This is only my second time to see one of these interesting butterflies, and the whole time he was in my garden, he stayed partially hidden behind leaves. The other time was just a half block outside the Roca Verde gate in Boquerón Barrio on 8th Avenue. You can see both sightings in my Ruddy Daggerwing Gallery. This one of several daggerwings is unique because he is orange on top like many other daggerwings, but his underside is “ruddy” (see my feature photo) or sometimes much like a dead leaf and the point of the upper wing is very falcate (hooked) like no other daggerwing. He is found from Brazil north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to southern Florida. Here’s 3 of my several photos . . .
Yes, there are at least two types of Milkweed, the one in the U.S. that most everyone knows as necessary for the survival of Monarchs, simply called Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca (Wikipedia link) or often called “Common Milkweed.” It must go dormant in the winter months. While the Tropical Milkweed, Asclepias curassavica(Wikipedia link) lives year around in tropical climates where there is always sunshine and above freezing temperatures. It is sometimes also called “Bloodflower” or “Mexican butterfly weed.” In Costa Rican Spanish, Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is most commonly known as “algodoncillo tropical”. It can also be referred to as “viborana” in some areas. See many more photos on iNaturalist Costa Rica.
I’ve added some to my garden this year to see which butterflies will choose it over the most popular Porter Weed (“rabo de toro” in CR Spanish which is “bull’s tail” OR “cola de alcarán” in the Caribe which is “scorpion’s tail”). Or maybe I will compare to my other two big attractors: Zinnias (“mal de ojo”) and Lantanas (“cinco negritos” or “soterrey”). Here’s five photos of my newly planted “babies” which have already attracted a tiny Metalmark . . . 🙂
In running these two photos through the iNaturalist, this insect is definitely in the Fidicina Genus (with about 30 species of Cicadas in CR) and though not an exact match, the closest species I could find was Fidicina toulgoeti which iNaturalist says has never been observed in Costa Rica (only Ecuador & Brazil), soooo, I will submit it to iNat just as the genus and see if one of the “bug experts” can identify it. If they agree with my suggested species, then mine will be the first observation of it in Costa Rica! 🙂
It was seen on the Cecropia Tree in my garden . . .
is now one of my three regular hummingbirds along with the Rufous-tailed and the Blue-vented that surf my Porterweed flowers all day along with an occasional other flower and my feeders when filled (not often). Their second favorite flower seems to be the Torch Ginger or Bastón de Emperador. Both of these shots are of a female (white chest and white eyebrow) while the male has no white and thus I could be confusing him with the blue-vented which are very much alike.
One of my many “favorites” is the Tropical Buckeye, Junonia evarete or Junonia zonalis (linked to my gallery) is found throughout Central America, West Indies, Florida and the Southwestern U.S.
I used the iNaturalist A-I to hep identify this which, if correct is a new species for me. Laverna Metalmark, Calephelis laverna (iNaturalist link) is similar to other Metalmarks in my Metalmarks Gallery. I haven’t submitted it to iNaturalist yet, to see if the identifiers there agree with this ID. Here’s two shots from Calle Nueva . . .
Laverna Metalmark, Calephelis laverna, Calle Nueva, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa RicaLaverna Metalmark, Calephelis laverna, Calle Nueva, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
This same species of Anole I posted in 2018 and thought then that one of my books called it a “Stream Anole,” but I am now using iNaturalist more now (but use both books & it) and this is the iNaturalist match for both photos of this species: Copper Anole, Abaniquillo Centroamericano de Bosque Seco, Anolis cupreus(my gallery link). It is found only in 3 countries, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala and here only on the Pacific Slope. It is interesting to see the big difference in how he looks when displaying his dewlap and not in these two photos . . .
I never claim to be an authority on anything in nature, but my deductions of this photo on K’s fence the other day lead me to believe that it is a Juvenile Cinnamon-bellied Saltator. The three Saltators are the only birds this size with a “seedeater bill” (short/stubby fat) that also have the white eyebrow and little white line under the eye. Thus my deduction that it is a Saltator and because just 8 days ago I shared a photo of an adult Cinnamon-bellied Saltator (most common saltator here), I believe this one may be the offspring of that adult.
The Merlin AI identifier (eBird) is very good, but not on juveniles like this, and it just said it was “unable to identify” and the iNaturalist AI (also very good) said “not confident to identify” but then went on to give it’s first choice of “possible” species as a double-collared seedeater (Sporophila caerulescens) and that was also the first choice of Google Lens, but that species is South American and never sighted in Costa Rica, plus it does not have a white eyebrow and in my opinion not a good option! 🙂
I did find some juvenile Cinnamon-bellied Saltators online similar to this, and yes, many are darker or grayer than this one, but a few similar. Whew! Identification can be a lot of work! 🙂 So here it is, whatever it is . . .
I think it is a JUVENILE CINNAMON-BELLIED SALTATOR, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
See all of my photos of this species in Cinnamon-bellied Saltator Gallery which, by the way, was formerly called the “Grayish Saltator.”
