3 Common Longtails . . .

. . . in my August garden, that is. 🙂 There are so many Skippers labeled “Longtail” (I have 16 Longtail Galleries) that it is difficult to say which is most common in Costa Rica or even in my garden, but I got photos of these three (and some more) in August, and they are 3 of the most obviously different longtails from each other, so they make the longtail post! 🙂 The three, alphabetically, with their galleries linked to their name headings . . .

Brown Longtail –  Urbanus procne

Brown Longtail, Atenas, Costa Rica

Dorantes Longtail – Urbanus dorantes

Dorantes Longtail, Atenas, Costa Rica

Esmeralda Longtail – Urbanus esmeraldus

Esmeralda Longtail, Atenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Esmeralda Longtail

You might ask why the Common Name for this butterfly is in Spanish? “Esmeralda” = “Emerald” in English. Yes, it is unusual, even for species found only in Spanish-speaking Central America like this butterfly. It is of course named for the emerald-colored (green or turquoise) body of this Longtail Skipper which otherwise looks a lot like other Longtails! But not to be confused with a separate Turquoise Longtail! 🙂 And of course the scientific name is in Latin (esmeraldus) like every other species in the world. Esmeralda Longtail, Urbanus esmeraldus (linked to my Esmeralda Gallery) or you can see other people’s submitted photos on butterfliesandmoths.org, Esmeralda page. Just one shot here.

Esmeralda Longtail, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

Esmeralda Longtail

This is my second year and third sighting of this butterfly in my garden over 7+ years which means he is not especially common also shown by the lack of reports online on the butterfly site. Many of the Longtail Skippers are very similar and have this bluish coloring on the body with the main difference being in the spots arrangement and the white fringe.

Esmeralda Longtail Skipper, Atenas, Costa Rica
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