Category: Butterflies

Butterflies photographed in Costa Rica and nearby

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My 2022 in Photos

From the top of a volcano to the mangroves at the ocean’s edge and even in the tiny garden behind my casita, I’ve daily photographed nature for 8 years here and called that photography “Nature as Art!” and shared it in this blog.  🙂 

I like this Collins Online Dictionary definition:

Nature is all the animals, plants, and other things in the world that are not made by people, and all the events and processes that are not caused by people. 

Thus in nature I worship God and find my peace & inspiration from Him, the creator of it all!

Each year I find it difficult to select only 12 photos from the year and I first tried to come up with 12 “categories” of nature to make sure I selected a variety, but that became as cumbersome as trying to have a “photo-a-month.” So I decided to just stick with “12 favorites,” even if more than 12 are favorites! 🙂

So, however labeled, here’s 12 photos I made in 2022!

Happy New Year and Pura vida! 🙂

This 1st of 12 is looking out at the Pacific Ocean from Playa Cativo Lodge, Golfo Dulce, Piedras Blancas NP and the 12th photo below is a shot  looking out over the Atlantic Ocean at sunrise from Hotel Banana Azul. Coast to coast nature photos!   🙂

To the nearly 500 email subscribers: I hope you read on for the other 11 favorite photos . . .

Continue reading “My 2022 in Photos”

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A Bird, A Butterfly & A Flower

For my final morning post from Arenal Observatory Lodge, three photos which are sort of representative of what I photographed most while here this time with the weather eliminating some of my favorite subjects here, though there are still more  things I photographed to be shared in the next few days or weeks including more of these three categories!  🙂

And these are not my favorites in each category, but rather representative ones from my last full day here . . .

A BIRD

Bananaquit Bird seen off the deck of my room at Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica.

 

A BUTTERFLY

A Doris Longwing or Dot-bordered Heliconian Butterfly seen in one of the gardens at Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica.

 

A FLOWER

An unidentified flower seen on the grounds of Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica. If you know the ID, please contact me. The leaves don’t match lavender, lupine or blue ginger. So what is it?

 

¡Pura Vida!

Tomorrow I will give an evaluation of this visit and whether I recommend Arenal Observatory for Christmas Week.

 

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Rusty-spotted Satyr

I’ve photographed 7 species of butterflies so far and 10 species of birds with rain coming down most of my time here (it is a rainforest!). 🙂 I’m sharing this one tonight because it is my only “lifer” or first time seen wildlife here so far this trip. For those who know the lodge, it was seen on the “River Trail. “

Rusty-spotted Satyr, Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica.
Rusty-spotted Satyr, Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica.

¡Pura Vida!

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What will I Have at the Art Show?

Wall Art

I’m bringing 21 photos printed on metal with a special mounting piece to give your wall art a contemporary 3-D look or a nice little shadow. In many sizes and subjects!

This Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth is just one choice! There’s birds, butterflies, monkeys, and flowers too!

Plus three other product categories . . .

Continue reading “What will I Have at the Art Show?”
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The Final Two Butterflies

Or at least it seems like they are the last two to be active this season, though I know I will have more soon or by January. The most active time for butterflies in my garden has been May to November, roughly the time of our “winter” or Rainy Season, though I do have some year around and see even more at the lodges I visit during our “summer” or Dry Season, December to April. But these two Satyrs, Carolina and White Satyrs, are the only two I’ve been able to photograph on my little hill recently, while thankfully more birds are returning! 🙂 And the rain is slowing down with less of it less often, like we are getting ready for dry season early? I hope not too early! The rain with the sun is what makes it so green and beautiful here!

White Satyr, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Carolina Satyr, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

And, oh yeah, there’s a lot more of these thumbnail-sized Carolina Satyrs than the Whites! 🙂 I have no explanation for why.

¡Pura Vida!

My Carolina Satyr GALLERY

My White Satyr GALLERY

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A Poan Skipper?

