highway to the coastal Tugai near Bakanas. We were already halfway there when we noticed a nice clump of artichoke leaves, with good flocks of Hypermnestra helios flying over them! that was good. It was a real summer heat wave (+35). We sunbathed, swam, caught hypermnestra and zegrys, xylocops and racehorses. At night, the screen was literally bursting with an abundance of butterflies and beetles.
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What follows are some photos of the species we encountered:
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I consider the trip successful in all respects. we caught everything we wanted and even more. We got a lot of positive impressions and an even tan.

I would like to thank my partner Ilya for the good company and support during the trip, Sergey and Anton, who met us on the way back in Pavlodar and gave us a warm welcome. Kazakhstan traffic policemen for being fined only once and even then for small things

, and of course customs officers, who now do not inspect personal belongings, where we calmly and without problems took out a bunch of fees and even a turtle for my daughter.

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