Category: Wildlife

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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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Damselfly: Black-fronted Dancer Female

That is my best effort identification and the closest match in my book, Dragonflies and Damselflies of Costa Rica, A Field Guide by Dennis Paulson and William Haber. But for those who care about ID, note that this one is very similar to Calvert’s Dancer female and the wings just like the Cerulean Dancer female, though mine here has a darker body and tail. I’m finding Dragon and Damselfly ID pretty difficult as I haven’t learned the subtle differences in body parts yet. 🙂 This one was in my garden the other day.

Black-fronted Dancer Damselfly female, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

See also my GALLERY: Dragonflies & Damselflies

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Rainy Day Toucan

Finally! A toucan where I can photograph him! 🙂 Even though it was raining all morning yesterday, the sky overcast white, and he was two houses over, uphill! 🙂 I was still excited because this year I haven’t had as many close to my house or really many birds of any kind it seems. This is where my 150-600mm lens was absolutely essential and still I just barely caught him resting in a dead tree and trying to eat a nut which he later dropped. Not like the photos made in my garden or on trips, but still fun to see and try to capture!

“The Nutcracker!”
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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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Unidentified Moth

Well – – – I think it is a moth! I photographed it in the street in front of my house in the daytime and the color and pattern is similar to one of the Tiger Moths, but not a match! Those colors and patterns are also similar to one of the Netwing Beetles, but still not a match! 🙂 Because one of the antennae is curled, I think it might be in the Dioptinae subfamily of moths, but still did not find a match searching there, so I just sent it to the “I can’t identify” folder at butterfliesandmoths.org. 🙂 If you know what it is, please use the “Contact” form to share your knowledge. Thanks! 🙂

Unidentified Day Moth, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Neighborhood Boa Constrictor

Walking back from town yesterday I saw a guy trying to catch a big snake with a broomstick out by the small apartment complex’s garbage basket (Canasta de Basura). He was obviously experienced and quickly caught the large snake and conveniently stopped for me when I pulled out my cell phone for a photo. I’m guessing that it is his pet Boa that had escaped and could have soon found a home in one of our gardens nearby. 🙂 But no worry! They are non-poisonous and live on small mammals, birds and even other reptiles which they squeeze to death and swallow whole. Hmmm.

There are several varieties of Boas and after researching online I think it is this one described by Wikipedia as: “Boa imperator or Boa constrictor imperator (in common usage) is a large, heavy-bodied, non venomous species of snake, of the boa genus, that is commonly kept in captivity.”

I have photos of several types of Boas from 6 different locations in Costa Rica, both wild and captive in my Boa Constrictor GALLERY. One shot here for the emailed blog announcement followed by 3 others from yesterday’s serendipity snake experience . . .

Boa Constrictor, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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6 Damsel-Dragonflies

That last Friday morning butterfly hike also yielded 6 different species of Damselflies & Dragonflies and I spent hours trying to positively identify them without success! So I just decided to present them without identifications which I really hate doing, but I got only two “probable” IDs! Frustrating! And more difficult than identifying butterflies and moths for me! 🙂

Here’s one for the emailed version and all 6 in a gallery to follow . . .

And all were seen and photographed on Calle Nueva, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica last Friday, 28 October.

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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
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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!

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