Category: Flowers

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Butterfly & Holiday/Health Report

Like me recovering from cancer and the just-as-bad cancer treatment, this pitiful-looking damaged butterfly is still flying and eating! 🙂 He is a Ilus swallowtail or Dual-spotted swallowtail, Mimoides ilus (Wikipedia link) and note that it is very similar to another butterfly that I originally labeled this as, the Emerald-patched Cattleheart. The main difference is the Cattleheart has emerald or light-green spots on the upper wings instead of white as this Swallowtail has. (And by the way, Cattlehearts are in the Swallowtail family!) See my Dual-spotted Swallowtail Gallery or all of my CR Butterflies. Note that in the additional photos below this feature image there is one of a non-damaged Dual-spotted that got in my house on the window screen before I opened it and let him fly out.

Damaged Dual-spotted Swallowtail, Atenas, Costa Rica

And some more shots including of one not damaged (+ health update) . . .

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White Angled-Sulphur Butterfly

This is not one of the most common butterfly in my garden, though I’ve seen several as shown in my White Angled-Sulphur Gallery. You can read about this Anteos clorinde on Wikipedia and then note in these 3 photos for today that when they land on a leaf or flower they often look solid white or occasionally with a greenish hue for camouflage, but when they open their wings they have two large bright yellow splotches and four little brown dots that make them unique. There are better images in my gallery.

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Banded Peacock Butterfly

This one is not only a regular in my garden but I’ve photographed him all over Costa Rica as you can see in my Banded Peacock Gallery. Read more about this Banded Peacock, Anartia fatima on Wikipedia. Note that there is another butterfly with this English common name, but this Anartia fatima is found only from South Texas through Mexico and Central America, though most common in Costa Rica.

Banded Peacock, Anartia fatima, Costa Rica

Two more photos today . . .

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Two-barred Flasher

This type of little Skipper butterfly is actually more colorful than he would let me photograph this time, since his upper back is a bright blue. You can see some pix with the blue showing in my Two-barred Flasher Gallery and to learn more see this article in Wikipedia. Binomial name: Astraptes fulgerator.

Two-barred Flasher, Astraptes fulgerator, Atenas, Costa Rica.

¡Pura Vida!

See all of my Costa Rica Butterfly Galleries!

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Green Orchid Bee

This beautiful Green Orchid Bee, Euglossa dilemma (Wikipedia link) is endemic or native to Central America, though some yokel recently introduced them into Florida in the states. I never tire of seeing the little shiny emeralds flitting about my garden. 🙂

Green Orchid Bee, Euglossa dilemma, Atenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

See more in my Bee Gallery or for other interesting CR insects, see my More CR Insects Gallery.

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Juno Heliconian

Another of my regular garden butterfly visitors is the Juno Heliconia, Dione juno (Wikipedia link), also called Juno silverspot and Juno longwing. They are a nice sparkly butterfly like the checkerspots on the bottom of wings or side-views while all orange with black trim on top almost like another favorite, the Julia (though not as large). See my gallery of this variously named Dione Juno or check out my bigger CR Butterflies Gallery. This Juno is found from the southern U.S. down through Central and most of South America.

And more photos . . .

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Giant Swallowtail

Another common butterfly in my garden here in Atenas, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica is the Giant Swallowtail, Papilio rumiko (Link to Wikipedia) and I just noticed that ones here in Central America and Western U.S. have been re-classified, while the ones in Eastern U.S. are called Papilio cresphontes, for those really into insect ID! 🙂 Many websites not updated still have them all as cresphontes, including my trusty Swift Guide to Butterflies. So you may have read it first here! The Giant Swallowtails in Costa Rica are Papilio rumiko! 🙂

Giant Swallowtail, Papilio rumiko, Atenas, Costa Rica

And more photos . . .

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Polydamas Swallowtail

Possibly the most common butterfly in my garden though certainly not the most colorful! But at least I’m out in the garden again! 🙂 To see other photos I’ve made of this species, my Polydamas Swallowtail Gallery or for more butterflies see my Butterflies of Costa Rica Galleries! 126+ 🙂

Polydamas Swallowtail, Atenas, Costa Rica
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Pre-Rain Walk

It was cloudy before the rain (better for my radiation-damaged skin) but I could see, hear and smell the rain coming. Soon after I was back from my “Country Lane” Walk, our afternoon shower started which has become regular now, meaning that the rainy season has really started, after severa false-starts. 🙂 The above feature photo is from my terrace with rain in the hills behind Atenas Centro and soon it came all over. I never tire of trying to make a photo of those hills which are never the same. This one is a 4-shot panorama.

One of my favorite shots from the walk . . .

Cacti along the entry wall of Hotel Colinas Del Sol.

And four more shots from the walk + . . .

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San Jose Finale

Final for this trip or purpose here, but I will be back! Everyone who lives in the country has to go to the big city sometimes. 🙂

And because nature walks have helped me get through this cancer treatment more than maybe anything else, I chose nature shots from my last couple of days here. And for those who don’t know, today was my last radiation treatment and that is why I can return to Atenas and enjoy the nature there while taking possibly months to recover from the side effects of radiation. I will report on that progress along with the joys of nature in my little coffee farming town of Atenas. Pura vida! And now, MY LAST NATURE SHOTS FROM THIS SAN JOSE TRIP . . .

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