Category: Flowers

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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.

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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!

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Playground “Foundation” in Park Renovation

One day they were digging a hole where the playground equipment will go and then another adding big rocks. I thought to myself that the rocks were to help with water drainage underneath dirt they will put on top of them. Then another surprise! They put gravel over the rocks which will help even more with the water drainage, but children playing on gravel? Well, it seems to be a very fine gravel which will not hurt the child who falls on it and of course grass could never grow on an active playground! So it is looking good and hopefully my next update will be photos of the playground equipment. I’m expecting something contemporary and hopefully it will not be concrete like everything else built so far! 🙂 Here’s three progressive photos for this report . . .

A hole filled with rocks for drainage in Playground Area of new Atenas Central Park.
Continue reading “Playground “Foundation” in Park Renovation”
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Butterfly Bonanza!

This past Friday morning about 8am I made the 9 to 10 block walk to our Technical High School after which Avenida 10 turns into a dirt road (Calle Nueva) that skirts Residencial Roca Verde and goes through some farms to the village of Rio Grande on the connector highway to Ruta 27 (our “semi-freeway”).

I did not have to go far to meet my goal! It was a good source of birds in the past, if I went early. But this time I sought butterflies and they don’t get out until about 8am. I was not disappointed! 🙂 In a couple of hours and 200 meters of dirt road, I saw and tried to photograph about 20 different species of butterflies and 6 species of dragonflies (that I’ll share soon).

I got useable photos of only 11 species of butterflies but 8 of these are totally new species for me (* starred pix titles), first time ever seen! And I identified all but one with my trusty butterfly book. Below is one shot for the email announcement and then a gallery of 11 different species of butterflies I saw last Friday morning. A nice morning! 🙂

Giulia Clearwing, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Butterfly Bonanza!”
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My Wildlife Safari on Avenida 8

Yesterday morning I spent about an hour or so walking down an old favorite, “Shady Lane,” that I haven’t walked in quite awhile. It is the extension of 8th Avenue past the Roca Verde entrance in what is still a semi-rural area. Since I’m focusing on butterflies now, I waited until after 8am because they require plenty of sunshine and most of my butterfly photos are made between 8 & 2. 🙂

A juvenile Ctensaurus or Black Iguana, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.

Below is a gallery of 16 different species of wildlife seen along this urban street and 4 of them aren’t butterflies! 🙂 Plus a slide show of some flowers and trees also seen on this tropical neighborhood safari!

Continue reading “My Wildlife Safari on Avenida 8”
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Orange-barred Sulphur . . .

. . . I’m pretty sure, though on my only photo of the top of wings the usual orange bars or patches are not obvious which I blame on a weak or out-of-focus photo with sun-glare! 🙂 The only other one I know of with those dual spots on both wings like these is the Cloudless Sulphur and I’ve never seen one this orange – so I’m sticking with Orange-barred Sulphur, Phoebis philea. See my Orange-barred Gallery. And below are 4 shots of today’s sighting . . .

Orange-barred Sulphur Butterfly, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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New Rare Butterfly

Yesterday morning I photographed a tiny little butterfly that I knew was new for me but when I got it identified I find very few photos online and mine will become the first to appear on butterfliesandmoths.org. 🙂

The scientific name is Dynamine agacles core and the common names are either Pale Sailor, Tiny Sailor or Dainty White Sailor , depending on the source! 🙂 It was very small, like when wings folded about the size of my thumbnail or double that with wings open. Here’s five of many photos I made . . .

Pale Sailor Butterfly, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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An October Day in Garden

There’s always more that butterflies to photograph in my garden, so take a walk with me through my Costa Rica Garden on an October day during the “Rainy Season” with one shot here for the email announcement and then a slide show of 14 different flowers photographed yesterday on my walk through . . .

Pagoda or Volcano Flower
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A Flash of Blue Among the Brown

This Two-barred Flasher, Astraptes fulgerator, yesterday provided the only bit of color among dozens of brown butterflies in my garden, mostly different types of Skippers and the ever-present Carolina Satyrs here right now. I guess I could do a study in browns with so many different shades, shapes and sizes of brown butterflies, but it is easier to focus on the brighter colors like this guy’s brilliant blue! 🙂

Two-barred Flasher, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Two-barred Flasher, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

And more in my Two-barred Flasher GALLERY.