Middlesex Fells Reservation, USA II. (Middlesex Fells Reservat, USA II.) (Middlesex Fells Rezervátum, USA II.) 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 second time, I visited the Oakldale Park, the eastern Cross Fells Trail, and the Virginia Wood Trail in late May. Location: Middlesex Fells. Date: 28.05.2016.

Debrecen, Hungary (Debrecen, Ungarn) (Debrecen, Magyarország) 09-10.2013.

This warm autumn was perfect for nature photography. Here are some photos of invertebrates, plants and fungi from the city of Debrecen, East-Hungary. Location: Debrecen. Date: 09-10.2013.

Domica Cave, Slovak Karst, Slovakia (Domica-Höhle, Slowakischer Karst, Slowakei) (Domica-barlang, Szlovák-karszt, Szlovákia) 10.2013.

We took a short trip to the Slovak Karst National Park (a world heritage site together with the Aggtelek Karst) this autumn with a permit to take photos of the local cave fauna. We managed to find many interesting arthropods in two segments of the Domica cave - a dry one open for tourists, the another closed, with a brook. Location: Domica Cave. Date: 23.10.2013.

Létrási Cave, Bükk Mountains, Hungary (Létrási-Höhle, Bükk-Gebirge, Ungarn) (Létrási-vizesbarlang, Bükk-hegység, Magyarország)

We visited the Létrási Cave in the Bükk National Park this October. This cave is altogether 3500 m long and can only be visited on a guided tour. It is regularly flooded but this time it was quite dry, so I could take some photos of the local fauna. Location: Létrási Cave. Date: 13.10.2013.

High Tatras, Slovakia (Hohe Tatra, Slowakei) (Magas-Tátra, Szlovákia) 08.2013.

In August 2013 we visited the Slovakian part of the beautiful High Tatras which is one of the most famous national parks of Slovakia. The weather was rather dry and the vegetation was already somewhat autumnal. We also visited the botanic garden at Tatranská Lomnica to see some of the botanic highlights of the Tatras - many of these are endemics. Location: High Tatras National Park. Date: 17-20.08.2013.

Porto Ferro, Sardinia (Porto Ferro, Sardinien) (Porto Ferro, Szardínia) 05.2013.

We traveled to the Baratz Lake and the nearby coastal area called Porto Ferro in the Sassari Province of Sardinia. The area had such a high diversity of landscapes, plants and animals that we spent the whole day here. The coast of Porto Ferro is situated at the northern edge of the Capo Caccia/ Isola Piana Marine Protected Area and its 2 km long beach is guarded by 3 towers built in the 17th century. Location: Porto Ferro. Date: 02.05.2013.

Lago Baratz, Sardinia (Lago Baratz, Sardinien) (Lago Baratz, Szardínia) 05.2013.

We traveled to the Baratz Lake and the nearby coastal area called Porto Ferro in the Sassari Province of Sardinia. The area had such a high diversity of landscapes, plants and animals that we spent the whole day here. First, we hiked around the lake and in the coastal pine forest. Location: Lago Baratz. Date: 02.05.2013.

Maddalena Archipelago, Sardinia (La Maddalena, Sardinien) (Maddalena-szigetek, Szardínia) 05.2013.

The islands of the Maddalena Archipelago are located north-east of Sardinia and are only accessible by boat. There are some pleasant, small villages here but most of the archipelago is in the territory of a national park named Parco nazionale dell'Arcipelago di La Maddalena. Crystal clear waters, beaches with pink sand, granite coastlines formed by the wind and the sea, small forests and interesting flora and fauna make this place fabulous. Place: Caprera Island. Date: 01.05.2013.

Province of Oristano, Sardinia (Provinz Oristano, Sardinien) (Oristano provincia, Szardínia) 04.2013.

We visited the coastal area between Alghero and Bosa during our trip to Sardinia. There are very few places in the Mediterranean where such a long coast is virtually uninhabited and preserved in its natural beauty. Location: North of Bosa, Sardinia. Date: 30.04.2013.

Tenerife: Orotava Valley (Teneriffa: Orotava-Tal) (Tenerife: Orotava-völgy) 03.2013.

