Debrecen, Hungary (Debrecen, Ungarn) (Debrecen, Magyarország) 04.2011.

April is usually one of the best months for photographing plants and animals. I show some plants and insects that were photographed in gardens, parks and in the forest called Nagyerdő in Debrecen (some insects where collected when I did not have my camera with me and photographed later). Among the plants there will be quite common herbaceous ones that can be found all around Europe in ruderal plant communities - but I'll try to show them in a different perspective. Most people never notice how nice these common plants may be. And by showing some rare insects, I'd like to demonstrate that sometimes there is a suprising, hidden biodiversity even in cities. Sustaining a healthy environment in city parks and gardens (e.g. avoiding insecticides, leaving some decaying wood in parks, propagating native plant species, etc.) may be a great help for animal and plant biodiversity. Beside its intrinsic value, insect biodiversity has an economical value also: different bee and fly species pollinate different types of garden and agricultural plants; many insects prey on agricultural/horticultural pests; many help by accelerating the decomposition of dead organic material, etc. Location: Debrecen. Date: 09-22.04.2011.

Sebesvíz I., Bükk Mountains, Hungary (Sebesvíz I., Bükk-Gebirge, Ungarn) (Sebesvíz I., Bükk-hegység, Magyarország) 04.2011.

 

The brook Sebesvíz in the Bükk Mountains is one of my favourite places for nature photography. It is a short but very fast-flowing mountain brook, flowing into the brook Garadna. Sebesvíz and its surroundings are home to many interesting and rare invertebrate species, some of which occur only here in Hungary. Location: Sebesvíz-brook. Date: 02.04.2011.

Debrecen, Hungary (Debrecen, Ungarn) (Debrecen, Magyarország) 03.2011.

At the beginning of March, there are usually still only common spring insects that are active in lowland forests, like in the so-called Nagyerdő forest (part of the Natura 2000) at the northern edge of the city of Debrecen. Most beetles have not yet ended their winter hibernation and this makes them quite easy to find, if one knows where to look for them. The Nagyerdő has many different tree species - it is partly a park, so there are many alien trees as well. The most important tree species for the insects are the old Pendunculate Oaks that grow here in a large number. These trees support a suprising diversity of insects. Many wasps, ants, bugs and beetles require oaks: either they feed from the oaks, or they prey on the plant-eaters. Also, decaying oak wood is the sole food source for many endangered beetles. And in winter, many arthropods hybernate under the barks of old oaks. The majority of these is still inactive in March, and one can find many rare species under the pieces of bark. Some other trees like pines and sycamores host an entirely different collection of arthropods under their barks. Location: Nagyerdő, Debrecen. Date: 03.2011.

Debrecen, Hungary (Debrecen, Ungarn) (Debrecen, Magyarország) 01.2011.

In January, there's usually not much to photograph (in Europe), mostly not when one spends his time in a city. But there are some opportunities to blow off the dust on the camera. In winter I regularly collect small pieces of moss from house walls or from tree barks so that I can search for microscopic animals in them later. For that, I use a stereo-microscope and if I find something, I take photos of it. Location: Debrecen. Date: 01.2011.

Kecskelyuk Cave, Bükk Mountains, Hungary (Kecskelyuk-Höhle, Bükk-Gebirge) (Kecskelyuk-barlang, Bükk-hegység) 11.2010.

In November 2010, I visited the Kecskelyuk Cave in the Bükk mts. in North-East Hungary that has a large, about 6 x 6 m opening, located about 256 metres a.s.l. Its lenght is about 460 ms and it is home to numerous arthropods and many protected bat species. Sadly, many tourists come here (not with the guided tour organised by the NP) and littering around the cave and disturbing the local fauna is not uncommon. Location: Bükk Mts. Date: 13.11.2010.

Bihor Mountains, Romania (Bihor-Gebirge, Rumänien) (Bihar-hegység, Románia) 09.2010.

Back in September, 2010 we took part on a trip organised by the university to the Bihor mountains, to complete the Galbena Tour in the Apuseni Nature Park, a quite strenuous one that lasted more than 10 hours to complete (for infos on this tour, see for example this page. It involves some climbing on cables!). As this trip was rather for hiking than for photography, I only took my Fujifilm HS10 (with the Raynox DCR-250 macro lens) with me and I made only a few photos. Nevertheless, the Bihor mountains proved to be a very exciting place with a remarkable fauna. This area is part of the Apuseni Mountains, a mountain range that is isolated from the rest of the Carpathians. The Nortern part of these mountains are fold mountains, the Southern parts were created due to vulcanic activity. Location: Bihor Mountains. Date: 25.09.2010.

Zemplén mountains, Hungary (Tokajer Gebirge, Ungarn) (Zempléni-hegység, Magyarország) 08.2010.

In August 2010 I traveled to the Zemplén Mountains, again near the Regéc castle to make a cycling trip and I made some photos also. Location: Zemplén Mountains. Date: 28.08.2010.