Ape Cave, WA, USA (Ape Cave, Bundesstaat Washington, USA) (Ape Cave, Washington állam, USA) 06.2017.

In June I drove up to Mount St. Helens from Portland, Oregon mainly to visit the Ape Cave. The cave is located in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and with its 4023 m length, it is the longest continuous lava tube in the continental United States. The Ape Cave is sustains a population of the endangered Mt. St. Helens grylloblattid or ice crawler, a member of the rarest insect order on the planet. Location: Ape Cave. Date: 22.06.2017.

Middlesex Fells Reservation, USA I. (Middlesex Fells Reservat, USA I.) (Middlesex Fells Rezervátum, USA I.) 05.2016.

The Middlesex Fells is a forest of 3,400 acres just north of Boston, protected since 1894. The Fells are an upland with narrow north–south ridges and valleys, vulcanic bedrock, glacial kettle ponds and water reservoirs. Despite being on the edge of the Greater Boston Metropolitan Area, its flora is remarkable, with Rich Mesic Forests, Rocky Summits, Pitch Pine-Scrub Oak Communities, Vernal Pools, etc. The area is one of the few surviving sites of the Boston Basin Ecoregion. For the first time, I visited the Wrights Pond, Spot Pond and the Skyline Trail near the North Reservoir in mid-May. Location: Middlesex Fells. Date: 21.05.2016.

Nyírábrány, Hungary (Nyírábrány, Ungarn) (Nyírábrány, Magyarország) 09-11.2015.

From September to November 2015 I regularly visited two protected areas near Nyírábrány: the places called Káposztás-lapos and Teleki-legelő. Location: Nyírábrány. Date: 09-11.2015.

Nyírábrány, Hungary (Nyírábrány, Ungarn) (Nyírábrány, Magyarország) 06.2015.

Nyírábrány in the South Nyírség Region is renowned for its relict birch moors, alkaline fens and lowland hay meadows, especially at the Keszler-tag Birch Moor and the Káposztás-lapos Meadow, parts of the Natura 2000 network. In summer, one can find here the Sheep's Bit Scabious and the European White Helleborine, relict species that are more common in mountainous areas. Location: Nyírábrány. Date: 10.06.2015.

Miskolc, Hungary (Miskolc, Ungarn) (Miskolc, Magyarország) 08-10.2014.

In the late summer and autumn of 2014 I visited two tourist destinations in the Bükk Mountains, Lillafüred and Miskolctapolca. Along native ones, at both places I spotted many non-native species. Especially the thermal waters of Miskolctapolca hosted many alien species. Location: Miskolc. Date: 08-09.2014.

South Nyírség, Hungary (Süd-Nyírség, Ungarn) (Dél-Nyírség, Magyarország) 06-08.2014.

Most of the isolated remaining natural landscapes of the South Nyírség Region are integrated into the Hajdúság Landscape Protection Area (and partially into the Natura 2000 Network). Here, on the north-eastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain, a slight depression may be called a valley, and small elevations are referred to as hills. Hence the names of some protected areas: Valley of the Kék-Kálló, or Daru Hills of Bagamér. I visited these places and the Gúti Forest, the Teleki Pasture, the Káposztás-Plain and the small Keszler-tag Birch Moor in summer. Meadow-steppes, sand dunes, moors and old-growth forests sustain a remarkable biodiversity here. Place: Vámospércs, Nyírábrány and Bagamér. Date: 06-08.2014.

Majona and the South, La Gomera (Majona und der Süden, La Gomera) (Majona és a déli részek, La Gomera) 03.2013.

On our way back from La Gomera, we shortly visited the southern part of the island and the Majona Nature Park. This island is only 24 km wide but it has an unusually high variety of landscapes and also many protected areas. Location: La Gomera. Date: 25.03.2013.

Sarandë District, Albania III. (Kreis Sarandë, Albanien III.) (Sarandë járás, Albánia III.) 09.2012.

We spent our last days in Albania between the villages of Kulluricë and Kodër. The landscape dominated by only 100-300 m high mounds is spectacular (and there is a nice view on the hills of Corfu), the vegetation was diverse even in the autumn and we managed to find many reptiles and arthropods here.

Sarandë District, Albania I. (Kreis Sarandë, Albanien I.) (Sarandë járás, Albánia I.) 09.2012.

We spent the second half of our Albanian field trip in the southernmost part of the land. We drove to Sarandë and from there through the Butrint National Park (Parku Kombëtar i Butrintit), which is famous for its archeological sites of different eras. First, we stopped near Shkallë to search for reptiles. This landscape differs greatly from the mountainous, forested areas we visited earlier during the trip. It is covered by maquis shrublands and of course the fauna is also different.

Mount Gramoz, Albania (Berg Gramoz, Albanien) (Gramoz-hegy, Albánia) 09.2012.

The second area we visited in Albania was the Mount Gramoz (Gramos in Greek). This mountain is at the border of Albania and Greece and with its 2520 metres height, it is a prominent sight. We arrived in the late afternoon to a small village not even present on our maps: Kreshove. We camped here at 1200 m a.s.l. In the morning, we climbed up to the Gramoz and found a wonderous landscape with many interesting plants and animals.

