Felipe del Bosque Blog April 15^th 2013

Water Music

There has been a little more rain falling over the course of the past week.  More particularly there was one night with more rain than has been experienced recently.  It rained all night at a steady light drizzle and that was enough to dampen the trails and refresh the plants.  It also served to fool the frogs which burst into action thinking the summer had ended.  The night following the rain the Milky Frogs, (Trachycephala venulosa) came out in huge numbers.  The sound of their calls could be heard from some distance which upon approaching the pond became deafening.  The grassy areas away from the pond were the scene of an exodus by Savage’s Thin-fingered Frogs, (Leptodactylus savegei), whose patience had been tried by their noisy cousins and were consequently moving off to quieter and less boisterous locations.

The males were out in force.  Wherever you looked there were calling frogs.  They were calling from the vegetation above the pond and most numerously in the water.  They were grabbing hold of anything that came near in the hope that it was a female.  Enough of the males must have found a female because the following morning the pond surface was covered with Milky Frog eggs.  These frogs must take advantage of short term breeding pools because the tadpoles develop into the free swimming stage overnight.  In two days the pond was filled with a writhing black mass of tadpoles.

The crabs are always stimulated into action during the dry season if there has been even the slightest amount of precipitation.  Having had several nights of light rain the forest floor has been alive with crab activity.  But following two or three days of drying weather they disappear down their burrows once again.

Pigging Out On Cats

There has been one cat spotted on the grounds of the lodge last week.  A female Puma, (Puma concolor), was seen on the driveway by the Titi Trail entrance.  It was mid afternoon and she was just standing at the side of the road oblivious to the presence of humans passing by.

The small herd of White-lipped Peccary, (Tayassu pecari), is still wandering the grounds.  They have been in the same location for five weeks now so it could be that they are going to stay.  They regularly pass by the front of the restaurant on their way to the Pacific Trail where there is a fig tree fruiting.  There is a lot of monkey activity in this particular tree and with monkeys being wasteful feeders they are throwing a shower of half eaten fruits to the ground which is keeping the peccaries well fed.

There has also been another fig tree fruiting in front of the cabins near the restaurant.  This has resulted in daily influxes of different species of monkey, some of which are all in the same tree at the same time, presenting some easily accessible and wonderful photographic opportunities.

The Western Red Bats, (Lassiurus blossivillii), are still roosting between the dried leaves of the thatch.  Last week one female was observed with two baby bats suckling.  The Tent-making Bats, (Uroderma bilobatum), have also been seen under several tents that have recently been created near the restaurant area.

Hanging out At The Pond

With the sun still shining brightly on a daily basis the water from the pond has been progressively evaporating.  With no rain to replenish the volume, the water level has dropped.  The vegetation sitting on the surface of the water and surrounding it at the back provide perfect perches for the dragonflies and there are always several species present in greater or lesser numbers.  There are two large red species, the Roseate Skimmer, (Orthemis ferruginea), and a king skimmer, (Libellula herculea), that take the prime upper landing spots, chasing away anything that dares to try and usurp their positions.  There is a smaller species, blue in color, a tropical dasher, (Micrathyria ocellata), which prefers to establish itself on the lower growing vegetation.  If you sit and watch you will see the dragonflies land, rest and then quickly take to the air, hovering over the water ready to chase off any other individual invading their space or ready to snatch an unsuspecting meal from the air.

Katydids always make fascinating subjects due to their multifarious forms and colors.  They all have the distinctive katydid shape which is not too dissimilar to the grasshoppers and crickets t which they are closely related.  It is the divergence from that general body plan that makes them so compelling.

                 

Many of the katydids are green in color and resemble the vegetation in which they can be found feeding.  Then there is a movement away from simply mimicking the color of the surrounding leaves into more elaborately disguised forms.  The wings start to take on the distinct appearance of the leaves themselves, veins and all.  The leaves mimicked can be broad or narrow and the veins are now accompanied by cross veins and pits.  The leaves then turn brown and the katydid takes on the form of a dead leaf.  Theses leaves start to have patches of mould and fungus as well as holes ripped in them and amazingly evolution has copied these features exactly until it is almost impossible to tell the katydid apart from the long dead and now decaying leaf it so closely resembles.  This particular individual was at a point of looking like a dead leaf but not yet with all the other accoutrements.

