Caucasus, Ciscaucasia and Transcaucasia

lepidopterolog, respect! I haven't seen A. for a long time, I still can't get out of Sochi in the spring
A small remark - on the bushes were most likely ooteka Hierodula transcaucasica, and not Mantis religiosa.

  lepidopterolog, respect! I haven't seen A. for a long time, I still can't get out of Sochi in the spring
A small remark - on the bushes were, most likely, ooteka Hierodula transcaucasica, and not Mantis religiosa.

I observed alankastrium in mid-June near the town of Mamdzyshkha (Abkhazia), and in the first days of May - in the district of art.Phanagoria.

I didn't think about Hierodula transcaucasica. It's a pity, if I knew, I would have picked up .

I observed alankastrium in mid-June near the town of Mamdzyshkha (Abkhazia), and in the first days of May - in the district of art.Phanagoria.

At what approximate altitude did you observe them in Abkhazia? It is interesting that the flight took so long, they usually fly somewhere until the end of May.

This post was edited by lepidopterolog - 05/10/2007 13: 31

At what approximate altitude did you observe them in Abkhazia? It is interesting that the flight took so long, they usually fly somewhere until the end of May.

1600-1700 m.the animals were already shabby, but not isolated.

Arrived from Azerbaijan. The results are generally quite good: three dozen species of barbels, a lot of black heifers, goldfish, abscesses and plates. Yes, and other groups did not offend.
On the photo:
1. station of Leiopus kharazii, Parmena aurora
2. stump in which Parandra caspia, Aegosoma scabricornis lives

Pictures:

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KDG: My hands are itching to pick up this trash!

Go ahead, there was still

In June, I visited the Northern Caucasus, Adygea, and the Lagonak Highlands region. The expedition was short, about 10 days. The weather just killed me completely. I knew that it is unstable in Adygea at this time, it often rains. However, this year there was an excessive amount of moisture. Hours free from the rain had to literally run to do something in time. In this regard-I saw few daytime butterflies-they did not fly for long, only when the sun was visible. The taxa are mostly banal, considering only that they are Caucasian subspecies. From the grass, I often scared away moths and a shovel, I can't give any views, I didn't catch them. We stopped for 3 days on the Black Sea coast (Dzhubga), a pear peacock-eye flew to the light of lampposts-a gorgeous huge butterfly, I didn't even expect to meet it on the seashore. By the way, in June, despite the rains, the mountains are simply beautiful. The greens are fresh, all blooming, and the mother-and-stepmother leaves are the size of a good burdock. In the Alpine zone, there are a lot of snowfalls, in July you will not see this. As for the beetles-Carabus circassicus, exaratus, koenigi, decolor was caught in traps and found under rocks. In the Alpine zone, C. miroschnikovi was found in meadows. The genus Pterostichus has also fallen into traps, and it needs to be dealt with. Also Nebria bonelli, Nebria sp. Amara and Bembidion were running at the edge of the snowfields. There weren't many barbels on the flowers. I met Rhagium fasciculatum, Lepturinae (I haven't dealt with them yet). On the coast, I went up into the mountains-a complete golyak. Nothing interesting. The soil is dry, as it happens there in late July and August. Chlaenius coeruleus was found on the bank of a small river near the water's edge. That's actually all the interesting stuff.

Pictures:

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Beautiful photos! I've never been to such places .

In June, I visited the Northern Caucasus, Adygea, and the Lagonak Highlands region. The expedition was short, about 10 days. The weather just killed me completely. In the Alpine zone, C. miroschnikovi was found in meadows.

On Lagonaki, lousy weather is normal. I myself sat there in the rain pretty much 15 years ago, apparently nothing has changed. So don't be discouraged. on the alpika there in the mass C. starcki should run, not so it was not? And about Miroshnikova - are you sure? He seems to live in the forest, and on the Lagonaks on the Alpine always caught prometheus nubicola.

The entire Western Caucasus is "rotten". Even in July and August. And during the transition periods at the Devil's Gate (Achezhbok) such a mess!

On Lagonaki, lousy weather is normal. I myself sat there in the rain pretty much 15 years ago, apparently nothing has changed. So don't be discouraged. on the alpika there in the mass C. starcki should run, not so it was not? And about Miroshnikova - are you sure? He seems to live in the forest, and on the Lagonaks on the alpika he always caught prometheus nubicola.

Yes, thanks to KDG, really C. starcki I missed. This taxon was in Alpika. As for C. miroschnikovi, I can't say for sure. In the complete absence of a normal determinant for the Caucasus loci, it is difficult to accurately identify the species. I compared it with the available photos of taxa. It is a pity that the female can be compared by aedeagus (endophallus).
S. I. Sigid's paper" Landscape-biotopic distribution and ecological characteristics of ground beetles of the Ciscaucasia and northern slopes of the Central Caucasus " lists miroschnikovi as a meadow mesophile inhabiting mountain coniferous and mixed forests, subalpine and alpine meadows. I upload a photo of the instance. Body length 35 mm.