Again I photograph one in my garden that I cannot positively ID. The white fringe on the wings makes it a Cloud-forest Poan or Snow-fringed Skipper (Poanes niveolimbus) while the back and shoulders are more like the Inimical Poan (Poanes inimica) and the red-orange coloring overlaps with many of the Poans and other Skippers too, plus the tail on this one doesn’t match any of the above, so much to my disappointment, I may have to mark it “Can’t Identify!” Though I’m leaning toward the “Snow-fringed Skipper!” 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

Check out some of my other Skippers in my GALLERY: Hesperiidae – SKIPPERS (37+) where there are more unidentified plus many more named. And so far, the online websites have been no help to me on this one.

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Jumping Spider Eats Butterfly!

I never before thought of my garden as a place of carnage, but insects eating other insects is quite normal and helps with the balance and ecology – then I witnessed it first hand this past Tuesday morning as I focused my camera on what I hoped was a new butterfly species (it was!). This, my first Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak (Strymon istapa) was flying and landed on one of my Heliconia flowers (1st photo below) and when I snapped this photo that tiny Jumping Spider (Salticidae) down below him in the photo jumped up on the little butterfly (with attached silk thread) and grabbed the butterfly by its head, biting it with a venomous bite that instantly paralyzed and will soon kill the butterfly which the Jumping Spider will eat. I did not stay around for the full meal, but photos of three stages follow this one. 🙂

Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak above and Jumping Spider below. Yes! He jumped that far!

3 more photos below of the capture, paralyzing and preparing to eat.

Continue reading “Jumping Spider Eats Butterfly!”
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Christmas ART SHOW! – Plan now!

I will be one of the participating artists in this year’s “Just in Time for Christmas ART SHOW” in Atenas, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica.

Mark your calendar now! Just 1 month from today!

Costa Rica Nature Photographer Charlie doggett offering his photos this December.

Weekend of 9-11 December

Hotel Colinas del Sol, Atenas

  • Friday, 9 December, 3-8 pm — Jack, Piet & Syl Music at 5 pm!
  • Saturday, 10 December, 10 am to 8 pm — Poison Dart Frogs Band at 5 pm!
  • Sunday, 11 December, 10 am to 4 pm
One of the photo greeting cards of a flower photographed in Atenas.
Read more: Christmas ART SHOW! – Plan now!

“Nature As Art” Photo Gifts

  • FREE Photo Book “Retired in Costa Rica” to first 39 customers who purchase anything, even a greeting card! 🙂
  • FREE Gift Boxes for the first 6 books purchased!
  • Wall Art: “Float Mounted MetalPrint” to brighten any home! At below my cost!
  • Selected Photo Books at below my cost with first 6 sold receiving a free gift box!
  • Real Photo Greeting Cards (blank inside) only $3 or CRC 2,000 each! With envelopes! And they are frameable too! Send some pura vida!
  • Limited Misc. Items: 2 Photo Calendars 2023, 3 tote bags, 1 Toucan T-shirt XL, 1 Toucan Mouse Pad – FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED! 🙂
A spinner rack of photo greeting cards from nature!
Cover of a recent photo book – A Coffee Table Book! GREAT GIFT!
Several different Atenas Oxcart Wheel Photos in the Greeting Cards.
Another book that will be available along with Book 2, the Feature Photo.

Read about the other Artists at JIT for Atenas!

See you December 9-11!

¡Nos vemos del 9 al 11 de diciembre!

¡Pura Vida!

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Appreciating a Neighbor

My walks to town or “Central Atenas,” as they call it here, always includes passing the house of a family that plants many flowers, including a zinnia garden at least twice a year. As I walk by I often pull out my cell phone and snap a butterfly or flower. To show my appreciation of these who take the time to plant flowers, I made a little 20-page photo book of the butterflies I photographed over the last year in their garden and will take 3 copies to them as a Christmas gift once the books arrive. You can preview every page of the book for free by clicking the front cover image below or go to this address and click the word “Preview” then each page to see the next: https://www.blurb.com/b/11328129-jard-n-de-mariposas

Of course it’s in Spanish. That’s the language of Costa Rica! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!