Tag: Tropical Milkweed

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Melwhite on Milkweed

Is it a contrast or a harmony of colors? Either way, I like these photos of the Common Melwhite (my gallery link) on the Tropical Milkweed flowers (NaturalistaCR link).

Common Melwhite butterfly on a Tropical Milkweed flower, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

How do I get that mottled green background? (Someone asked.) Simply by using my 600mm lens from a distance of 6 feet or more. The long lens automatically puts my focus point in focus and everything else blurry. In this case, my “jungle-like” garden is mostly greens with only occasional flowers, thus the mottled green background. When I shoot up, with the sky as background (often with birds), the background can be anything from bright blue to gray to white, depending on the weather, and more rarely golds to oranges. I’ve tried a close-up lens for both flowers and insects and it just doesn’t work for me (for multiple reasons). 🙂

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Tropical Milkweed for Butterflies

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 . . . 🙂

Tropical Milkweed, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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