See more in my gallery of Tulcis Crescent, Anthanassa tulcis.
¡Pura Vida!
Tulcis Crescent
Golden Melwhite
One of those beautiful butterflies with its simplicity I think, the Golden Melwhite, Melete polyhymnia (link to my Gallery).
¡Pura Vida!
Red-headed Firetip
I’ve seen this one only one other time and just the top of wings then, which are a bright blue, while this folded wing view shows the underneath side of wings to be brown. He is the Red-headed Firetip, Pyrrhopyge zenodorus (linked to my gallery). Photographed yesterday across the street from where I live.
And yeah, I know, the top of this one seems to be more brown than blue, so maybe one of nature’s exceptions. You can see a bright blue one in my gallery linked above. 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Gray Cracker
I have recently been scanning the trunk and larger limbs of my Cecropia Tree and the big palm, looking for one of the several species of Crackers which almost always land on trees where they are well-disguised. And sure enough, yesterday morning one came to my Cecropia Tree – This one a Gray Cracker – Hamadryas februa (linked to my gallery). This is my second Gray Cracker with the other one seen at Hacienda Guachipelin, Rincón de la Vieja NP.
In my Brushfoots Galleries you will find that I have photographed 6 different species of Crackers, most at Xandari Resort in Alajuela, but two in my garden, one at Danta Corcovado Lodge and one in a reserve in Nicaragua.
And yeah, I know, it is more brown than gray, but that is the way it is with several of these “official” names! 🙂 Though on butterfliesandmoths you can see that some or more gray. My six different species of CRACKERS in the above linked Brushfoots Galleries are . . .
- Red Cracker
- Gray Cracker
- Variable Cracker
- Orange Cracker
- Glaucous Cracker
- Guatemalan Cracker
¡Pura Vida!
About this Week’s Blog Posts
In the morning I’m flying to Limón Province for five nights at my best butterfly hotel, Hotel Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca where I walk the sandy beach road for a large variety of butterflies. I usually go in early or mid-September, so I’m hoping there are still a lot of butterflies there the first week of October! 🙂 STARTING TOMORROW, BLOG POSTS WILL BE DONE AT NIGHT for the next 6 days. All from Limón Province, Caribe Sur. I always include a visit to Gandoca Manzanillo Refugio and one to Cahuita NP, both of which are very good for both birds and butterflies! And sometimes other nature spots, but at 84 I’m slowing down and walking with a cane, so maybe not as much this time! 🙂
2 Charlie Photos in Auction Tomorrow!
for the Democrats Abroad Fundraiser & Voter Help . . .
Photos of 250 species of butterflies with index of common names in English and scientific names in Latin.
Both of these have a minimum bid well below the retail price, but of course the fundraisers hope you will bid much higher! 🙂 The silent auction is from 1-4 tomorrow, 30 September 2024, at Huaraches Atenas Mexican Restaurant, with auction winners announced promptly at 4 pm. If you are a U.S. citizen and don’t know how to vote from abroad, people will help you. And if you have prepared your overseas ballot for mailing but don’t trust the post office, then people can take your mail-ready ballot and deliver it to the U.S. Embassy for their mail pouch to the states. And while you are there, bid on some of the many wonderful things in the auction including one of my wall art photos and one of my photo books! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Highest Point in Atenas
Two days ago Walter took me and another customer/friend to see the “Real” Costa Rica near the highest point in Atenas Canton where a high percentage of the people are his coffee-farming relatives, showing us his mountain-top lot with the view seen in the feature photo, along with meeting some of his relatives and going to the Atenas Highest Point Mirador, called “Piedra La Zopilota,” because the rocky outcropping of the mountain top is where vultures hang out and raise their children. 🙂 It is a steep mountain gravel road that required his 4-wheel drive vehicle to get there. I made a lot of neat photos of the gorgeous scenery, wildlife, lunch at a relative’s restaurant, and the three of us adventurers which you can see in the Trip Gallery: 2024 September 26 – Highest Point in Atenas. Check out these “real” Costa Rica coffee farming hills! It might even make you want to visit or move here yourself! 🙂
You might also be interested in these links . . .
- Google Search: good photos & Map on Mirador Piedra Zopilota.
- Wikiloc article: Vulture Stone Overlook with photos & map.
- Municipality of Atenas article and photos.
- And a YouTube video:
¡Pura Vida!
Note: Walter is my best friend in Costa Rica, also my driver, translator, healthcare assistant at most doctor appointments, and thus sometimes substitute son! There are multiple pix of him in the above linked Gallery and a few of me and Julia, his other friend on this day trip. 🙂
Postscript: Architect’s Drawings of the future mirador
Facebook page with several images like this . . .
Read more: Highest Point in Atenas
¡Pura Vida!
Bordered Patch
One of the many “Patches” and “Crescents” that I love, the Bordered Patch, Chlosyne lacinia (my gallery link) is found from Argentina to much of the western portion of the U.S.A. They can vary in colors from a rich gold or yellow through all the oranges to a bright red along with the black & white. You can see some of the variations on butterfliesandmoths and just a few in my linked gallery above. Another Costa Rica treat! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Tulip Tree Beauty
This large moth in the Geometridae Family is nocturnal and attracted to lights which may be why he came to my terrace sliding door and was on the insect screen when I went to prepare breakfast one morning last week. While writing this at about noon on the same day, he was still on the screen and I don’t know if he is sleeping there or dead. In my gallery at Tulip Tree Beauty, Epimecis hortaria, you can see that I got two shots on the screen, the lighter one was on my Canon 750D with more detail and the darker one was on my Samsung Cellphone which is more the color brown that my eyes saw. The third photo in the gallery is the same species that I photographed back in July 2016, also on my terrace, and is the best photo! 🙂 Here’s just one of this year’s photos with the other one (Canon) at top as the featured photo . . .
¡Pura Vida!
Tiger Mimic-White
I’ve seen this one only one other time and the side view or folded wings view was more brown/tan than this one in my garden which is common, though the top of the wings always stay bright orange, yellow & black. It is the Tiger Mimic-White, Dismorphia amphione (linked to my gallery). It is another Central America only butterfly, found from Mexico to Columbia. Here’s two shots from my garden . . .
Golden Melwhite makes me Smile
This is one of the many “high-energy” butterflies and has a crisp bright yellow contrasted with a bright white most of the time, flitting through my garden and beyond! The Golden Melwhite, Melete polyhymnia (linked to my gallery) is found only in Central America with a few strays seen in Columbia, South America. iNaturalist shows a subspecies for only Central America named Melete polyhymnia florinda, Mariposa blanca crema de borde negro Centroamericana. Here’s three shots recently from my garden . . .
