Finally, A PORTFOLIO Photo Book
Cachicama or Carton Wasp Nest
This one is almost identical to one seen recently in my gardens with the ID coming from whatsthatbug.com which I hope is scientifically based. 🙂 It was photographed on the hotel property which is considered a rainforest. See what the other one looked like in my Carton Wasp Nest Gallery.
¡Pura Vida!
Rhinoceros Beetle
Injured or with a broken horn was on my terrace Christmas Eve in Uvita until the maid got rid of him. They usually have a long black horn as long as his head width. This one seems to have been broken off. See my Rhinoceros Beetle gallery for what the horn usually looks like. He was at first on his back and could not roll over (lots of beetles have this problem!) as seen in 3rd photo of gallery. I turned him over for topside photos, then he later climbed up the outside door as shown in second photo of gallery.
There are so many strange and interesting insects in Costa Rica and some scientists say that there are still many that have not been identified or named yet. I have better photos in my Rhinoceros Beetle Gallery or you might like seeing the similar Hercules Beetle Gallery or another similar Longhorned Borer Beetle Gallery or for my whole collection of More Insects CR (non-butterflies) with more than 80 species of unusual insects I’ve photographed in Costa Rica. I think that insects are incredibly interesting!
Giant Grasshoppers
The last wildlife I saw and photographed as I left the hotel early morning with low light and clouds were a flock or family of these “Giant Grasshoppers,” which is what everyone calls them here, but I found no good website about them. I photographed one on one of my pre-move trips here, the Carvan.com tour, at the J.W. Marriott Resort in Guanacaste. See it. or for something really interesting, see my CR Grasshoppers Gallery for 13+ different species of Grasshoppers here! 🙂 Here’s three shots of the ones I saw this morning . . .
Cachicama or Carton Wasp Nest
The other morning after breakfast on my terrace I discovered this wasp nest on a limb of my Cecropia or Guarumo Tree. After a lengthy bit of research on the web I discovered this ID on the “What’s That Bug?” website. It’s a really interesting and well-built nest! I think it might be a type of the more generic “Paper Wasp.” The curls on top are just dead leaves from my Guarumo tree.
¡Pura Vida!
And check out all My More Insects CR Gallery.
Chisos Banded Skipper
Simple Butterfly Plain Brown
See my GALLERY of other Chisos Banded Skippers.
¡Pura Vida!
Bosque del Cabo – THE BOOK
Like with most of my trips I have created a photo book of the experience with an experimental change this time to make it a less expensive book. Like my recent “Experiencing Nature” book I chose the plain paper trade book in 6X9 inch format paperback rather than my usual 7X7 photo book with high quality lustre finish paper that makes the photos look better. This may be my last time to do this with a photo book but I like to experiment from time to time. 🙂 It is interesting that the same day I published this I received my copies of the “Experiencing Nature” book which is the same size and format and with the plain paper the photos all look too dark to me. So if the photos look too dark in this book too, I will probably not use this trade format again, unless I write a words-only novel! 🙂 Not likely! 🙂
Enjoy the free preview which looks great electronically by clicking the cover image below or going to this address: https://www.blurb.com/b/10813354-bosque-del-cabo-rainforest-adventure
¡Pura Vida!
Unique Insects
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:
Unidentified with some kind of ants on a Heliconia flower. 
A rarely resting Blue Morpho Butterfly in closed -wings camouflage. 
Golden Orb Spider on back of bar stool in the “Internet Lounge.”
¡Pura Vida!
Broad-banded Swallowtail
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”Banded Peacock on Zinnias
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!