Costa Rica January 2025

[zigzag_wanderer]

We went for a family holiday in Costa Rica from 13th to 29th of January. First time visit for all four of us and we very much enjoyed it. Seeing nature was a large part of the attraction but it wasn't a specific nature-led touring holiday.

That said, the country is so rich in wildlife that you cannot help but encounter quite a bit of it without trying very hard, even though you know you're just scratching the surface. We were even privileged to see surfacing mother and child humpback whales at close quarters from the deck of our "pirate boat" on a sunset cruise off Manuel Antonio.

I guess we did a tried and trusted tourist route; 2 nights in San Jose, 3 nights in Puerto Vieja de Talamanca on the Caribbean coast, 3 nights in La Fortuna, 3 nights in Monteverde and 4 nights in Manuel Antonio on the Pacific.

I can't compete with the beautifully detailed and photographed trip reports from previous visitors to the country and I think the butterflies below are probably all fairly common, so please look at this report as more of an example of species you may well see at, or not too far from, your hotel !

I've utilised my good friend, Mr Google Lens, to help me ID these but if I've got any wrong please let me know, ta.

[zigzag_wanderer]

Few more....

The Many-banded Daggerwing was very much enjoying the sand on Manuel Antonio beach.

[zigzag_wanderer]

There were a few I struggled with even with Google's help.

Moth A and Butterfly A were seen at Puerto Vieja de Talamanca on the roadside close to the Jaguar Rescue Centre. This doesn't house and never has housed a rescued jaguar , but it does have a large selection of rescued animals and is well worth a visit to help support them.

Butterfly B was seen in Manuel Antonio in some partially shaded scrub as I was killing time before our airport pickup on our very last day. It obviously chose the sunniest spot. Google points me to a couple of possibilities, but looking on distribution maps I'm not sure they reach Costa Rica.

Butterfly C was flitting about the wooden walkways at Manuel Antonio Nature Reserve, enjoying itself in the sunny glades. Like me, it's seen better days but with Google's help I think it's a Eunica. With a bit more digging, Eunica malvina albida (Rayed Purplewing) looks like a possibility, but I'm not sure.

Any help with these appreciated as always. Ta muchly for any consideration.

[Padfield]

Hi Wanderer. Fantastic butterflies, all!

Your mystery butterfly A is, I think, Eurema albula. Mystery C is Eunica sp. and the underside is very good for E. malvina. The upperside is not perfect for the pictures in my books but there seems to be quite a lot of variation.

The skipper I'll pass on for now, as neither d'Abrera nor De Vries include skippers. I do have other books covering the region but New World skippers always take me a long time to look through! I'll be back if no one else names it ...

Guy

[zigzag_wanderer]

Excellent stuff ! Thanks Guy.

Yes, for ID purposes, a fresher individual for C would obviously have been better. It certainly was extremely active though. My thinking for that species was based on this:

https://www.butterfliesofamerica.com/L/ ... bida_a.htm

Although the individuals in the bottom row that look fairly adjacent to mine were from the Panama Canal area.

[zigzag_wanderer]

Another insect I thought was a moth with semi-transparant wings turns out to be a species of planthopper.

[zigzag_wanderer]

We saw a lot of odonata throughout our stay, but I didn't manage to take many snaps.

As with the butterflies, if I've got any wrong please just shout. There's a couple I'm not sure of.

Insects A and B were seen in the same area of dappled scrub that I photographed the mystery golden skipper above. This was in Manuel Antonio on the Pacific coast. Google seems fairly confident in telling me they're both Dusky Dancers, but for the blue type (insect A), all the ones it shows seem to have two distinct blue rings at the end of the abdomen rather than a thicker single one.

Insects C and D were seen close together in the same roadside patch that I saw Moth A and Butterfly A (the latter now kindly ID'd by Guy). This was on the Caribbean coast, close to the Panama border. I think these are correctly attributed.

Insect E and F were also at this location. I think E is a Carmine Skimmer rather than Roseate Skimmer based on respective distribution maps. Google offers Megapodagrionidae for insect F. I do like the seemingly sparkly head and thorax.

