Other butterflies seen around the grounds, but which didn’t stop for long enough to photograph included the Apricot Sulphur, Phoebis argante, Broad-banded Swallowtail, Heraclides pallas, the Zebra Heliconian, Heliconius charithonia and the Julia Heliconian, Dryas iulia. Although I would have loved to have managed to photograph these species, it was fantastic just seeing them.
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Of course there were so many more butterflies that I saw flying past, but had absolutely no idea what they were!
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On the first morning I walked down to the beach and saw an enormous yellow butterfly flying around the trees and landing on the sand. It took a lot of stalking, but eventually I managed to get a photograph by waiting next to one particular spot it kept returning to. The pictures allowed me to confirm that it was an Orange-barred Sulphur, Phoebis philea. I soon learned to recognise these as they flew past with their rapid flight and orange mark on the upper forewing.
There were also a couple of skippers down there, but I will save skippers for a separate post!
In a dark, shady area of the resort there were three Lyside Sulphurs, Kircogonia lyside, laying eggs on a couple of spindly shrubs. I struggled to get a picture because of a lack of light and they hardly stopped moving.
I also saw these on the track opposite the hotel where I was able to get a better picture.
The lovely little Black Patch, Chlosyne lacinia, was regularly seen flying around the hotel grounds. It had a very slow flight, with rapid shallow wing beats, that made it look as though it was floating. Unfortunately it always landed high up in the trees, but I managed to snap this distant shot from the balcony.
Two other interesting butterflies that I saw high in the trees from my balcony were both Metalmarks. Unfortunately they are only just identifiable from the pictures. This one is a Curved-winged Metalmark, Emesis emesiaq.
The other was the Rusty Metalmark, Synargis mycone.
I saw quite a number of Malachites, Siproeta stelenes, flying around the hotel grounds. All those that landed were quite worn, so I didn't take any pictures, because I had photographed a lovely one on the track outside the hotel. Actually, I did see a lovely fresh Malachite at the hotel, but of course this was when I was swimming in the pool!
Most days, if there was sun, I would usually see two or three White Peacocks, Anartia jatrophae, at the hotel. I saw one of these a few years ago in St Lucia, but it had a chunk missing from its wings, so I was pleased to see so many here.
In my next post I will talk about the butterflies I saw on the track opposite the hotel.
Good morning Nick :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know any of these butterflies, I guess most of them must be endemic to Cost Rica, which is a change of scene from your usual holiday destination. The grounds of the hotel look lovely and I can see a pool, although the beach must not be far away since you walked there.Although some butterflies were in difficult places to photograph you did a good job of capturing them on camera.
All the best
Sonjia,
Hi Sonjia, the hotel grounds covered about 25 acres and the sea was about 300 metres from the main building. There were several pools meandering through the grounds and the bottom pool was right on the edge of the beach. There were all sorts of flowering trees and other plants in the grounds. I loved seeing all of the new species that don't occur in Europe. The butterflies of Central America really interest me.
DeleteI just returned from my fourth visit to Costa Rica. Our focus was more on birds but we are not immune to butterflies and always tried to identify what we saw. I don’t know if you have ever stayed at the Bougainvillea Hotel just outside San Jose, but the extensive gardens there are a magnet for butterflies and we have seen many species there. It’s a great spot. We always begin and end our trips there. I still need a good guide to Central American butterflies, although I doubt that I will ever be back there again, so it may be a little redundant now. Great to read your reports.
ReplyDeleteDavid, we were right up in the north west of the country, about as far north west as it is possible to go. Sadly, because of the cyclone, we were unable to explore more of the country. I had been thinking it would be a one-off holiday of a lifetime, but now I am really wanting to return to see more of the country and its wildlife. I am very grateful for the tip of the Bourgainvillea Hotel, as it would be sensible for us to go to a different area if we do return. I have amassed a collection of books of Central American butterflies, DeVries produced two fantastic books in the 1980s, but they don't cover skippers or Lycaenidae. However, the text if very detailed and interesting. I have Glassberg's Guide to Butterflies of Mexico and Central America, which has limited text, but a good system of photo IDs. I also have Gallardo's Butterflies of Honduras, which has good pictures and useful text.
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