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This species usually has lots of brown spots and lines on the folded wings much like the Apricot Sulphur, but these in my garden the other day were solid yellow, or to fit their name, a bright orange! 🙂 I am pretty sure of the identification, though never certain. Here’s 3 pix from that recent sighting and for more photos, see my Orange Sulphur Gallery.
This was one of my first “exotic” butterflies on my birthday trip to Xandari in 2019 and since I’ve seen it one other time in my garden in June of 2022 and now here in 2025. See some much better photos in my gallery: Guava Skipper.
Note that different sources have different scientific names: Phocides lilea, Phocides polybus and Phocides palemon. I still don’t know who is in charge of butterfly names, but I’m beginning to lean toward iNaturalist and put their scientific name first in my lists when more than one is used. It is not like with birds where eBird is sort of everyone’s source with confidence that it is always correct. (A least we think that!) 🙂
As it does almost every afternoon! And this particular shot of rain on nearby hills was on May 22. A daily afternoon or night (my favorite) is what keeps tropical places like Costa Rica green, beautiful and full of so many species of plants and wildlife. I love it! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
My collection of such photo views from my terrace is growing! 🙂
This Orange-barred Sulphur, Phoebis philea (my gallery link) does not have the strong “barring” that some of this species have, but the stronger yellow color to me eliminates the possibility of a a similar-spotted butterfly, the Cloudless Sulphur, which is usually white or a light yellow. But I could be wrong! 🙂 And if someone changes it on iNaturalist, I will come back and change it here! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
This Blurry-striped Longtail, Chiodes catillus (my gallery link) is also sometimes called White-striped Longtail by some sources. It is a less seen longtail skipper, but one of the many species that make up the huge biodiversity of Costa Rica! Here’s two shots of the same individual showing the difference in color that bright sunlight or shadows can make on these butterflies. 🙂
One of my many “favorites” is the Tropical Buckeye, Junonia evarete or Junonia zonalis (linked to my gallery) is found throughout Central America, West Indies, Florida and the Southwestern U.S.
Vultures are so common all over the world and so important to the health of the planet! And I just can’t resist trying to photograph one every once in a while! 🙂 This common one here is a Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura (my gallery link) is the same one you see in the United States. I think they are beautiful when flying, though their underside is always in the shadows! 🙂
You might be interested in my other galleries on different vultures both here and other places I’ve lived/traveled . . .
Continue reading “Turkey Vulture”
. . . the Straight-lined Sulphur, Phoebis trite (iNaturalist CR link with map of where seen here) or see three observations recorded on BAMONA. Not your every day butterfly! 🙂
Here’s my three shots . . .
Continue reading “New Species for me . . .”
For my last post on the Calle Nueva Walk, here’s 4 shots of other things I liked along this little dirt country road . . .
For more of him, see my Common Basilisk Gallery.
Continue reading “Other Nature, Calle Nueva . . .”
Had I been going there for birds like I used to, it would have been earlier, like 5:30 or 6 am! But even during this 8-10 am best time for butterflies, I saw a lot more than 3 birds, but this is all I photographed on Calle Nueva that morning, plus the Yellow-faced Grassquit (May 15 Post) in the cow pasture as I was getting back home. 🙂 Here’s the three other birds I got photos of on that nearby dirt road . . .
See my Inca Dove Gallery.
Continue reading “Calle Nueva Birds”