Το κατεχόμενο Χωριό Καλό χωριό Καπούτι - Kapouti village - Cyprus

see also

Κατάλογος κατεχομένων δήμων και κοινοτήτων της Κύπρου - List of cities, towns and villages in occupied Cyprus

List of cities towns and villages in Cyprus - Κατάλογος δήμων και κοινοτήτων της Κύπρου

Αιωνόβιες ελιές στο Καλό χωριό - Καπούτι - Centuries old Olives at Kapouti village - Cyprus

Φράγμα στο Καλό χωριό Καπούτι - Dam at Kapouti village - Cyprus

Κεφαλόβρυσο στο Καλό χωριό Καπούτι - Kefalovriso (fountain) at Kapouti village - Cyprus

Εκκλησία Άγιος Γεώργιος στο Καπούτι - Agios Georgios - Kalo Xorio Kapouti

Kapouti (Greek: Καπούτι or Καλό Χωριό (Μόρφου) is a village in Cyprus, near Morphou, and 32 km north-west of Nicosia. 

Το χωριό Καπούτι βρίσκεται 31χλμ δυτικά της πόλης της Λευκωσίας και 6χλμ βορειοανατολικά της πόλης της Μόρφου, στις νότιες υπώρειες του Πενταδακτύλου στη γεωγραφική περιφέρεια Μόρφου, σε υψόμετρο 150μ.



Το χωριό συνδέεται στα βόρεια με το χωριό Διόριος (9χλμ), στα νοτιοανατολικά με το χωριό Κυρά (5,5χλμ) και στα νοτιοδυτικά με την κωμόπολη της Μόρφου (7χλμ). Στα νοτιοδυτικά του χωριού βρίσκεται ο αρχαιολογικός χώρος στην τοποθεσία Τούμπα του Σκούρου. Το τοπίο του χωριού διαμελίζεται από τους ποταμούς Αλουπός, στα βόρεια του χωριού, και Οβγός στα νότιά του

Η ονομασία Καπούτιν αποτελεί παραφθορά του ιταλικού ονόματος Καπούτσι, και μας παραπέμπει στα χρόνια της Φραγκοκρατίας. Στους παλαιούς χάρτες βρίσκεται σημειωμένο ως Capuci, ονομασία με την οποία αναφέρει το χωριό και ο Mas Latrie στον κατάλογο των αρχοντικών φέουδων που απετέλεσε αργότερα περιουσία της βασιλικής οικογένειας της Κύπρου.

Ο πληθυσμός του χωριού το 1960 ανερχόταν σε 766 κατοίκους και το 1973 αυξήθηκε στους 933.

Οι κάτοικοι ασχολούνταν με την καλλιέργεια εσπεριδοειδών (κιτρόμηλα και πορτοκάλια), λαχανικών, κτηνοτροφικών φυτών και σιτηρών.


Στα βόρεια και ανατολικά του χωριού μια μεγάλη έκταση είναι ακαλλιέργητη και σ’ αυτή φυτρώνουν πεύκα και θαμνώδης φυσική βλάστηση. Υπάρχει επίσης περιοχή με ερείπια με το τοπωνύμιο Ντεμαντονα. Η ονομασία παραπέμπει στα χρόνια της φραγκοκρατίας.

Η εκκλησία του χωριού είναι αφιερωμένη στον Άγιο Γεώργιο και είναι κτίσμα του 15ου – 16ου αι.

Στο χωριό πριν την τουρκική εισβολή λειτουργούσε Δημοτικό Σχολείο που σε αυτό φοιτούσαν κατά το σχολικό έτος 1973-74, 141 μαθητές.

Οι Τούρκοι στην προσπάθεια τους για παραχάραξη της ιστορίας και της εξαφάνισης των ελληνικών ονομάτων μετονόμασαν το χωριο σε Kalkanli (ασπίδα).

Πηγή http://www.immorfou.org.cy/occupied-morfou/occupied-villages/91-kapouti.html

  * Χρησιμοποιήθηκαν εκτενή αποσπάσματα από τα λήμματα της Μεγάλης Κυπριακής Εγκυκλοπαίδειας 1981-1990, εκδόσεις Φιλόκυπρος, Λευκωσίας

Photos   16/10/2015 by George Konstantinou

Αιωνόβιες ελιές στο Καπούτι

Κεφαλόβρυσο στο  χωριό Καπούτι

Εκπομπή στον ASTRA 92,8 και 105,3 ' "Σαλιγκάρια " Με τον Γιώργο Κωνσταντίνου - 15/10/2015

