Banded Peacock Butterfly

It’s April 1 in Costa Rica and the Yigüirro or Clay-colored Thrush are “singing in the rain” says tradition, meaning that next month begins our rainy season or our “winter” (invierno) and it is not only the greener and fresher time of year for me, but the time (May-November) that I see more butterflies, at least at my house in the Central Valley. And this Banded Peacock is one of the regulars here. Here’s an early one who looks a little weathered and I would think that is because of all the wind we’ve had since December. But windless rain is coming along with a lot more butterflies when we experience a “winter” that is more like Spring in the north! 🙂

Banded Peacock, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

See more of these in my Banded Peacock Gallery.

¡Pura Vida!

Anthropomorphic Valentines?

So on this February 14 I will give these two butterflies human emotions and suggest that the one flying is saying “Please be my valentine!” :-)

They are both Banded Peacocks with male and female looking alike, so I can’t say for sure what the one flying around the other is doing, but it kind of makes a Valentines Day image! :-)

Anthropomorphic Butterfly Valentines – Two Banded Peacocks, Atenas, Costa Rica

And a closeup of the one I’m treating as the female . . .

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Colorful Peacock Butterfly!

The Banded Peacock is one of those steady friends you can always expect to be here every year and in this strange weather year, he was again always here, even if in fewer numbers, continuing to add color to my gardens and other places I visited. These two photos were made just before I left for Macaw Lodge and I like how he contrasts with both the green and the yellow leaves as another butterfly with a rich brown color. There will be fewer butterflies now until next May, but fortunately a tropical country has some butterflies year around! And soon my copies of the Second Edition of Pura Vida Butterflies book will be here with 240+ species of butterflies, the most of any book available right now! Click that link to order your copy!

Banded Peacock Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica
Banded Peacock Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica

For more photos, see my Banded Peacock GALLERY.

¡Pura Vida!

And don’t miss this weekend’s BIG ART FAIR at Plaza Calle 2! JIT! Just in time for the Holidays with gift possibilities for everyone!

CLICK image for the JIT Facebook Page!

10 Butterfly Species at Maquenque

Although birds are the biggest category of wildlife for me at Maquenque Ecolodge, there are a lot of other wildlife and on this April trip I photographed 10 species of butterflies with one being a Lifer or first time seen (the Glassy-winged Skipper). Below is 1 photo of each of the 10 species for those who don’t go to separate galleries. Or here’s links to the online gallery with all my butterfly photos from this trip.  https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/TRIPS/2023-April-9-14-Maquenque-Ecolodge/OTHER-ANIMALS/BUTTERFLIES

CLICK above image to see all my butterfly photos GALLERY from Maquenque.

Or below see just one photo of each of the 10 species . . .

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Tortuguero Butterflies

The only place I saw and photographed butterflies this trip was in the lodge gardens, totally on their Porter Weed flowers. I managed to capture 9 different species I think, but have only identified the 6 that are included in this post. See them in their own gallery below this anchor shot . . .

Julia Heliconian, Tortuguero National Park, Limón, Costa Rica

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3 Brushfoots from Xandari

The largest family of butterflies is Nymphalidae – BRUSHFOOTS and you can click that link for my galleries in that family where I now have photos of 93 species. I did get one more photo from this family that I cannot yet identify, so not included here.

Banded Peacock – Anartia fatima

Erato Heliconian – Heliconius erato

Erato Heliconian – Heliconius erato at Xandari Costa Rica (also called “Postman”)

Carolina Satyr – Hermeuptychia sosybius

Carolina Satyr – Hermeuptychia sosybius at Xandari Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

And the 2023 Xandari Trip Gallery is now ready for you to see all my photos from this colorful nature resort.

Late Butterflies – #3 of 4 – Banded Peacock

More like the usual size of butterflies, these Banded Peacocks, Anartia fatima, are the only larger butterflies around my house now unless you count speeding Yellows which are really smaller. I see this species year around and all over Costa Rica. Here’s a couple of shots of two possibly trying to mate and one traditional shot showing their colors and patterns.

Band Peacock, Atenas, Costa Rica

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