Fir of Hotova-Dangell National Park, Albania (Nationalpark Tannenwald von Hotova-Dangell, Albanien) (Hotova-Dangell Fenyvese Nemzeti Park, Albánia) 09.2012.

We visited the termal ponds of Ura ë Kadiut in the Fir of Hotova-Dangell National Park (Parku Kombëtar Bredhi i Hotovës-Dangelli) and spent two days here. The rapid-flowing river, Lëngarica that flows through the national park created a valley with sludgy rift and the thermal springs are found on the sides of this valley. They are very popular among tourists and local people as well. Some of the thermal springs have dense vegetation, while others are simple rock pools. The chemical composition of the thermal waters varies greatly. After heavy rains, the river even covers some of the thermal pools.

Bugac-Puszta, Hungary (Bugac-Puszta, Ungarn) (Bugac-Puszta, Magyarország) 08.2012.

Last August we traveled to the Kiskunság National Park, to the Hungarian Puszta to take some photos of the insect fauna there. We also did some night sheeting to find night-active moths (we lured them to a white bedsheet using the light of a strong lamp).

South-Nyírség, Hungary (Süd-Nyírség, Ungarn) (Dél-Nyírség, Magyarország) 07.2012.

In the middle of June, 2012, I went out one morning to take some photos in the sandy areas near the village Nyírábrány in East-Hungary. This place is very good to find many kinds of hymenopterans and there are also some wet meadows with many spiders.

Austria, Wachau (Österreich, Wachau) (Ausztria, Wachau) 06.2012.

In June, 2012, we traveled to the Austrian Alps with members of the German Spinnen-Forum and the Austrian Spinnenstammtisch for a spider-expedition, with the back-up of some local National Parks. However, we started our expedition outside the Alps, in the beautiful natural-cultural region of the Wachau, part of the UNESCO World Heritage. It is a picturesque valley formed by the Danube. Near the town of Dürnstein, we found species-rich xeric slope steppe habitats among the vineyards.

Tropical houses in Vienna, Austria (Tropenhäuser in Wien, Österreich) (Trópusi házak Bécsben, Ausztria) 03.2012.

In Vienna I visited the Palm House of Schönbrunn and the Haus des Meeres, where I searched for pests and other accidentally introduced animals - some of which have tropical origins. Location: Vienna. Date: 03.2012.

Debrecen, Hungary (Debrecen, Ungarn) (Debrecen, Magyarország) 06-08.2011.

During the summer of 2011 I photographed many peculiar animals in Debrecen (in East-Hungary) and in its surroundings. Here are some of them.

Balmazújváros, Hungary (Balmazújváros, Ungarn) (Balmazújváros, Magyarország) 08.2011.

In the second half of August we drove to the Keleti Canal, near the town Balmazújváros (at the edge of Hortobágy National Park) for night-lamping. Countless biting and non-biting midges were swarming near the water and the lamp attracted many other insects. Only common moth species came, but from other insect groups a couple of rarer species showed up.

Bugac-Puszta, Hungary (Bugac-Puszta, Ungarn) (Bugac-Puszta, Magyarország) 08.2011.

In the middle of August, with some friends we traveled to an area of the Great Hungarian Plateau quite well known among tourists: the Puszta. We spent 2 days in a nature reserve called Bugac-Puszta near the village of Bugac. The nature reserve is part of the Kiskunság National Park, which is in turn part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. There are characteristic sandy plains and patches of White Poplar - Juniper woods which form a floristic association. The climate is arid and very hot in the summer. These characteristics and the unique fauna make Bugac-Puszta an excellent destination for nature photographers (but the best time to travel here is probably not August).

Kisgyőr, Hungary (Kisgyőr, Ungarn) (Kisgyőr, Magyarország) 08.2011.

I spent only one and a half hour in Kisgyőr this summer. This is a small village near Miskolc in north-east Hungary that I regularly visit for taking photos. It is surrounded by a protected landscape of warm, submediterranean slope-steppes, bush-forests and old orchards, called The Galya. The area constitutes the southernmost part of the Bükk-mountains, but its flora and fauna is more like that of the submediterranean slopes in the Balkans. Despite the very short trip, I managed to find several nice themes to photograph and I think this is a good proof that one does not have to travel far from home to find an astonishing nature.

Øvre Pasvik, Finnmark, Norway (Øvre Pasvik, Finnmark, Norwegen) (Øvre Pasvik, Finnmark, Norvégia) 07.2011.

One of the most interesting destinations to visit on our spider-excursion in Finnmark was the so-called Pasvikdalen, the valley of the Passvikelva river located at the southernmost tip of the county. This is not really a valley, but instead a comlpex network of lakes and rivers and streams. The area is at the triple border of Finnland, Norway and Russia. It is also home of the Øvre Pasvik National Park that is famous of its brown bears. We visited this area on two occasions. The National Park is located more than 100 kms Southwards from Kirkenes in a largely uninhabited area.