Costa Rica, August 2012

[Leopard Lacewing]

Wow!!! Amazing pics, David!

[Painted Jezebel]

Gorgeous photos, David. I can not say which I like the most.

I believe the Strawberry Dart Frog has been given the nickname of 'BlueJeans' , which I think you can see is quite appropriate.

[atronox]

Not sure about the first one. Clearwings are very challenging as there are numerous similar spp. and also dead specimens look very different from live ones due to fading/scale loss:/
Venation is the only way to go

1st two riodinids in post #34 are either Eurybia unxia or lycisca.
Mesosemia have different ocelli configurations and more angular hindwings(mostly).

Ithomiid in post #35 is probably a Dircenna sp.

Unknown "Nymphalid" is actually a pierid, Dismorphia sp.

Lycaenid is a female Panthiades bitias. The earlier, darker one was a male.

[moloch]

Thanks, Les and Bobby. Yes, I've heard the name "Blue Jeans" for the little dart frog before and it is appropriate. Something that seemed surprising was that these toxic little guys were very wary. They would rapidly jump away and then dive beneath a leaf when disturbed. This behaviour made it difficult to take good photos.


Thanks again, Aaron, for your help with the names. I was most amazed at the strange little black and white pierid (Dismorphia sp). I don't think that I would have recognized it as a pierid rather than a nymph. You are very knowledgeable about these butterflies. Have you been on a trip to the neotropics?


We spent a single night at Suena Azul while awaiting the transfer to Rara Avis the following morning. The grounds were nice and we saw a number of birds, butterflies and a few herps on our single afternoon noon and the following morning. The lodge was near the Rio Sarapiqui and there were patches of tall forest (secondary?) in places.


There were several ponds on the grounds of the lodge. These were the home to numerous caimans that we saw at night.


The adult male Brown Basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus) was basking in the early morning sun near our room. It seemed quite tame and allowed us to approach for photos.



We also saw what I assume is a female Green Basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons). She was shy and we could only take shots at a distance.


These large frogs were common on the lawns at night. I think that they were Rana vaillanti.



Butterflies were numerous especially near a stand of lantana. One of the common species at these flowers was the White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae):

[moloch]

Banded Peacocks (Anartia fatima) were the most numerous butterfly.


I watched a single Banner Metalmark (Thisbe lycorias) as it rested beneath palm fronds and then fed at the lantana flowers.



This checkerspot (Chlosyne janais) was particularly colourful.




This rodent was sheltering beneath the canopy over the walkway near our unit.



Giant Squirrel:


These bats were seen a few times.

[oksoks]

Wow. Beautiful pictures. That's a lot of species you shot in one trip. Thanks for sharing.

[Chequered Lancer]

Amazing trip!Every shot is breath-taking Many of the the butterflies you shot are new to me! Congrats on nailing the eyelash pit-viper!

[Banded Yeoman]

Woww...

It must have been a most exhilarating trip!!

So many lovely species, and with those amazing habitat shots you have taken me straight to the Costa Rican Jungle!!

[atronox]

Thanks again, Aaron, for your help with the names. I was most amazed at the strange little black and white pierid (Dismorphia sp). I don't think that I would have recognized it as a pierid rather than a nymph. You are very knowledgeable about these butterflies. Have you been on a trip to the neotropics?

I have never been there unfortunately.

However i'm especially keen on going to the Trans-Andean countries(Colombia, Ecuador, Peru etc.) because they have many unique species there but my parents say that it's dangerous coz of the guerilla activity/drugs, even though i think it's totally worth the risk.

I'm also curious how long it took you to plan a trip to such countries, especially when good guides are hard to come by.

[Commander]

However i'm especially keen on going to the Trans-Andean countries(Colombia, Ecuador, Peru etc.) because they have many unique species there but my parents say that it's dangerous coz of the guerilla activity/drugs, even though i think it's totally worth the risk.

Actually, Colombia is beginning to open up and there is much better political stability and good governance. On the business front, there are quite a number of networks open already, and just this week, three of my staff are over at Bogota to give talks and discuss potential projects over there.

A lot of the negatives are often created by our media. Like in the early 2000's when I had to go to Yangon a few times to handle the Singapore Embassy, a lot of people kept asking me whether it was safe or not, as Myanmar was portrayed as a war-torn country with guerillas crawling out from every nook and corner. Having visited and seen Yangon several times for myself back then, I realised that bad press often makes a country sound worse than it really is!

Anyway, when you go out and work after you finish your studies, you will find that Singapore is getting too small and competitive to "make a living", and you will most probably have to travel quite a bit, depending on which field you are in.