Insect G was the smallest dragonfly I've ever seen. Significantly smaller than a Common Darter. It was a real beauty though, sitting in a small hedge directly outside our hotel chalet in La Fortuna.

Conversely, insect H was by a country mile the largest damselfly I've ever seen and was longer than any UK dragonfly. It was certainly hard to get all in focus at its angle of rest ! They have the most beautiful, mesmerising flight, living up to their helicopter tag.

[Padfield]

Excellent stuff ! Thanks Guy.

Yes, for ID purposes, a fresher individual for C would obviously have been better. It certainly was extremely active though. My thinking for that species was based on this:

https://www.butterfliesofamerica.com/L/ ... bida_a.htm

Although the individuals in the bottom row that look fairly adjacent to mine were from the Panama Canal area.

Hi Wanderer. I didn't even see your putative ID of Eunica malvina before I posted mine, so I think that looks a good bet.

For the golden skipper, even with my other books I'm not at all sure. It would be great to see an upperside. Maybe one of the UK Butterfliers with experience of Costa Rica (there are quite a few) will be able to say what is most probable. For my part, the genus Anatrytone looks good but I'm not sure of the species (or even the genus).

I haven't got dragonfly books for middle America. The furthest south I've got for the New World is Texas ...

Guy

[NickMorgan]

Hi Wanderer,
A lovely set of pictures and many species I had hoped to see during my very wet stay last year!
For Moth A I think Lesmone duplicans is most likely,
I agree with Guy on Eurema, or Abaeis albula
and for Butterfly C I agree with you both, Eunica malvina.
For the skipper I think it is Zariaspes mys.

[zigzag_wanderer]

Thanks Guy and Nick,

UKB always delivers

I appreciate we were lucky with the weather, Nick. It certainly rained fairly often, but generally not for long and of course the rain over there is thankfully quite warm. I've attached a snap below from our hotel balcony in Monteverde - it's the closest I've ever been to the end of a rainbow. No pot of gold there afterwards, unfortunately.

There were lots of butterflies I saw when we were out and about that just refused to land, but the hotels proved happier hunting grounds. Probably because I had more time to stay in one place and wait for them to settle.

[NickMorgan]

Here is a view from our balcony!!

I did think that the poor weather was helpful as it slowed the butterflies down. However, on our last morning we had a lovely sunny morning and I couldn't believe how many butterflies there were flying around and landing, too. Many of them laying eggs, as I think they had few opportunities to do so in the previous few days!
Despite the weather I was amazed how many butterflies there were. I would so love to go back in decent weather and be able to see more of the country.

[zigzag_wanderer]

Now that's proper rain, Nick !

Your hotel balcony looks ideal for sitting and watching birds and butterflies with a cool fresco de piña con arroz beside you (or an Imperial beer). You never know, you might be sitting back there in better weather ...

I was very impressed by the locals' knowledge of their flora and (especially) their fauna. OK, my sample base was not very large, but I had good chats with all the drivers taking us from base to base and their pride in and knowledge of their wildlife shone through. When I was taking snaps of the Monarch (above) one of the hotel staff came racing out to tell me all about them, I'm sure this was her delight in seeing a visitor taking an interest in CR's wildlife rather than an opportunity to get out of breakfast serving duties !

[zigzag_wanderer]

We were lucky to spot all four of our cousin species.

The white-faced capuchins like to utilise the railings of the wooden walkways at the Manuel Antonio Nature Reserve, but they do so completely on their own terms, seeing them as useful additions to their environment and they certainly love to lie flat out along them for a breather. One visitor close to me got the impression this meant they were tame and put his hand out toward them - he quickly regretted that as the monkeys gave him a very sudden and piercing "go forth and multiply" scream.

[zigzag_wanderer]

Here's the view from our hotel balcony in San Jose. The national stadium on the left was a present from the Chinese government apparently. Stadium Diplomacy in the flesh !