Pictures:
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Entalex, where do Nebria bonelli go? We are flying to Karachay-Cherkessia on Friday, we hope to take this beast

Entalex, where do Nebria bonelli go? We are flying to Karachay-Cherkessia on Friday, we hope to take this animal

Montane coniferous and mixed forests (closer to the upper border), dominated by the subalpine and Alpine belts. A polytopic mesophile that tends towards wetter places - wetlands, damp shaded forest clearings.

In Karachay-Cherkessia, N. bonelli was caught quite well in the vicinity of the Uzunkol alpine camp (2000) in a coniferous forest.

Nilson, thank you! We are going to the Nizhny Arkhyz district.. I don't know how far it is. But at least the river is definitely there

As for C. miroschnikovi, I can't say for sure. In the complete absence of a normal determinant for the Caucasus loci, it is difficult to accurately identify the species. I compared it with the available photos of taxa. It is a pity that the female can be compared by aedeagus (endophallus).

You can tell from the photos of these guys... I don't know if Makarov and Co can handle it. Was your bug trapped or stomped in broad daylight? nubicola suffers from this.

Nilson, thank you! We are going to the Nizhny Arkhyz district.. I don't know how far it is. But at least the river is there for sure

boneli is found almost everywhere in the Western and Central Caucasus. Go above the forest boundary and collect a bag . If you don't collect them, I'll try to give them a lift..

Yes, thanks to KDG, really C. starcki I missed. This taxon was in Alpika. As for C. miroschnikovi, I can't say for sure. In the complete absence of a normal determinant for the Caucasus loci, it is difficult to accurately identify the species. I compared it with the available photos of taxa. It is a pity that the female can be compared by aedeagus (endophallus).
S. I. Sigid's paper" Landscape-biotopic distribution and ecological characteristics of ground beetles of the Ciscaucasia and northern slopes of the Central Caucasus " lists miroschnikovi as a meadow mesophile inhabiting mountain coniferous and mixed forests, subalpine and alpine meadows. I upload a photo of the instance. Body length 35 mm.

If the question is acute, I'll throw a photo to Dmitry Obydov, he already defines any of the Carabini.

You can tell from the photos of these guys... I don't know if Makarov and Co can handle it. Was your bug trapped or stomped in broad daylight? nubicola suffers from this.

During the day, I "dined" next to the path.

If the question is acute, I'll throw a photo to Dmitry Obydov, he already determines any of the Carabini.

If it is not difficult , I will be very grateful!

During the day, I "dined" next to the path.

Yeah, that's how I put them together.

Hello everyone Yesterday, Arkipus and I returned from the Caucasus, more specifically, from Karachay-Cherkessia. The main training camps were held at an altitude of about 2000-2400m. They lived at an altitude of 900m. In general, the trip was very pleasant and successful, especially along the Karabida line. Right outside the hotel, Cichruses, Thermosceles, and 3 types of Carabuses fell into traps: Exaratus, Tribax Titan, and Tribax Circassikus. They also caught 1 copy each. A very large Archiplectus, the species has not yet been determined. Essno, higher fees were richer and more interesting: Karabus Koenigi, Karabus Auralimbatus, a couple of yet undetermined types of Karabus, their own type of Archplectus (also need to be clarified), plus-everything that was caught below. From the very relish - traps, we managed to collect amazing endogeic ground beetles, very large - about 2.5-3 cm. At an altitude of about 1500m, Nebria were caught in streams (the species is not yet determined, but, alas, we did not catch Bonnels, so an exchange is possible). Chlaenius coeruleus walked in a mass near the water. Also, large Pterostiches with gorgeous textured elytra gathered under the stones (the type should be specified). In alpika, Olga's Geotrupes were occasionally found (in horse manure). Cicindela (Cicindela) desertorum Dejean walked everywhere on the mountain paths. 5-6 species of Lepturine, occasionally Morimus and 2 species of Clitin were caught from barbels. By type, you need to look at everything and specify it.

This post was edited by Frantic - 15.07.2007 23: 42

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I'm jealous... Already drooling flowed.

Small comments on our Karachay-Cherkess ground beetle catch. I make them in reference to the "problematic" beetles mentioned in the first report after examining the material by K. Makarov.

So. What we caught:

- Archiplectes edithae Rtt., 1893
+ form exedithae Gottw., 1985

- Nebria (Eunebria) jarrigei Ledoux et Roux, 1991

- Laemostenus koenigi Rtt., 1887

- Pterostichus (Myosodus) lacunosus Chaud., 1844

- Tribax circassicus ssp. teberdensis Zolot., 1913

+ 2 other types of Tribaxes that are currently being defined.

