Costa Rica Butterflies November 2024 - Part 5

Continued from my previous post.

I noticed the odd Satyr among the vegetation in the shadier spots and I assumed they were Hermes Satyrs, like I had seen at the hotel a few metres away. However, when I was looking at my photographs I noticed that they were a bit different and they turned out to be One-pupil Satyrs, Cissia similis.

A couple of days later I discovered that some of them were Two-pupil Satyrs, Cissia themis! It just showed the value of taking pictures of every butterfly I saw.

One day when I was walking along the track I heard a crashing in the trees above me and I was thrilled to see a troop of Spider Monkeys proving that it is less easy to spot wildlife when the trees are in leaf!

We had much better views of Spider Monkeys on our day trip to Nicaragua.

Back to the track where there was a bush with red flowers, possibly Aphelandra, which proved to be a real magnet for hummingbirds and butterflies.

It seemed particularly attractive to yellow butterflies, such as the Cloudless Sulphur, Phoebis marcellina,

the Orange-barred Sulphur, Phoebis philea,

and the Large Orange Sulphur, Phoebis agarithe.

All along the track I saw Banded Peacocks, Anartia fatima, the most common butterfly in Costa Rica and Central America. It is found in open areas and roadsides and is said to benefit from the weeds that grow in areas disturbed by humans. 

I am not sure what this bird is that I saw in a grass field near the hotel. (Thank you David for identifying it as a Double-striped Thick-knee, Burhinus bistriatus)

A shame I can't see its knees!!

Continued on my next post.

Costa Rica Butterflies November 2024 - Part 3

Continuing from my previous post.

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.

Of course there were so many more butterflies that I saw flying past, but had absolutely no idea what they were!

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.