An old favorite that I haven’t seen in over a year just appeared yesterday in my kitchen window. I photographed with both a camera and the cellphone and then opened the window and let him out. During breakfast and after for 2 or 3 hours I leave the sliding glass door and screen open each morning, thus creatures like this get in. 🙂 See more of my photos of this unusually patterned butterfly in my Blomfild’s Beauty – Smyrna blomfildia GALLERY. It’s interesting to note that all my photos are inside the house or the cabin at Macaw Lodge except for two shots outdoors at Xandari Resort. They are found from Peru north to Mexico. Here’s one shot from yesterday and see more in the above gallery.
Blomfild’s Beauty, Smyrna blomfildia, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Not a new butterfly for me though the first one seen this year. It is beautiful in it’s own complicated sort of way like a paisley design? 🙂
The scientific name is Smyrna blomfildia (Butterfliesandmoths.org) and it is found throughout Central America and Mexico and the southwestern fringes of the United States. Just two shots here and FYI, that is a narrow ceiling level screen for air flow in my laundry room (much lint) and I did vacuum the screen after seeing these photos! 🙂
Blomfild’s Beauty, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa RicaBlomfild’s Beauty, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
These three butterflies are all frequent visitors to my garden and even inside my house, but when I photograph one I often try to double check the identity which is so difficult on butterflies, even with two books and a third one on order, plus some internet help.
Well, the featured photo today is one I have been calling a “White-striped Longtail” and after more research, I have determined that he and the others like him I’ve photographed here are actually “Brown Longtail” (link to their gallery).
Sorry for the incorrect identification earlier! The other two here today are still labeled the same and I’m confident correctly! 🙂 But you will see two shots here of the Polydamas Swallowtail because the top and bottom are so different. The same is true for Blomfild’s but I was unable to get a good top view today (wings closed most of time) – there are several top shots of him in my gallery
All of these were shot in my garden except the Blomfild’s Beauty on my kitchen window before I opened it to let him out. 🙂
Butterflies are fun to study and observe (photograph) and are one of the most colorful creatures of Costa Rica. With 1500 different species of Butterfly and 12 000 different species of moths, the numbers are staggering! I will never finish photographing them! 🙂 Possibly the best “butterfly garden” to visit in Costa Rica is Butterfly Conservatory near Arenal which I hope to see when I’m at Arenal Observatory Lodge in November, though not the high month for butterflies! 🙂 In Atenas we have more butterflies in June-July-August.
See my newly revised Butterflies of Costa RicaPHOTO GALLERY that is better organized for your viewing pleasure! 🙂 Easier to find a specific butterfly but if using it to identify your Costa Rica butterfly photos, the sub gallery for each species usually gives you multiple images to compare! Though prejudiced, I think I have the best Costa Rica butterfly photo gallery online now! 🙂 80+ species! Check it out!
I also have a little 7X7 inch photo book titled My First 50 Butterflies in Costa Rica. You can preview all pages electronically for free at this link. Best viewed full screen for bigger photos.
Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine.
I also had one of these in my house last year, but this may be a little better photo the designs, though last year I got part of the top of wings which is greatly different. The intricate details of the design in this butterfly is amazing to me. I went next door and invited Anthony (the artist) over to see it and he photographed it too as a design idea for some of his future artwork. This time it was on the window screen of my kitchen window.
I see butterflies as flying art! And what an art gallery my garden provides!
A few days ago I displayed 3 new butterflies for me. One was on a window screen and I used the text book name Smyrna Blomfildia. Well, two days later he (or one like him) showed up in my bathroom near the ceiling above a high window. Poor light, but two better shots than the one on the screen. This beautiful butterfly is found only in Central America and Mexico, very rarely in South Texas. It is know for the very intricate bottom or closed wing pattern. This time I got a partial shot of the top wings. Neat butterfly!
Blomfild’s Beauty, Atenas, Costa Rica
This shot shows the bottom wing pattern a little better than above.
But I will add the screen shot that might show it even better.
Blomfild’s Beauty, Atenas, Costa Rica
Notice the intricate design and the multiple colors!
And sorry about two posts in one day! I meant to hit the “Save” button, but the “Post” button is bigger and I’m used to hitting it! So consider this tomorrow’s post! You won’t get another one then!