 15/10/2015

Εκπομπή στον ASTRA 92,8 και 105,3 την  Πέμπτη 15/10/2015  , λίγο μετά τις 9:00 με την Σόνια Φιλίππου !!!
Το θέμα μας θα είναι : " Σαλιγκάρια " που θα μας το αναπτύξει ο φιλοξενούμενος μας Κος Γιώργος Κωνσταντίνου ειδικός Φυσιοδίφης , ερευνητής βιοποικιλότητας και φωτογράφος και κινηματογραφιστής ‘άγριας ζωής και πρόεδρος του συνδέσμου προστασίας φυσικής κληρονομιάς και βιοποικιλότητας της Κύπρου.

Ants - Trichomyrmex sp. - Cyprus

Trichomyrmex is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Described by Mayr in 1865, it was raised as a genus in 2015. These ants are endemic to multiple continents.

Photos  Geri 14/10/2015 by George Konstantinou

European black nightshade - Solanum nigrum L. - Αρκοπομηλορκά, Πομηλορόχορτον - Cyprus

European black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) or locally just black nightshade, duscle, garden nightshade, garden huckleberry,hound's berry, petty morel, wonder berry, small-fruited black nightshade, or popolo) is a species in the Solanum genus, native to Eurasia and introduced in the Americas, Australasia, and South Africa. Parts of this plant can be toxic to livestock and humans, and it is considered a weed. Nonetheless, ripe berries and cooked leaves of edible strains are used as food in some locales, and plant parts are used as a traditional medicine. A tendency exists in literature to incorrectly refer to many of the other "black nightshade" species as "Solanum nigrum".

Solanum nigrum has been recorded from deposits of the Paleolithic and Mesolithic era of ancient Britain and it is suggested by the botanist and ecologist, Edward Salisbury, that it was part of the native flora there before Neolithic agriculture emerged. The species was mentioned by Pliny the Elder in the first century AD and by the great herbalists, including Dioscorides. In 1753, Carl Linnaeus described six varieties of Solanum nigrum in Species Plantarum.

Black nightshade is a common herb or short-lived perennial shrub, found in many wooded areas, as well as disturbed habitats. It reaches a height of 30 to 120 cm (12 to 48 in), leaves 4.0 to 7.5 cm (1.5 to 3.0 in) long and 2 to 5 cm (1.0 to 2.5 in) wide; ovate to heart-shaped, with wavy or large-toothed edges; both surfaces hairy or hairless; petiole 1 to 3 cm (0.5 to 1.0 in) long with a winged upper portion. The flowers have petals greenish to whitish, recurved when aged and surround prominent bright yellow anthers. The berry is mostly 6 to 8 mm (0.3 to 0.8 in) in diam., dull black or purple-black. In India, another strain is found with berries that turn red when ripe.

Sometimes S. nigrum is confused for the more toxic deadly nightshade, Atropa belladonna, in a different Solanaceae genus altogether. A comparison of the fruit shows that the black nightshade berries grow in bunches, the deadly nightshade berries grow individually.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Geri 14/10/2015 by George Konstantinou

Silver berry, oleaster, Persian olive, or wild olive - Elaeagnus angustifolia L. - Τζιτζιφιά - Ζίζιφα - Cyprus

Cyprus garden plant
Elaeagnus angustifolia, commonly called silver berry, oleaster, Persian olive, or wild olive, or commonly referred to as Senjid or Sinjid in Afghanistan and Senjed in Iran, is a species of Elaeagnus, native to western and central Asia, Afghanistan, from southern Russia and Kazakhstan to Turkey and Iran. It is now also widely established in North America as an introduced species.
Elaeagnus angustifolia is a usually thorny shrub or small tree growing to 5–7 m in height. Its stems, buds, and leaves have a dense covering of silvery to rusty scales. The leaves are alternate, lanceolate, 4–9 cm long and 1-2.5 cm broad, with a smooth margin. The highly aromatic flowers, produced in clusters of 1-3, are 1 cm long with a four-lobed creamy yellow calyx; they appear in early summer and are followed by clusters of fruit, a small cherry-like drupe 1-1.7 cm long, orange-red covered in silvery scales. The fruits are edible and sweet, though with a dryish, mealy texture. Its common name comes from its similarity in appearance to the olive (Olea europaea), in a different botanical family, Oleaceae.

The shrub can fix nitrogen in its roots, enabling it to grow on bare mineral substrates.

