Eumigus rubioi, an endemic wingless grasshopper

The same as with the flora, it may seem upon visiting Sierra Nevada that the fauna inhabiting the area is scarce, particularly in the highest parts. However, as occurs with the plants, a multitude of tiny organisms have adapted to the prevailing climatic conditions. There are a large number of different species of invertebrates of which about two hundred are endemic. Eumigus rubioi is one of the insects that can only be observed in Sierra Nevada, above 2,500 metres. This insect, like other orthopterans, avoid being seen and caught by blending in with their natural surroundings with their colour and their shape. Camouflage (´camuflaje´) or mimicry (´mimetismo´) is one of the survival tecniques for the invertebrates inhabiting the massif. Another adaptation is the ´winglessness´ (´apterismo´) or absence of wings (´ausencias de alas´). The biological explanation is based on the fact that wings represent no advantage because the high mountain ecosystem covers a relatively small area and so there´s no need to cover large distances. Enemies are scarce and grasshoppers can defend themselves by hiding behind rocks or in the thorny vegetation. This Eumigus rubioi caught our eye probably because we were looking at the endemic ´cuernecillos´ (Lotus corniculatus subsp. glacialis). So although some areas appear bare, they apparently boast a large number of unique species. Sometimes one just needs to develop an eye for it.



Related links:
- On-line magazine Waste: Fauna de Sierra Nevada - Insectos

Related key words: caelifera, vleugelloze sprinkhaan, kortsprietigen

ExpoCádiar 2010

This year the XI Edición of Expo Cádiar, Feria agroalimentaria de artesanía y turismo, will take place from the 13th to the 15th of August. All sorts of local products, handicrafts and services will be demonstrated. Posters of this fair are pinned up on many trees, so anybody passing through the area can not miss the notificación. Next to every poster of the Expo, another poster announces the free concerts on Saturday the 14th of August of Alpujarra Libre, Sajr Tambaj and Laberintho B. This same evening San Roque will be celebrated in Narila. The program can be found on the website http://www.expocadiar.com/.
 

Mercado de las tres culturas, Lanjarón 2010

A market of three cultures can be visited in Lanjarón on the 14th, 15th and 16h of August 2010. More information on this ´Mercado de las 3 culturas´ - Jewish, Arab and Christian - can be found on the website of the Ayuntamiento de Lanjarón. The ´azocaque´ medieval will be inaugurated on Saturday the 14th of August in Calle Real (Monumento de Sor Joaquina) . The market that will dedicated to the three cultures that settled in the area, will offer numerous articles and traditional products such as pottery, silk, plants, honey and sweets. In addition, there will be activities and workshops for children, music and dance performances.

Jornadas culturales de Cástaras y Nieles 2010

During the 13th, 14th and 15th of August, the VI Jornadas Culturales of Cástaras and Nieles will take place. This year the VI Cuaderno cultural will be presented: Imágenes para el recuerdo (Images to remember the past). Old photographs will be displayed that will bring back memories of Cástaras and Nieles. José Antonio Martín Almendros and Angel Bañuelos Arroyo will give a speech on the Minas de El Conjuro. From Nieles a walk is organized to the fuente Solís, following the camino del Cerro that passes the alberca del Cerro. On Saturday evening there will be traditional alpujarran music, a ´concierto de pulso y púa´, by Los Primos de Nieles. The programa de Jornadas culturales de Cástaras y Nieles 2010 can be found on the website of Nieles. On this same website a number of Imágenes para el recuerdo can be found and also the collection of Cuadernos that have been published so far. The programme can also be found on the website of the Asociación Cultural de Cástaras y Nieles.




Related article:
- slide show of the history of cadiar

Related links:
- Recuerdos de Cástaras, website of Jorge García García
- Asociación Cultural de Cástaras y Nieles

Chaenorrhinum glareosum or Sierra Nevada dwarf snapdragon

The Chaenorrhinum glareosum or ´Nevada dwarf snapdragon´ is one of the more than sixty endemic plants of Sierra Nevada. There are other snapdragon-like flowers in the massif, like the Chaenorrhinum villosum subsp granatense (´little dragons´) and Chaenorrhinum macropodum subsp macropodum, but this is the only one that can be found exclusively in Sierra Nevada. Its habitats are in the highest parts of the massive, above 2,500 metres in the ´pisos oro y crioromediterráneo´ (oromediterranean and crioromediterranean levels). The ´espuelilla´ or ´dragoncillo´ can be found on steep stony slopes or ´canchales´ (´pedregales móviles´ or ´cascajales sueltos´, gravelly areas with unstable schist slabs). Like the Viola crassiuscula, this perennial herb is able to sprout again after the stem has broken. This member of the figwort family also grows in psychro-xerophilous (cold and dry) pastures that are dominated by perennial grasses and small shrubs. It can also form part of the communities formed by species adapted to live in the cracks of rocks. These communities are very diverse and their composition is influenced by various factors such as orientation, steepness of the slope, level of sunlight and insolation, humidity, depth of the soil and the accessibility of the terrain for herbivorous mammals. This makes that each plant of such a community is linked to a characteristic microhabitat. As there are few insects in the highest parts of the massif, flowers need to compete to be pollinated. The flower needs to attract the insect by well developed petals with attractive colours. According to Gabriel García Guardia, the author of Flores silvestres de Andalucía, the Chaenorrhinum glareosum with its tiny purple flowers with yellow throats, is one of the most beautiful plants of the Sierra Nevada. Maybe that´s why it has been able to withstand to competition so far and is at the moment not considered rare or vulnerable. We have seen this mountain jewel a number of times, close to the top of the Mulhacén and close to the top of the Cerro del Gallo, amongst others.




Related articles:
- Guía de visita Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada
- References on the local flora

Related key words:
scrophulariaceae, escrofulariáceas, figwort family, helmkruidfamilie, braunwurzgewächse, famille de plantes dicotylédones