Kamchatka in the time... Spring approaches... Amazing Ants!

15 May 2020, I was skiing along the edge of the big marsh -- avoiding areas that have gone wet.  Koryaksky volcano.

17 May 2020.  Yesterday, 16 May, might have been our last ski near sea level.  It is no longer going below freezing at night, so the snow, even on trails that were groomed, is getting mushy ... and rather "dirty" with birch dust and branches and other debris, which concentrates as the snow melts. More on that in another blog.

There still are barely buds on the trees and shrubs, though we saw our first kotiki (pussy toes) the other day, just barely emerging. The snow on south-facing slopes is melting away, encouraging the birch sap to start running, and for folks to start collecting it.  A previous spring (2001?) on an early hike, we ran out of water (dry creek!), so my friend and guide Sasha slashed a birch with an axe, took a grass stem and guided sap into a cup!

Birch sap is running. Telltale Malki (mineral water) bottles in a partisan collection effort (not ours).  Make a small borehole, stick in a straw-shaped bit of fiber/fabric, and come back later, hoping Jody and Tanya have not drunk up your rewards!

Another tasty early-spring item to collect is cheremsha (transliteration of Russian word), known as wild garlic, ramsons, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek or bear's garlic, or Allium ursinum  (see, e.g., Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_ursinum.

19 May 2017.  I was still crazy enough to ski, but obviously had given up at this point, and then on foot was rewarded with cheremsha!

This picture set is of cheremsha in 2017, from a former blog post about foraging for wild plants on Kamchatka   This year, 2020, there is even more snow, so along the trail as of yesterday we only saw the very tips of cheremsha emerging.  But with cheremsha on the brain (in tasting it in our minds) we drove inland to a warmer, drier spot to collect some.

Jody and Tanya's wildlife adventures  -- Amazing Ants!

In prior years, I have noticed these curious grassy mounds "emerging" as the snow melts, but this year I paid more attention and also had the chance to observe them for an extended early-spring period. The "nast" (skiable crust) lasted longer than most years, so Tanya and I spent more time off trail in the forest and along streams and marshes.

When I posted a picture on Facebook of these mounds, which we had recognized as ant nests/abodes, my friend and colleague Lori Dengler replied with an identification:  Formica rufa Wikipedia on Formica rufa -- a wood ant known for creating large mounds, even huge mounds. She provided the link to an ant wiki https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Formica_rufa!  There is an ant wiki!!!

Left--our first view this year of active Formica rufa mounds, center my favorite view, left, a late-spring view in the forest.

 In our early sightings, the nests were too hard to get close to on skis (or foot!) due to deep snow.  I tried to take closer pictures of the red-and-black ants, but they were well camouflaged.  Recently, though, I have been able to get closer and take some shots. But they are still well camouflaged.

15 May 2020 -- large rufa (wood ant nest) on the forest edge (ski pole for scale).  In a close-up, ants are still very hard to see.

Then, yesterday, the ants were swarming--something they do in warm spring sun.  I tried to find more information about why, but even ant wiki doesn't say.  The encyclopedia articles DO say that a typical nest can have a hundred thousand up to a million ants!  And lots of queens!

16 May 2020 -- closer and closer to a Formica rufa swarm!

From:  https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Formica_rufa

Articles mention that these ants forage widely (for their size!), from the ant wiki:  "Prey is taken somewhat unselectively from both trees and forest floor with any insect, arthropod or earthworm taken back as food to the nest although the main diet as with all species of this group is aphid honey dew."   These ants are native to Europe and Asia, with other relatives in North America.

But who preys on them?  The ant wiki says that wild boars destroy a lot of nests, presumably for forage, but we don't have wild boars on Kamchatka.  We have wild bears!  Tanya and I discussed who else might destroy a nest such as the one below -- rasamakha (wolverine)?  We think a bear did it, because we have seen other evidence of a bear this spring - more of that in another blog!

This rufa (ant nest) has been decapitated.  There were still a few ants around, but someone (a bear?) took its top off.