In Iran, the dried powder of the fruits is used mixed with milk for rheumatoid arthritis and joint pains. It is also one of the seven items which are used in Haft Sin or the seven 'S's which is a traditional table setting of Nowruz, the traditional Persian spring celebration.

Elaeagnus angustifolia was described as Zizyphus cappadocica by John Gerard, and was grown by John Parkinson by 1633, and was also grown in Germany in 1736. It is now widely grown across southern and central Europe as a drought-resistant ornamental plant for its scented flowers, edible fruit, attractive yellow foliage, and black bark.

The species was introduced into North America in the late 19th century, and subsequently escaped cultivation, because its fruits, which seldom ripen in England, are relished by birds which disperse the seeds. Russian-olive is considered to be an invasive species in many places in the United States because it thrives on poor soil, has low seedling mortality rates, matures in a few years, and outcompetes wild native vegetation. It often invades riparian habitats where overstory cottonwoods have died.

Establishment and reproduction of Elaeagnus angustifolia is primarily by seed, although some spread by vegetative propagation also occurs. The fruit is readily eaten and disseminated by many species of birds. The plants begin to flower and fruit from three years old.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  14/10/2015 by George Konstantinou

Lycosoides coarctata (Dufour 1831) - Funnel weaver - Cyprus

 Family Agelenidae

Lycosoides is a genus of Mediterranean funnel weavers first described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1846

Photos at Nicosia, 4/8/2015, by George Konstantinou

Wolf spider - Alopecosa aculeata (Clerck, 1757) - Cyprus

Family: Lycosidae

Alopecosa aculeata is a species of wolf spider in the family Lycosidae. It is found in North America, Europe, Turkey, Cyprus, Caucasus, a range from Russia (European to Far East), Central Asia, China, and Japan

Photos  at Nicosia, 28/7/2015, by George Konstantinou

Red swamp crawfish, Red swamp crayfish, Louisiana crawfish, Louisiana crayfish or mudbug - Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) - Freshwater crayfish - Cyprus

Aμερικανική κόκκινη καραβίδα του γλυκού νερού Procambarus clarkii – Freshwater crayfish που εισήχθη λανθασμένα στην Κύπρο την δεκαετία του ’80 από το Τμήμα Αλιείας για εμπλουτισμό των φραγμάτων μας για σκοπούς αλιείας. Το είδος αυτό αν και αποτελεί σημαντική τροφή για πολλά υδρόβια πουλιά αποτελεί μεγάλο κίνδυνο για τα τρία αμφίβια (βατράχους) που έχουμε στην Κύπρο. Καθώς τρέφεται με τα αβγά και τους γυρίνους των βατράχων, ήδη ο πληθυσμός και των τριών ειδών αμφιβίων που υπάρχουν στις λίμνες έχουν μειωθεί δραματικά, και το πρόβλημα αυτό υπάρχει παντού καθώς το είδος αυτό βρίσκεται σε όλες σχεδόν τις λίμνες και τα φράγματα του τόπου μας.

Κείμενο, Γιώργος Κωνσταντίνου

Procambarus clarkii is a freshwater crayfish species, native to the Southeastern United States, but found also on other continents, where it is often an invasive pest. It is known variously as the red swamp crawfish, red swamp crayfish, Louisiana crawfish, Louisiana crayfish or mudbug
The native range of P. clarkii is along the Gulf Coast from northern Mexico to the Florida panhandle, as well as inland, to southern Illinois and Ohio. It has also been introduced, sometimes deliberately, outside its natural range to countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and elsewhere in the Americas. In northern Europe, the populations are self maintaining but not expanding, while in southern Europe, P. clarkiiis multiplying and actively colonising new territory, at the expense of the native crayfish, Astacus astacus and Austropotamobius spp. Individuals are reported to be able to cross many miles of relatively dry ground, especially in wet seasons, although the aquarium trade and anglers may have hastened the spread in some areas (it is believed that anglers using P. clarkii as bait introduced it to the American state of Washington). Attempts have also been made to use P. clarkii as a biological control organism, to reduce levels of the snails involved in the life cycle of schistosomiasis, leading to the dispersal of P. clarkii in, for instance, Kenya.

P. clarkii is most commonly found in warm fresh water, such as slowly flowing rivers, marshes, reservoirs, irrigation systems and rice paddies. It is considered to be the most ecologically plastic species in the order Decapoda, and is able to grow quickly even in only seasonally present water, being able to tolerate dry spells of up to four months. P. clarkii grows quickly, and is capable of reaching weights in excess of 50 g (1.8 oz), and sizes of 5.5–12 cm (2.2–4.7 in) long. It is also able to tolerate slightly saline water, which is unusual for a crayfish. Additionally, P. clarkii are physiologically capable of tolerating relatively low dissolved oxygen concentrations.^[5] The average lifetime of Procambarus clarkii is five years. Some individuals are known to have reached ages (in nature) of over six years.

