Category: Butterflies

Butterflies photographed in Costa Rica and nearby

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Villa Lapas/Carara Park Photo Gallery

Though I have another week+ of blog post photos already scheduled, I have now also got my “Trip Gallery” completed for the two-night visit to Villa Lapas Hotel (hotel link) in Tarcoles and it was a productive trip! 🙂 You can see all the photos from that visit last week by clicking the first page of the gallery below or go to this address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2024-March-11-13-Villa-Lapas-Tarcoles-Carara-NP

CLICK IMAGE above to go to the gallery.

And the FYI about why I re-visited this older local hotel in Tarcoles now (2015 was my other time) is that next year (2025, Q4) Villa Lapas (hotel link) will become a Marriott “Signature” hotel, whatever that means, and of course the prices will increase significantly as they modernize the very old rooms and restaurant. So it will be interesting to see what happens! 🙂 It is adjacent to Carara National Park and across the highway from Tarcoles Village with the Rio Tarcoles Boat Tours, so a lot to do there for the nature lover like me, including on their own significant chunk of forest on the hotel grounds. I recommend it if you can put up with older facilities, often needing maintenance. Lots of nature there! See the gallery! 🙂

But ALSO NOTE: even though I’m glad I revisited Villa Lapas, my favorite hotel in the area is still Macaw Lodge on top of the mountain above Villa Lapas and Carara Park for much more nature on the lodge grounds! I encourage you to try Macaw Lodge (lodge link) even though the drive up the mountain, partly on a gravel road, is much more difficult. It is worth it!

¡Pura Vida!

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Cloudless Sulphur

An old regular is back! And in the next two months there will begin to be an increase in the number of butterflies with May-October the peak months for me or at least in my Atenas garden, roughly the same time as the rainy season. This Cloudless Sulphur, Phoebis sennae, is fairly common throughout the southern half of the USA down throughout Central America and the Caribbean Islands. One photo from my garden the other day:

Cloudless Sulphur, Atenas, Costa Rica

See more in my Clouded Sulphur Gallery.

¡Pura Vida!

And be sure to tune in tomorrow! I plan to tell you about my 3-day, 2-night adventure planned for Monday less than an hour from Atenas. One can have adventures close to home! 🙂

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Suggested ART PRINTS Gallery

Because I no longer print my images to sell through a galeria or seasonal shows here, I will make it a little easier for you to order Wall Art or other art image by narrowing down the possibilities some. Every image in every gallery is available but this new gallery includes both the images I’ve sold before and some I think would possibly make good art! And remember that in the buying process menu you can crop the images more or differently than I have.

SmugMug (my gallery host) uses the very best printers for each type of art and I recommend for wall art high gloss metal prints to stand out or for a softer look, try photos printed on canvas (and I prefer the wrap-around canvas). They have many other items you can print any of my photos on from greeting cards to coffee mugs, etc. Have fun exploring! Just click the shopping bag pix on any photo or the BUY PHOTO button on an enlarged photo and follow the menu! Easy! 🙂

And for COSTA RICA CUSTOMERS, you will need a shipping service that provides you a U.S. address like Atenas Webshop or Costa Rica Shipping with both getting the package to Atenas and if picking up in Alajuela is no problem, Aeropost is a little faster because they have their own daily planes. All three of these give you a Miami Address to use on your orders.

Check out the new: Suggested Images for ART PRINTS gallery:

CLICK IMAGE of this first page to go there!

¡Pura Vida!

A Humorous Article (in English) from Tico Times:

20 Things I Do Living in Costa Rica That I’d Never Do in the USA

Now it is not me writing, but it tells a lot about life for one expat from the states living here, and of course not everything applies to me! I do not have a car, I don’t drink alcohol, and though I like beans and rice I don’t eat them every morning for breakfast! 🙂 But it is still an interesting article supposedly about the life of one North American expat living here and the relaxed culture that many Americans adopt here! And one thing that is like him, I too live in T-shirt and shorts all day every day! 🙂

¡Retired in Costa Rica!

