This is one of two butterfly species called “Postman.” This one with the addition of “Red” in the common English name, has the scientific name of Heliconius erato (my gallery link) and at least one website uses a different common name of “Erato Heliconia” instead of “Red Postman.” And that is just in the English language! 🙂
Then to make it more complicated, the other species that looks the same to most people has the common English name of plain “Postman” or other websites use the common name of “Melpomene Heliconian,” which like the other one is a twist on the scientific name which is: Heliconius melpomene rosina (my gallery link). Any hobby that includes scientific names and information will get complicated sometimes! 🙂
A single photo of the Erato version for the emailed blog post, followed by a gallery of 4 different shots from different angles to help the identifiers. 🙂
Xandari Resort, Alajuela, Alajuela, Costa Rica
¡Pura Vida!
And by the way, during the couple of hours of no rain today (Tuesday) I photographed a few more birds and even more butterflies which will be shared soon! On Wednesday, the day I decided to post this, I go straight from Xandari to my Dermatologist for a “skin check” to make sure there are no new cancers! Just a part of the continuous follow when you’ve had cancer in the past. I’ve been clear for more than 5 years now, so I think okay, but caution is wise! 🙂