One thing to be aware of when looking under leaves for subjects to photograph is the presence of paper wasp nests.  They are very common around the grounds and come in all sizes and shapes.  This was a large tubular shaped nest that was established under a palm frond and is being continually added to thereby extending its length.

The nest is a papery structure constructed from a pulp that wasps produce by chewing up woody material.  Occasionally they remove the very bottom layer and add to the sides so the tube grows to accommodate the ever increasing number of wasps and the new combs.  The covering to the nest identifies these wasps as belonging to the genus Polybia.  The individual wasps might be small in size but they sting and they do pack a punch.  If disturbed during the day they can defend the nest with a great deal of ferocity.

Flowers and Fruit

There are several distinctive fruits that can be seen around the grounds and in the forests of Bosque del Cabo at the moment.  One of them can be found by the pond and there are many people who have obviously never seen a pineapple in the wild who mistake it as such.  This is the fruit of the Screw Pine, (Pandanus sp), which is native to Australia.  They are commonly grown in tropical regions for their spectacular decorative qualities.

Just opposite the pond there are several of Costa Rica’s national trees, the Guanacaste, (Enterolobium cyclocarpum).  The fruit is very distinctive and the Latin name of the tree pays double homage to the fruits; Enterolobium refers to the fruits resemblance to a lobe of the intestine, while cyclocarpum describes the seed pods curled circular structure.

During the months of December and January the Ajo or Garlic Trees, (Caryocar costaricense), were in flower.  Their bright yellow flowers, borne at the tree tops, give off the scent of garlic which attracts in the nectar feeding bats and they subsequently serve to pollinate the tree.  Once the tree has been pollinated the fruits are produced which fall to the ground.  They are green and stalked with a squashed oval shape.  They have a very oily pulp which is rich in fat and is relished by rodents.  For this reason it is as well not to venture too close to the base of the Ajo Trees while they are fruiting as the increased presence of rodents does not go unnoticed by the snakes, particularly the large dangerous pit viper known as the Terciopelo, (Bothrops asper).  They sit motionless amongst the buttress roots of the tree blending in perfectly with the fallen leaves waiting to ambush any small rodent passing by.

Flowering nearly all year round in the Bosque gardens is a plant most people would associate with Hawaii, the Frangipani, (Plumeria rubra).  This is in fact a plant of Central America and not native to the Polynesian islands at all despite their use in the manufacture of the leys.  Near the Bosque restaurant are two color forms, the more commonly seen yellow flowers and these ones in vivid deep purple which would appear to be a cultivar.

Philip is a biologist, writer and photographer as well as the onsite naturalist guide at Bosque del Cabo Rainforest lodge on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.

www.bosquedelcabo.com

Photo Feature

Mystery Flight

On the Zapatero Trail atop a juvenile palm leaf close to the ground a nest appeared this week.  Every time the nest was approached the bird sitting on it flew off.  The nest is small and made up of very fluffy vegetative material, which without taking a closer look, would appear to be the soft downy filling of the balsa fruits.  The nest was obviously that of a hummingbird, the question being which species.

                 

As the nest was approached the bird would fly off, slowly and very low to the forest floor.  The tail feathers would be spread wide revealing white edging.  The bird also flew so slow that it appeared to be almost suspended in the air and being pushed forward.  Following several occasions where the bird would leave upon approach I did finally manage to sneak up on it and get to see enough of the diagnostic features that allowed me to identify it as a female White-necked Jacobin, (Florisuga mellivora).  There were two tiny jelly bean-like eggs sitting in the nest so it will be interesting to see if the nest, eggs, chicks and bird survive.

Another flying creature that proved to be something of a mystery was a butterfly that was observed near the entrance of the Zapatero Trail.  It landed facing down on the trunk of a small tree.  I managed to get some good photographs but that did not initially help in its identification.