The burrowing activities of P. clarkii can lead to damage to water courses and to crops, particularly rice, and its feeding can disrupt native ecosystems. It may out-compete the native crayfish species, and is a vector for the crayfish plague fungus Aphanomyces astaci, for crayfish virus vibriosis, and a number of worms parasitic on vertebrates.

Harvests of P. clarkii account for a large majority of the crayfish produced in the United States and elsewhere. Crayfish farming began in Louisiana in the 18th century, taking place in rice fields in a concurrent or alternate culture system. The concurrent culture of rice and crayfish makes good use of land, resources, equipment, and infrastructure already being used for rice production. However, crawfish production has decreased in recent years due to an increase of imports from China, which is now the world's leading producer of crawfish and is also using a rice-based system. A number of species of crustaceans were introduced to China to create markets for aquaculture and because they are better adapted to growing in a rice field than native fish species. Rice-fish farming originated in China and is once again growing as the yields from Green Revolution practices used to grow rice are no longer increasing, and resources such as land and water are becoming more limited.

P. clarkii has also been introduced elsewhere for cultivation, such as Spain, where its success is attributable to its ability to colonise disturbed habitats that would be unsuitable for the native crayfish Astacus astacus. P. clarkii is also marketed by biological supply companies for teaching and research. P. clarkii also exhibits different color morphs, including white, blue, and orange and are commonly sold in pet stores.

The introduction of P. clarkii has also resulted in economic losses in some regions. In the Baixo Mondego region of Portugal, it caused a decrease in 6.3% of profits in rice fields. However, this was on a wet-seeded field. All negative effects of crawfish can be avoided if adult crawfish are separated from the seed and seedlings

Procambarus clarkii is eaten in the United States, Cambodia, Europe, China, Africa, Australia, Thailand, Canada, New Zealand and the Caribbean. About 98% of the crayfish harvested in the United States come from Louisiana, where the standard culinary term is crawfish.

Louisiana in 1990 produced 90% of the crawfish in the world and consumed 70% locally.

Louisiana crawfish are usually boiled in a large pot with heavy seasoning (salt, cayenne pepper, lemon, garlic, bay leaves, etc.) and other items such as potatoes and corn on the cob. Many differing methods are used to season a crawfish boil, and an equal number of opinions on which one is correct. They are generally served at a gathering known as a crawfish boil.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  15/8/2015 by George Konstantinou

Campsomeriella thoracica (Fabricius, 1787) - Cyprus

Campsomeriella thoracica is a wasp with a length of 16-19 mm in the family Scoliidae. The female is very different from the male. It is black with reddish pubescence on head and thorax. 
It is found in the Mediterranean area and the western Asia. The orange colour is missing from the males in the western populations.
In Cyprus it is common in costal areas.

Photos Apostolos Antreas , 8/8/2015 by George Konstantinou

Xylocopa sp. - Cyprus

Carpenter bees (the genus Xylocopa in the subfamily Xylocopinae) are large bees distributed worldwide. Some 500 species of carpenter bees are in the 31 subgenera. Their common name is because nearly all species build their nests in burrows in dead wood, bamboo, or structural timbers (except those in the subgenus Proxylocopa, which nest in the ground). Members of the related tribe Ceratinini are sometimes referred to as "small carpenter bees".
The genus was described by French entomologist Pierre André Latreille in 1802. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek xylokopos/ ξῦλοκὀπος "wood-cutter". Species in this enormous genus are often nearly impossible to distinguish from one another taxonomically, the majority of species being all-black, or primarily black with some yellow pubescence, differing only by subtle morphological features, and details of the male genitalia. In India, for example, any all-black species of Xylocopa is referred to by the common name "bhanvra", and reports and sightings of bhanvra are commonly misattributed to a European species, Xylocopa violacea; however, this species is found only in the northern regions of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, and most sightings, especially elsewhere in India, refer to any of roughly 15 other common black Xylocopa in the region, such as X. nasalis, X. tenuiscapa, or X. tranquebarorum

Carpenter bees are large, sturdy, shiny, black coloured bees, some species having yellow markings on the head. Carpenter bees may be mistaken for bumble bees.

