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I didn’t actively search for insects on this trip, but as in any rainforest you can’t help but notice some unique ones! Here’s three:
¡Pura Vida!
This is a new species for me. Many swallowtails are similar but the distinction of this one is the large cell spot on each upper wing, backside. Similar ones are Giant, Thomas, and Ornythion Swallowtails. In fact, the first one I photographed was at Monteverde that I had labeled as a Thomas Swallowtail. But I was wrong. It is now in my Broad-banded gallery, based on those two cel spots again.
You can read about the Broad-banded Swallowtail or Papilio astyalus on Wikipedia or see more photos I’ve made in my new Broad-banded Swallowtail Gallery. I base my ID on photos in the book A Swift Guide to Butterflies of Mexico and Central America and particularly the two big cell spots on the upper wings. Butterflies continue to amaze me! And below are 5 new shots of this new one for me . . .
Continue reading “Broad-banded Swallowtail”
In addition to that leaf collection yesterday from “Country Lane,” I got this Banded Peacock Butterfly on the Zinnias one house has planted along the gravel road. Of course I have a Banded Peacock Gallery of my earlier photos which is a part of the bigger set of Costa Rica Butterflies Galleries.
¡Pura Vida!
My newest photo book is my cheapest ($8.83), smallest ( 6×9 in, 15×23 cm) and shortest (30 pages) as an introduction to why I retired in Costa Rica with 47 photos demonstrating my nature photography here. It’s not exactly a portfolio because of the cheaper paper, but . . . it actually is a cheaper version of a portfolio 🙂 and it also describes the 5 ways I experience nature and share it. As with all my books there is a FREE PREVIEW electronically of all pages in the bookstore at:
https://www.blurb.com/b/10782574-experiencing-nature-retired-in-costa-rica
Or click the front cover image below:
This will become my “give-away” book to guides, lodges and others here in Costa Rica, since some of my other books are too expensive to keep giving them away as I have been. But I’m still not in the photo-selling or book-selling business. I’m retired! 🙂 I make my photos to share with others online and the books become ways to do that physically on occasions. Prints and wall art are available in my gallery with no profit for me, just a good service of (and profit for) my gallery host. 🙂
And while you’re in my bookstore, check out some of my other photo books! They have free previews too!
🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Another new one today! And like those Skippers, I can’t identify with my books or the internet. This one is possibly a moth but not necessarily! 🙂 Since June 24 I’ve been trying to photo a new/different butterfly every day. I missed 3 days, but have posted 10 almost in a row and all 10 different. 🙂 Doesn’t take much to entertain me! 🙂 And that shows the vairety of butterflies in my garden!
¡Pura Vida!
I’m going to put this one in my Unidentified Moths Gallery, but you will see almost similar in my Unidentified Skippers Gallery and some identified Skipper Galleries. Or peruse all my Costa Rica Butterflies & Moths Gallery.
Three days ago I had a photo of a male which includes the 2 bright yellow splotches on upper wings and four little brown dots. The female of this species is all white but different from the all-white Florida White because of the very strong veins. Often the males and females are like two different species in butterflies and birds. 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
See my White Angled Sulphur Gallery or the bigger CR Butterflies Gallery.
And unidentified for me! Skippers take up almost half the pages in my butterfly ID book, 119 pages with only 161 pages for all the other butterflies! Plus browns & golds are a dominant color on possibly most of them, so you will forgive me for not finding these two Skipper butterflies in the book for identification. In my galleries I have identified seventeen different specific Skippers and have only one gallery for Unidentified Skippers with only 7 in it. 🙂 There is a general article on all 3,500 known Skippers on Wikipedia.
You thought I was going to run out of unique butterflies didn’t you? 🙂 Well, when I do I will go to other nature and the birds have been mostly away from my house the last week or so. And I will keep looking for more butterflies! My Costa Rica Butterflies Galleries. I have all the Skippers together alphabetically, Skipper, name; Skipper, next, etc.
¡Pura Vida!
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.
And some more shots including of one not damaged (+ health update) . . .
Continue reading “Butterfly & Holiday/Health Report”
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.
¡Pura Vida!
See all of my Costa Rica Butterfly Galleries!
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. 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
See more in my Bee Gallery or for other interesting CR insects, see my More CR Insects Gallery.