¡Pura Vida!

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U.S. & Other Countries’ Butterflies

It’s fun to “REDISCOVER” what you already have! A new collection of photo galleries has been created in my big main gallery, to display butterfly photos I made in other countries before moving to Costa Rica, especially during my last 10 years in the USA, where I found that I had old photos for 64 species! Not as many in other countries visited, particularly since I was not focused on butterflies back then! 🙂 There is a main “folder” Gallery for “other countries” with country galleries in that or in the case of the U.S., another folder with Taxonomy Family folders for a lot more butterflies! These new galleries are organized as follows . . .

CLICK this gallery image to go there!

Here’s three samples of the photos in these galleries . . .

Continue reading “U.S. & Other Countries’ Butterflies”
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A Challenging ID!

When I first studied these photos of another brown Skipper in my garden I focused on those distinctive 3 white dots located near the apex of the forward wing on both top and bottom sides. That led me first to the “Three-spotted Skipper” (Cymaenes tripunctus) which seemed logical, but it has more spots on the under side, thus not a real match. Next with 3 spots was the Cobalopsis Nero which I’ve seen before, but he too had additional spots that my photos did not show and it seemed another unidentified Skipper might be the case . . .

. . . until I checked my own butterfly gallery and there it was! Guerrero Sootywing, Bolla guerra! I’ve seen it two other times, once at the nearby Reserva Madre Verde in Palmares and on the Caribbean Coast at Hotel Banana Azul. Sooo . . . another mystery solved! And believe me! They are not all this easy – nor do I always even achieve an identification. But this one turned out nicely and here are the 3 photos used in that circuitous search . . . 🙂

Guerrero Sootywing, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “A Challenging ID!”
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Simple & Handsome Mexican Yellow

Another beautiful butterfly in my garden that I have only occasionally is the Mexican Yellow, Eurema mexicana. Here’s 3 slightly different shots of this soft, simple and pastel butterfly . . .

Mexican Yellow, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Simple & Handsome Mexican Yellow”
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Another New Species!

To be so windy and the lesser time of year for butterflies, I keep being amazed at the number of new butterflies I find in my garden, mostly the tiny ones. Depending on my source of information, this one has two common names, Halcyon Hairstreak or the one I have to use: Halciones Hairstreak with all sources using the same scientific name of Ostrinotes halciones. All Hairstreaks have that wiry tail to make predators think it is the head.

This species is found in both Central and South America from Mexico to Brazil, but my photo will be the first on butterflies and moths dot org, if they add the species that I’ve requested. I have about 5 requests waiting to be approved like that. The huge number of species of everything in Costa Rica continues to amaze me! It is one of the most diverse locations on the planet! The exact middle location between North & South America. I’m posting 4 photos of this new-to-me species . . .

Halciones Hairstreak, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Another New Species!”
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Phyllira Tiger Moth – Grammia phyllira

I got this identification first from BugGuide.net which has a different scientific name of Apantesis phyllira along with the same common name of Phyllira Tiger Moth. Because I volunteer for butterfliesandmoths dot org, I’m using the scientific name they use: Grammia phyllira It was alongside the street on my walk to town the other day, right outside the Roca Verde gate on Avenida 8. It is in the Family Erebidae. Two cellphone pix . . .

Phyllira Tiger Moth – Apantesis phyllira, Atenas, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Phyllira Tiger Moth – Grammia phyllira”
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My Garden Fairies

Well . . . they sort of look like little fairies, the White Peacock Butterfly, Anartia jatrophae, which have been one of my staple butterflies this year. Here’s 3 of my shots of these lacy-like butterfly the other day.

White Peacock Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica
Continue reading “My Garden Fairies”
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Another Rounded Metalmark

These very tiny little intricate-patterned butterflies have been another one of my regular butterflies this year and I really like them! With wings folded they are about the size of my thumbnail. Here’s just one shot from my garden the other day.

Rounded Metalmark, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

See more in my Rounded Metalmark Gallery.

¡Pura Vida!