Tenerife is the largest of the 7 main Canary Islands, characterised by its main volcano, the Teide (3718 m). With my wife, we spent almost 2 weeks here and on the island of La Gomera in March. This time of the year is good to catch many of the islands endemic plants in flowering period. The plant and animal life on the Canary Islands are incredible, a very high proportion of the species are endemics and and even the types of plant communities are very special, found nowhere else on Earth but on other Macaronesian Islands. Tenerife, due the presence of the Teide, has an astonishing vertical zonation and many of its areas are protected. First, I show photos of the biggest valley, the Orotava Valley, which faces the Atlantic Ocean on the north of the island.

Tenerife: Anaga Mountains (Teneriffa: Anaga-Gebirge) (Tenerife: Anaga-hegység) 03.2013.

The Anaga Peninsula is the gratest place on Tenerife to get away from mass tourism and to find natural laurisilva forests which once covered much of the island. The highest point of the Anaga Mountain Range (Macizo de Anaga) is just over 1000 m, which doesn't count as high on the island, but the peaks are really steep and the valleys are small. This has caused the peninsula to be sparsely populated and to retain its natural beauty.

Lillafüred, Hungary (Lillafüred, Ungarn) (Lillafüred, Magyarország) 11.2012.

In November 2012 I went out to the Bükk Mountains near the area of Lillafüred to take some photos of the autumn forest's plants and animals. Although the leaves were already falling, this is a time of activity for many small arthropods.

Biogradska Gora National Park, Montenegro (Nationalpark Biogradska Gora, Montenegro) (Biogradska Gora Nemzeti Park, Montenegró) 09.2012.

As we travelled through Montenegro, we stopped for a night in the Biogradska Gora National Park in the northern, mountainous region of the country. It was raining the whole day long, so we just set up our tents and spent the whole night listening to the roaring of local brown bears. Taking photos was not possible,  than, however, one interesting arthropod species turned out in the tents in great numbers: the orange harvestman Opilio ruzickai.

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

We spent our last days in Albania between the villages of Kulluricë and Kodër, where we visited a quite long abandoned bunker in search for animals. Bunkers are everywhere in Albania, and as they are abandoned since many years, they are perfect for cave-inhabiting fauna.

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.

High Tauern National Park, Austria (Nationalpark Hohe Tauern, Österreich) (Hohe Tauern Nemzeti Park, Ausztria) 06.2012.

The last place we visited in Austria was the High Tauern National Park, an UNESCO World Heritage site. The High Tauern is the highest mountain range in Austria, the country's highest peak, the Großglockner (3798 m) is located here. There is a famous mountain road, the Großglockner Hochalpinstraße, which is built to give the best panorama on the mountains of the Glockner-Group. The highest point of the road is at 2571 m, well over the tree line. Here, the mountains are composed mainly of crystallised rocks and schist, not of limestone, as in the Totes Gebirge. This allows the trees line to reach about 1800-2200 meters. The landscape is beautiful and the national park has a very interesting flora and fauna. First, I will show photos from the subalpine conifer forest areas we visited.

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

The Laudachsee is a mountain lake with drinking water quality between the Katzenstein and the Traunstein (it lies 894 ms a. s. l.) in the Salzkammergut in Upper Austria. It is a popular hiking destination. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily the whole day long, as we were there. Nevertheless, we had a nice day here and I also managed to take some photos.

Kalkalpen National Park, Austria (Nationalpark Kalkalpen, Österreich) (Kalkalpen Nemzeti Park, Ausztria) 06.2010.

The next stop in the Alps was the river Reichramingbach at the edge of the Kalkalpen National Park, where we searched for spiders on a small meadow, in the spruce forest and also on the bank of this ice-cold mountain river.

Almtal and Totes Gebirge, Austria (Almtal und Totes Gebirge, Österreich) (Alm-völgy és Holt-hegység, Ausztria) 06.2012.

We visited the Almtal (Alm valley) during our spider excursion in Austria, and from the Almsee (Alm lake) we went on hiking towards the Rotgschirr, a 2270 m high peak. This area is part of the Totes Gebirge (literally: Dead Mountains), which belongs to the Northern Limestone Alps. Here, on the limestone mountains the vegetation is very much different compared to the rest of the Alps, the tree line is much lower and above 1200-1500 m very few plants are found: the mountains are barren, hence the name. Of course, it proved to be a very interesting place for nature photography, despite the almost constant rain that day.