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Well, forget that business of the last four days of my “final” butterflies of the season. I keep finding more and even new ones like this beautiful earth toned “Theona Checkerspot” (Chlosyne theona) in my garden. Another tiny one that stays near the ground in our windy weather now.
¡Pura Vida!
And my Butterflies of Costa Rica GALLERIES.
While this is not a common one for me to see, I did see it this month in my garden, so I’m counting it as the fourth “late butterfly.” The Tropical Checkered Skipper, Pyrgus oileus, has been incorrectly called “Tropical Checkerspot” though it is clearly identified as a Skipper, found throughout Central America and the Caribbean Islands and in most deep south states of the U.S. Here’s two shots from my garden in Atenas:
See all of my SKIPPERS Galleries.
¡Pura Vida!
More like the usual size of butterflies, these Banded Peacocks, Anartia fatima, are the only larger butterflies around my house now unless you count speeding Yellows which are really smaller. I see this species year around and all over Costa Rica. Here’s a couple of shots of two possibly trying to mate and one traditional shot showing their colors and patterns.
Continue reading “Late Butterflies – #3 of 4 – Banded Peacock”
Thel Rounded Metalmark or Calephelis perditalis is one of several Metalmark butterflies still around my yard late in the season. Like the Satyrs, they stay close to the ground and seem to prefer grass over flowers, thus the wind blowing is not as much of a bother to them. This one is quite colorful and with intricate design work on sides, thus I include a top view, bottom view and a folded-wings or side view.
Before Christmas I get down to just a few butterflies and because of the Jan-Mar winds will not see many again until April or May just before the winter here or “rainy season” during which I see the most. The number one most seen during this off season in my yard is the Carolina Satyr which is a small butterfly about the size of the upper half of my thumb or less. The folded wings view has the distinctive Satyr markings with particular ones for the Carolina. But the open wings view is just plain brown.
My Carolina Satyr Photo Gallery.
¡Pura Vida!
If I look more to the right from my terrace at a North to a little Northeast I see more distant mountains toward Arenal and the closer Poas Volcano which I think may be under those clouds on the mid-right. I haven’t been to Poas in a long time, which now requires a reservation, and you must go early morning to avoid the cloud cover. When clear, it is the best volcano in Costa Rica to visit because only there can you look down into the bubbling cauldron and of course smell the sulphur. They recommend no more than 15 minutes at the rim for health reasons in breathing sulphur.
¡Pura Vida!
The Cerulean Dancer, Argia anceps, is a Central American Damselfly found on both coasts and in the interior. This is a male, darker blue, while the female is a lighter blue. Photographed on the tile sidewalk in my garden here in the Central Valley town of Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.
See more photos in Damsel & Dragonflies CR GALLERY.
¡Pura Vida!
It seems to be taking me longer to complete my trip galleries – just a slow old man! 🙂
But one reason was that it is slow identifying 32 species of butterflies (several new to me), 29 species of birds (1 lifer), and 13 species of other wildlife with lots of nice frog shots this time! These trip galleries are my main photo galleries to which I link for photos in the bird, butterfly and other subject galleries. If you are considering different lodges in Costa Rica as a visitor or one who lives here and travels like me, these trip galleries are a good source of real information about what you can see in a particular place. Enjoy!
Or click this linked address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2022-December-22-28-Arenal-Observatory-Lodge
¡Pura Vida!
And this will be the last of my Arenal posts for a while, realizing I’ve done more than 3 weeks worth! And this final post will be considered the weirdest one by some or what I used to call “Leaves and Nature Things” and now refer to as “Designed by Nature” or “Nature as Art” which is also my photography brand. I debated about naming each photo and then decided to let your imagination flow! 🙂 I will give physical identities to most items when I get them in my gallery – but for now, watch the slide show as a fairy tale! But first an image for the email! 🙂
I just can’t quit talking about all the neat things you can see and photograph at Arenal Observatory Lodge! And another one are trees, all of their trees, but maybe the most unique are their Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees that were a part of their early development reforestation program which you can read about in an article on their website: The Rainbow Trees of Arenal, Costa Rica by Shannon Farley, my friend and fellow Atenas resident! 🙂 You will be amazed as you read the article and probably want to visit this favorite lodge of mine too! Where I could spend months hiking their 7+ miles of well-maintained hiking trails and never be bored! 🙂
Well, just 2 photos this time, then I encourage you to read my longer post of 2 years ago on all the trees of Arenal that I love!
And read my blog post on Arenal Trees I wrote two years ago titled: Enamored by Trees!
¡Pura Vida!