The marginal cell in the front wing is thin and stretched and the apex bends away from the costa. The front wing has small stigma. The bee's labrum is concealed by the short mandibles when closed. The clypeus is flat. The thoracic menanotum is presented upright and is part of the rear surface and is almost perpendicular to the dorsal surface. The basitarsi are of the same length as the associated tibiae, and the hind pair of basitarsi are hirsute.

In several species, the females live alongside their own daughters or sisters, creating a small social group. They use wood bits to form partitions between the cells in the nest. A few species bore holes in wood dwellings. Since the tunnels are near the surface, structural damage is generally minor or nonexistent

Carpenter bees can be important pollinators on open-faced flowers, even obligate pollinators on some, such as the maypop (Passiflora incarnata), though many species are also known to "rob" nectar by slitting the sides of flowers with deep corollas.

In the United States, two eastern species, Xylocopa virginica and Xylocopa micans, are found, and three other species are primarily western in distribution, Xylocopa varipuncta, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex and Xylocopa californica. X. virginica is by far the more widely distributed species. Some are often mistaken for bumblebee species, as they can be similar in size and coloration, though most carpenter bees have a shiny abdomen, while in bumblebees the abdomen is completely covered with dense hair. Males of some species have a white or yellow face, where the females do not; males also often have much larger eyes than the females, which relates to their mating behavior. Male bees are often seen hovering near nests, and will approach nearby animals. However, males are harmless, since they do not have a stinger. Female carpenter bees are capable of stinging, but they are docile and rarely sting unless caught in the hand or otherwise directly provoked.

Many Old World carpenter bees have a special pouch-like structure on the inside of their first metasomal tergite called the acarinariumwhere certain mites (Dinogamasus species) reside as commensals. The exact nature of the relationship is not fully understood, though in other bees that carry mites, they are beneficial, feeding either on fungi in the nest, or on other harmful mites.

Carpenter bees are traditionally considered solitary bees, though some species have simple social nests in which mothers and daughters may cohabit. However, even solitary species tend to be gregarious and often several nests will be near each other. When females cohabit, a division of labor between them occurs sometimes, where one female may spend most of her time as a guard within the nest, motionless and near the entrance, while another female spends most of her time foraging for provisions.

Carpenter bees make nests by tunneling into wood, vibrating their bodies as they rasp their mandibles against the wood, each nest having a single entrance which may have many adjacent tunnels. The entrance is often a perfectly circular hole measuring about 16 mm (0.63 in) on the underside of a beam, bench, or tree limb. Carpenter bees do not eat wood. They discard the bits of wood, or reuse particles to build partitions between cells. The tunnel functions as a nursery for brood and storage for the pollen/nectar upon which the brood subsists. The provision masses of some species are among the most complex in shape of any group of bees; whereas most bees fill their brood cells with a soupy mass, and others form simple spheroidal pollen masses, Xylocopa species form elongated and carefully sculpted masses that have several projections which keep the bulk of the mass from coming into contact with the cell walls, sometimes resembling an irregular caltrop. The eggs are very large relative to the size of the female, and are some of the largest eggs among all insects.

Two very different mating systems appear to be common in carpenter bees, and often this can be determined simply by examining specimens of the males of any given species. Species in which the males have large eyes are characterized by a mating system where the males either search for females by patrolling, or by hovering and waiting for passing females, which they then pursue. In the other mating system, the males often have very small heads, but a large, hypertrophied glandular reservoir is in the mesosoma, which releases pheromones into the air stream behind the male while it flies or hovers. The pheromone advertises the presence of the male to females

Woodpeckers eat carpenter bees as do two species of flies. Woodpeckers are attracted to the noise of the bee larvae and will drill holes along the tunnels to feed on the larvae.  The flies lay eggs in the entrance to the bee’s nest and the fly maggots live off the bee larvae. The two fly species are diptera and bombyliidae.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Geri , 7/6/ 2010 by George Konstantinou

Thanatus vulgaris Simon, 1870 - False crab spider - Cyprus

Family: Philodromidae.

Thanatus is a genus of 'false crab spiders' described by C. L. Koch in 1837, belonging to the Order Araneae.

Species of this genus are present in most of Europe.

Adult members of this genus of spiders can reach 5–6 millimetres (0.20–0.24 in) of length and can mostly be encountered above the soil surface (epigeal organism) on low vegetation.

The members of this genus have a clear leaf-like cardiac mark on the anterior dorsal elongated abdomen. They are very similar to Philodromus species, but they can mainly be distinguished by differences in the eyes. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  15/7/2015 by George Konstantinou