Category: Garden

Both my gardens and ones I visit

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Banded Peacock

This butterfly may be one of the most common in Costa Rica, but it is still a real beauty and a joy to find, the Banded Peacock (my gallery link).

Banded Peacock, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Email Notification Tech Problem

For about a week now, my regularly scheduled 4 am emailed release of a new post has not been working as handled by “Jetpack,” a service company to WordPress, thus the posts were published online but have not gone out by email to my subscribers. Sorry! Technology drives me crazy when it claims to do so much and then doesn’t work! Jetpack tells me they are working hard to fix it, but in the meantime my scheduled posts will only be emailed if I redo them manually, which I just did for several I considered good for the last week and will now manually publish each night, since their program is not working for scheduled posts. Sorry! Or maybe I should say “sorry technology!” 🙂 And this one is the one scheduled for today.

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Four-spotted Sailor

This is my second sighting in my garden plus the one I saw at Maquenque Lodge. A gorgeous butterfly as seen in my gallery: Four-spotted Sailor (linked). It is found in the tropical areas of Central and South America. Some call it the “Mexican Sailor,” probably because they first saw it in southern Mexico.

Four-spotted Sailor, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Four-spotted Sailor, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Rusty Metalmark

A young male Rusty Metalmark (my gallery link) in my garden on a milkweed.

Rusty Metalmark, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Atenas, Costa Rica makes the Forbes list of best places to retire! 🙂 That link is to the Tico Times article.

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Pale-banded Crescent

A tiny butterfly on a groundcover flower, the Pale-banded Crescent (my gallery link).

Pale-banded Crescent, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

God has so many designs for butterflies that it is overwhelming! And brown is one of my favorite colors! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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Royal Firetip

I finished the Maquenque photos and posted some of my June garden photos and still way behind on processing July garden photos, when I photographed 7 species of birds and 31 species of butterflies in my garden! To start the July garden photos, here’s a favorite . . .

The Royal Firetip – Mysoria barcastus (my gallery link) as one of those unusual butterflies in Costa Rica (Found only from Southern Mexico to Costa Rica) that I’ve been fortunate to see several times, all either in my garden or nearby here in Atenas. 🙂 Here’s 3 shots from this sighting in my garden last month (July 2026) . . .

Royal Firetip, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Cecropterus Genus – Cloudywings

I’ve been unable to identify this butterfly I observed in my garden in June and iNaturalist helped me to put it in this Genus Cecropterus, generally referred to as “Cloudywings.” I’m hoping that after I post it on both iNaturalist and BAMONA, some butterfly specialist will identify it. It is similar to some other butterflies I’ve seen, so it is possible it will join another species I’ve earlier identified. We will see! 🙂

Cecropterus Genus, one of the “Cloudywings.”

¡Pura Vida!

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Calephelis Genus

I’m beginning to place more of my unidentified butterflies into their probable genus or even a broader tribe or family, thanks to the folks at iNaturalist who encourage that and their very helpful AI helps me choose which level to put it in. This one from June at my house really fits the Calephelis Genus but I simply cannot identify the species and hopefully when I post it on both iNaturalist and BAMONA at the end of the month as my June observations, some “identifier” or butterfly specialist will have an identity. 🙂 But until then, this observation will stay with several other similar ones in my gallery Calephelis Genus. (linked)

Calephelis Genus Butterfly, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Giant White

This one might be as common in parts of North America as here, the Giant White – Ganyra josephina (my gallery link). One of the many new species showing up in June when the wind was not blowing. 🙂

Giant White, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Dark Apricot Sulphur

One of my frequently seen Sulphur is this Dark Apricot Sulphur, Phoebis argante (my gallery link). Note that the top of wings are a solid bright yellow while the bottom of wings (or side view) is a darker yellow with lots of brown spots.

Dark Apricot Sulphur, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Maquenque Trip Gallery Done!

Wow! Not easy and not quick! I always have a lot of photos to process from Maquenque Lodge and here are the ones that I chose to keep in the appropriate sub-galleries. Click the image of gallery below to go there or use this address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2026-07-2-7-Maquenque-Lodge-Boca-Tapada

CLICK IMAGE OF GALLERY to go there.

¡Pura Vida!