This post was edited by Frantic - 07/23/2007 00: 03

Today I returned from Adygea.
Actually, the trip was only with a slight entomological bias, but I managed to walk here and there-mainly in the zone of broad-leaved forests up to heights of 1000 m.
I was very pleased with the weather - there is almost no burnt vegetation, which is unusual for the end of July in recent years. Although there are also no fruits, vegetables and nuts due to the cold spring .
I didn't find anything unusual, but the number of insects is pleasing. Quite a lot of different Satyridae, Lycaenidae, Arctiidae fly well into the light, full of all sorts of Catocala.
From beetles... southern banals like O. nascicornis are very well represented. This year, there are a lot of P. coriarius in the oak-beech forests: their eaten remains are simply littered with paths. I tried to find a couple of M. verecundus, but I couldn't find any.
Mowing was not impressive - almost no one gathered, except for a couple of clitras. With elephants, too, no luck, except for the ubiquitous Larinus planus (?), there is no one really.
The beer traps worked really well. Each group was attacked by five or six pieces of A. starckianus, M. exaratus (or septemcarinatus), and S. adamsi. It also turned out that C. germanica also falls in droves into beer glasses. I was just shocked - in three glasses-several hundred beetles (well, not all of them had time to die yet).
The photo shows the ruch gorge. Rufabgo near Hajoh.

Pictures:

DSCN4328.JPG — (92.79к)

I went for a couple of nights to the foothills of the Caucasus, in the area of Goryachy Klyuch.
Caught a little, because because of the heat there all dried up, the ground under the litter in the cracks! a nightmare!
The first night I set traps in the mountain, I got a few unfortunate Eucarabus cumanus, Megodontus septemcarinatus, a couple of granulatus and a cockroach! all the next day, or rather morning and evening (in the afternoon it was +40 in the shade), I collected four types of bembidions along the bank of the drying river. I found small gorges from the streams that flow into the river, there I came across: banal Chlaenius coerules, Agonum sp. and some kind of beetle, something from pterostichines, I'll post a photo in the definition. Already when it was getting dark, at the bottom of one of these gorges, under a stone, I found what I actually came for - an Archplectes, most likely starckianus, already at night I poked traps there, and in the morning I had three more such beetles, I also got one Microplectes convallium.
part of the catch
is shown in the photo. This completes the report. Thanks for attention.

And where is the actual photo?

And where is the actual photo?

I don't know, it seems to have been attached, but it didn't get here. Strange.
I'll try to insert it.