Over the past thirteen years I have inventoried over 360 species of butterfly on the grounds of Bosque del Cabo.  That has been at ground level, if I had the time and funding to set up canopy traps that number would surely have increased dramatically as many of the butterfly species are only to be found at the tops of the trees.  It stands to reason that on occasion should one find itself at ground level that it would be a no more than a fortuitous chance encounter.  So many of the 360+ species I have recorded are individuals that I see once or twice but never again.

With this individual I was fairly confident I knew what I had at least as family was concerned and it would take just a quick look through my reference library to get the species.  Well looking at plates in one book after another then visiting online reference sites I was somewhat baffled by the fact that I could not find anything remotely resembling the species I had photographed earlier in the day.  As of posting this blog, the search continues.

Text and Photographs are taken from the forthcoming book:

The Natural History of Bosque del Cabo by Philip Davison

Temperature and Rainfall

Average Daily Rainfall 0.01 ins.  Total Weekly Rainfall 0.08 ins

Average Daily Rainfall 0.3 mm.  Total Weekly Rainfall 2.0 mm

Highest Daily Temp 91°F.  Lowest Daily Temp 77°F.

Highest Daily Temp 32.8°C.  Lowest Daily Temp 22.6°C.

Species List for the Week

Mammals

• Mantled Howler Monkey
• Spider Monkey
• White-faced Capuchin Monkey
• Common Tent-making Bat
• Western Red Bat
• White-nosed Coati
• Agouti
• Red-tailed Squirrel
• White-lipped Peccary

Birds

• Red-lored Amazon
• Scarlet Macaw
• Great Curassow
• Crested Caracara
• Mangrove Black Hawk
• Lineated Woodpecker
• Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
• Black-hooded Antshrike
• Chestnut-backed Antbird
• Short-billed Pigeon
• White-tipped Dove
• Rufus Piha
• Long-billed Hermit
• Blue-crowned Motmot
• Blue-crowned Manakin
• Red-Capped Manakin
• Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
• Bright-rumped Atilla
• Buff-rumped Warbler
• Dusky-capped Flycatcher
• Great Kiskadee
• Great Tinamou
• Black-throated Trogon
• Masked Tityra
• House Wren
• Black Vulture
• Turkey Vulture

Reptiles

• Barred Ameiva
• Cat-eyed Snake
• Central American Smooth Gecko
• Central American Whiptail
• Common Anolis
• Common Basilisk
• Clawless Gecko
• Four-lined Ameiva
• Golfo Dulce Anolis
• Litter Skink
• Mediterranean House Gecko
• Pentaprion Anolis

Amphibians

• Banana Frog
• Black and Green Poison Arrow Frog
• Fitzinger’s Rain Frog
• Golfo Dulce Poison Arrow Frog
• Marine Toad
• Milky Frog
• Red-eyed Green Tree Frog
• Savage’s Thin-fingered Frog

Butterflies

• Antirrhea philoctetes
• Archaeoprepona demophon
• Caligo atreus
• Caligo eurilochus
• Colobura dirce
• Dione juno
• Dryas iulia
• Heliconius erato
• Heliconius ismenius
• Heliconius sapho
• Hermeuptychia hermes
• Marpesia furcula
• Mechanitis polymnia
• Mesosemia zonalis
• Morpho helenor
• Morpho Menelaus
• Opsiphanes tamarindi
• Philaethria dido
• Pierella luna
• Pyrgus oileus
• Strymon megarus

