Category: People

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Caterpillars on the Milkweed!

When I first planted the Tropical Milkweed I was hoping they would attract the Monarch Butterfly which is not as common here as in the States, but none yet. Then the other day I found 3 caterpillars on one of the Milkweed plants and with the iNaturalist AI have identified them as caterpillars of the Queen – Danaus gilippus butterfly (Linked to my gallery) which is related to the Monarch. Maybe in the near future I will have some fresh Queens birthed in my garden! 🙂 So far, the only two Queens I’ve seen have been elsewhere.

I’m hoping that their eating all the leaves off my best Milkweed plant will not kill it! 🙂 They were first planted between two tall flowers and thus only get sunshine midday which is really not enough sun for milkweed. I just a few days ago planted 3 more Milkweeds in a different part of the garden where they get both morning and midday sun, so hopefully they will do better! I’m on the side of a hill with lots of trees, so plants like this that need lots of sunshine will always struggle on my little lot.

Caterpillar of Queen Butterfly – Danaus gilippus, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
(Note that most leaves are already eaten!) 🙂
Caterpillar of Queen Butterfly – Danaus gilippus, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.
(Note that most leaves are already eaten!) 🙂
Tropical Milkweed, in my garden, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica — Those caterpillars ate all those leaves!

¡Pura Vida!

I have not focused on caterpillars, but do have a little gallery with what caterpillars I’ve photographed in Costa Rica at CATERPILLARS (linked) with most in the “Unidentified” folder for a total of 15 species, assuming no overlap or duplication.

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Blue-vented Hummingbird

This is becoming my new favorite bird in my garden, mainly because of that deep blue tail! See more of my photos in the gallery: Blue-vented Hummingbird.

Blue-vented Hummingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Blue-vented Hummingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Blue-vented Hummingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Xandari ’26 GALLERY Ready

CLICK above image to go to the Xandari Travel Gallery 2026

And if after a few seconds, that click doesn’t work, then just go to this address: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2026-06-8-10-Xandari-Nature-Resort-Alajuela

Visiting places like this here in Costa Rica and making photos is my greatest joy! I hope you enjoy some of the photos! And I may still share a few more on the blog, but they are starting to happen now where I live! And in 2 1/2 weeks I will be at Maquenque Eco Lodge, one of my other favorite places from which to share my love of nature! And there I will celebrate my 86th birthday! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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Bitter Melon?

The question mark is because this strange, edible, vine-growing vegetable has a long list of “Common Names” around the world with “Pepino Cimarrón” the most used one here in Costa Rica says iNaturalist, though they refer people to Wikipedia for more information on the scientific name of Momordica charantia (linked to Wikipedia article). And somewhere you will hear about “Balsam Apple as similar (that’s what Google-Lens called it), but that is a different species in the same family, which by the way, includes cucumbers! 🙂

I photographed this less than a half-block from the front gate of Residencial Roca Verde on my Sunday morning walk to El Fogon for breakfast. It was on a vine growing on a barbed wire fence of a vacant lot in Barrio Boquerón. They originate from Asia and Africa and were brought here in the 1800’s where they grew well in the tropical climate. Some are farmed, but this one was growing wild. They are eaten as a vegetable and used as natural medicines, especially the leaves of the vine. And only God could design a bright orange vegetable with bright red seeds! 🙂 Read more on Wikipedia.

Bitter Melon, Pepino Cimarrón, Momordica charantia,
growing wild on a fence in Barrio Boquerón, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

And the next morning I saw something a little different at the same location . . .

Continue reading “Bitter Melon?”
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Tiger Flower

One reason Xandari has so many butterflies is they have a huge variety of flowers in their many gardens, one of the best I’ve visited all over Costa Rica. I’m working on the Flower Sub-gallery of this Trip Gallery and it looks like now it will have 35 species of flowers identified! 🙂 Here is just one, the Tiger Flower – Tigridia pavonia (Wikipedia link) with many names and stories about some of the varieties in Middle America.

Tiger Flower, Xandari Costa Rica, Alajuela

¡Pura Vida!

And see my many flower photos in the Flora & Forest Galleries! 🙂

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Salome Yellow

One of the 17 species of butterflies I photographed at Xandari, Salome Yellow (my gallery link) is just one more of the large variety of butterflies found at Xandari and soon to be shared in a trip gallery for my little two-night trip there earlier this past week.

Salome Yellow, Xandari Costa Rica, Alajuela

¡Pura Vida!

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Yigüirro

The Clay-colored Thrush (my gallery link) is called a Yigüirro in Costa Rica and is the National Bird, yet such a simple, Robin-sized brown bird. Not only does his singing in April attract the rain (and me), but his simple, plain look is also appealing. Another favorite bird seen at Xandari this week.

Clay-colored Thrush or Yigüirro, Xandari Costa Rica.

¡Pura Vida!

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Chiapas White

The only other time I’ve seen this species was in 2022, also at Xandari! That year it was on flowers by the Room 19 Terrace (coincidentally the same room I was in this year), but this year I saw it by the Frog Pond near the Sunset Pool, the opposite end of the hotel! 🙂 I got better photos then as you can see in the Gallery Chiapas White. It is also called “Orange-striped White” and “Dimorphic White,” while in Spanish it is “Mariposa Pamela.” It is found only in Central & South America and some consider it “rare” which is partly because they often spend their time in the treetops and thus not seen as often. My first observation was 1 of only 38 in Costa Rica on iNaturalist and 1 of only 2 in BAMONA. 🙂

Chiapas White, Xandari Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Red Postman or Erato Heliconia

This is one of two butterfly species called “Postman.” This one with the addition of “Red” in the common English name, has the scientific name of Heliconius erato (my gallery link) and at least one website uses a different common name of “Erato Heliconia” instead of “Red Postman.” And that is just in the English language! 🙂

Then to make it more complicated, the other species that looks the same to most people has the common English name of plain “Postman” or other websites use the common name of “Melpomene Heliconian,” which like the other one is a twist on the scientific name which is: Heliconius melpomene rosina (my gallery link). Any hobby that includes scientific names and information will get complicated sometimes! 🙂

A single photo of the Erato version for the emailed blog post, followed by a gallery of 4 different shots from different angles to help the identifiers. 🙂

Red Postman or Erato Heliconian, Xandari Costa Rica, Alajuela
Continue reading “Red Postman or Erato Heliconia”
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Lesson’s Motmot

One of my favorite Costa Rica Birds, the Lessson’s Motmot (my gallery link), previously called “Blue-crowned Motmot,” is usually one of the first birds I see at Xandari and that was the case this morning on my circle walk through the gardens just after seeing two toucans fly over (no photo). I saw several other small birds in the shrubs without good photos, including a White-eared Ground-Sparrow and the National Bird, Yigüirro or Clay-colored Thrush. The pre-breakfast walk is always the best time for birds, but with overcast skies and the threat of rain, there were not as many today. And that is usually too early for butterflies that seek the sun, but I did get one which I will share in a separate post later today.

Here’s photos of the two Motmots, male & female, with couples like this usually seen together . . .

Lesson’s Motmot, (I think the female), Xandari Nature Resort, Alajuela, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Lesson’s Motmot, (I think the male), Xandari Nature Resort, Alajuela, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Lesson’s Motmot, (I think the male), front view, Xandari Nature Resort, Alajuela, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!