Hello colleagues!
I decided to share about how the collection of insects in the Caucasus
is going, I started making one-day trips from the beginning of March, but I didn't come across anything interesting…
Last weekend, nature took its toll, and I went to the Tuapse region, decided to climb Mount Semashko (height 1035m). The main goals were to catch alancastria and ground beetles. I went alone, decided not to take a tent, a minimum of food, a maximum of stains and bags ...
Having scored on the last couple, I took the train, and with a transfer in 3 hours I was in the village of Krivenkovskoye, which is 30 minutes from Tuapse, it was evening, I asked the locals how to get to the mountain, I found out that I had to go 2 km to the bridge I decided to take a short cut and crossed the river and started climbing through the pass, along the way I caught several agonums, a couple of species of pterostichus and one Sphodristocarabus janthinus.
It was getting dark, and running around in the woods with a flashlight was less than average, plus the backpack was making itself felt. After wandering around for 2 hours, tired, several times miraculously not breaking my limbs, tripping over logs, I went down to the stream and found some Agonum assimile under the sticks on the bank, a couple more species of pterostichus, as well as a ground beetle – something from deltomerus. So I walked for a while, collecting beetles, until I came across a bear trail that was just filling up with water…
Imagination immediately drew a picture of a meeting with the owner of the forest, who blows the breath out of the unfortunate entomologist with a blow of his paw.… Not daring to go any further, I went back until I came to the river, where on the bank, after a hasty snack and lighting a fire, I went to bed tired, but the calm did not last long, it began to rain... which I realized when a drop fell on my eye, then again and again, covering my face with a bag, I continued sleep, with the dawn the rain ended, my stiff body got out of the soaked sleeping bag and started to build a fire… An hour later, after drying my clothes, drinking tea, I packed my backpack and set off to conquer the peak.
Approaching the stream, I scared off two hares, started turning over logs, our amaru, 2 species of harpalus and one Archiplectes starskianus, the beginning was not bad. Then there was an interesting pterostichus, a few brachinuses and yesterday's agonums. I went along the forest to the swamp, near it I caught a Poecilus sp. Another type of harpal and pterostichus. I moved along the road leading to the mountains, lifting one hopeless stone on it, found a cichrus ... the road went along the serpentine up, near it were logs on which Morimus verecundus were sitting, and under them I collected three people, reaching the top of this hill, I saw Mount Semashko, looking how far to go, I decided that I would climb it the next time I went to another, closer mountain – Turkey (about 830m). The weather was average lousy, cloudy, with only an occasional glimpse of the sun.
And so I went to the Turkey, everywhere on the road, near the stream there were many boar tracks, after stories that if they come across a boar in the forest, then there is a very high chance that this meeting will be the last… Therefore, sometimes I had to whistle or shout loudly so that the animals could get out of my way in advance.
At the next bend, I saw the pale yellow silhouette of a butterfly. "Alankastria!" - flashed through my head, having reached a small clearing, I realized that I was right, frantically taking out the net and collecting it, I watched her, and she lazily flew around me, one stroke – an insect in a net! In another second, her little yellow-winged body is on my arm… After admiring it, I began to wrap the trophy in a bag, when suddenly another alancastria fluttered out of the forest, another wave and I had 2 rare butterflies, but then the sun disappeared and I went on, collecting 2-3 species of bembidions and ground beetles unknown to me in puddles along the road. After passing 2 more passes, I sat down for lunch, lunch was a can of beans and bread, having a snack, I moved on and after walking 500 meters I came across the road, the sun came out and alankastrias began to fly everywhere!!! I didn't have time to put them together, they flew up to me! throwing off my backpack, I ran after butterflies like a madman, but when I caught another "rarity", my euphoria was interrupted by a wild growl that began to approach me, breaking bushes and trees along the way! After standing for a second in a daze, I felt like another proof of the stories about meeting wild pigs, in the next second, my legs themselves carried me in the opposite direction from the beast, after running 100 meters, looking for a tree to climb, I stopped and sat down, the roar began to move away and finally completely subsided… having recovered from the shock, having found a butterfly in one hand, a net in the other, he began to walk quietly to the backpack, the sun hid, and not a single alankastria flew over the road ... Continued his way, passing the last pass to Turkeyk, looking at it decided that there would be nothing interesting there and began to descend to the dacha village located in the in a very picturesque place between the mountains, turning the stones on the bank of the river flowing down from the turkey, I found another type of deltomerus (tomorrow I'll find out which one...), pterosticus and 2 incomprehensible ground beetles... moving away from the village, I went down to the railway track, which was located along the forest slopes, the sun came out and then alankastria flew again, but here already came across the flown ones… so walking along the piece of iron catching everything in my path, I got to the place of my last overnight stay, the rest of the evening I set traps in the forest, caught 7-10 more species of ground beetles from different genera and tribes... I went to cook dinner, it was made up of a jar of peas and a jar of stew, the sky cleared and I went to bed anticipating a cold night… My intuition did not let me down and already at 3 o'clock I woke up from a terrible cold, I must have dried my things badly... I warmed up by the fire until dawn, then I checked the traps, which because of the cold, not much came running, only 5 yantinus and a little bit of small things got into a hundred traps...
Then I went to the train station…
End of story!

I apologize for such a long presentation and for the large number of unidentified ground beetle species, just the fauna is new to me… I'll probably post photos tomorrow.
P. S. about banal species like: Inachus io, Goneopterix rhamni ... I didn't mention
it. P.P. S. I'm very ashamed, but how to distinguish a female alancastria from a male?

Dima, just awesome!!! Congratulations!!!
allancastria has a dark smaochka.

It's just my job...
Thanks, that's what I thought.

If there are no pictures, then the females have a more extended black pattern and red spots and bandages on the front wings.

Hurray! Dima conquers the Caucasus!!!!
Super! Great report, thank you!!!!!

Dmitry, well done!

[quote=Dorcadion,14.04.2008 20:09]

Arrived from another raid on Talysh. In general, it was not bad. The weather was a bit bad, but I can't really complain about the results. Among the most pleasant barbels: Mesosa obscuricornis, Anaglyptus ganglbaueri, allosterna scapularis, Rhagium pygmaeum, Paraclytus reitteri, Parandra, Molorchus kiesenwetteri hircus, Plagionotus lugubris. There were other good Cerambycidae, and a lot of other beetles were collected. True, the coolest things were met only in the form of debris.
Many beetles that were present in abundance last year were not recorded this time or were present in isolated specimens. And this is at almost the same time frame...

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KDG:
0_0
This is vooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!
Vazmite me ever with you
drooling and not in earnest

Buzman:
hoplia definitely! It looks like something very interesting.. It doesn't look like a phyllanthus at all, and the view itself looks very attractive! I think Nimrod will be thrilled!

KDG:
And tse6rambix-skopoli? Or is it something else?
And who is Karabus? interesting, I don't remember any of them.

Could you tell us about your collection methods? In particular, barbels. and gold