Plants

• Alamandra  cathartica Flowering
• Alpinia purpurata Flowering
• Apeiba tibourbou Fruiting
• Arachis pintoi Flowering
• Arundina graminifolia Flowering
• Attalea rostrata Fruiting
• Bauhinia variegata Flowering
• Brosimum utile Fruiting
• Caryocar costaricense Fruiting
• Cascabella thevetia Flowering and Fruiting
• Citrus spp  Fruiting
• Clusia rosea Flowering and Fruiting
• Clusia vallerii Fruiting
• Cocos nucifera Flowering and Fruiting
• Crestentia alata flowering and Fruiting
• Costus speciosus Flowering
• Couroupita guianensis Flowering and Fruiting
• Dypsis lutescens Flowering and Fruiting
• Etlingera elatior Flowering
• Ficus citrifolia Fruiting
• Ficus insipida Fruiting
• Heliconia chartacea Flowering
• Heliconia latispatha Flowering
• Heliconia pogonantha Flowering
• Heliconia psittacorum Flowering
• Heliconia rostrata Flowering
• Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Flowering
• Hymenaea coubaril Fruiting
• Hymenocallis littoralis Flowering
• Inga spp Fruiting
• Ixora coccinea Flowering
• Lantana camara Flowering and Flowering
• Lagerstroemia speciosa Fruiting
• Morinda citrifolia Fruiting
• Musa acuminate Flowering and Fruiting
• Nephelium lappaceum Fruiting
• Pachira quinata Flowering
• Piper auritum Flowering and Fruiting
• Piper nigrum Fruiting
• Piper umbellatum Flowering and Fruiting
• Pleiostachya pruinosa Flowering
• Plumeria rubra Flowering
• Psychotria sp Fruiting
• Stachytarpheta frantzii Flowering
• Zammia sp Flowering

 

 

Felipe del Bosque Blog April 1^st 2013

Mud Mosaic

Initially there had been no sign of the weather changing with the hot and dry conditions continuing throughout the week.  The creek is still flowing but the forest floor is now starting to crack intensely forming a series of polygonal reticulations.  The lawns have lost a lot of their vibrant green color and there are large scorched patches of parched grass which have become crispy and brittle underfoot.  Some of the plants on the forest edges are now turning yellow and wilting.

One small glimmer of hope is that over several nights there has been a mass of dark cloud gathering.  By early evening there was the occasional sprinkle but in total precipitation it did not amount to much, little more than a damping of the top surface of the ground.  The rains did not materialize despite the heavy dark cloud cover but it is still a little too early in the season.

Not Sticking Out.

Most people are familiar with walking sticks, the insects not the ambulatory aid.  All of the different species basically have the same morphological design; a long body, legs and antennae.  When they are located in amongst the vegetation they are almost impossible to see.  When stationary they hang motionless from a twig with the antennae close together and held out straight from the front of the body along with the front pair of legs.  The illusion is that of just one more spindly twiglet.  For this reason, despite the relative abundance, they are rarely seen.  You can be staring directly at one but the deception is flawless you won’t see it.

Walking sticks belong to the Order: Phasmatodea or Phasmids which consists of approximately 2,500 species divided into six families.  They are distributed globally but a large percentage exists in the neotropical forests.  They are plant eaters and closely resemble the vegetation on which they are feeding.  Some of them, particularly the males have wings and so if you pay too close attention the twig you are looking at may take to the air and disappear into the distance.  As well as the amazing cryptic form of the phasmids, they can also enhance the impression of being a plant part with behavioral displays such as swaying back and forth to mimic movement in a breeze.

Mini Beaver

Sometimes while walking around the gardens you may see some plants that have the stem neatly bitten through.  Closer inspection reveals a cut not too dissimilar to the way a beaver gnaws through and fells a tree using that perfectly executed circular grooved cut.  That might lead you to assume the culprit could be a smaller rodent practicing the same destructive tendencies on a mini scale.  It sounds plausible but it is not actually what is happening.  The villain in this case is smaller still and has six legs.  Not only that but it sports two very long antennae.  It is a species of Long-horned Beetle, Family: Cerambycidae.  As with so many other beetles it is a Herculean task for many specialist coleopterists to identify them to species level but the stunning alternate orange and black segments making up the long curved antennae are enough to give me at least an identification to family level of the mystery mini lumberjack.

Hanging Around at Night

The Three-toed Sloth, (Bradypus variegatus), is a common mammal on the grounds of Bosque del Cabo.  It is one of those creatures that fascinate people simply because it is such a unique looking animal.  Quite often it is the first mammal people enquire about seeing when they arrive at the lodge.  They are plentiful on the grounds but not always the easiest mammal to find.

The sloth lives almost 100% of its life up the top of trees.  It is a leaf eater and leaf does not yield much energy so much in the fashion of the Howler Monkeys of the neotropics or Koala Bears of Australia they do not move much and when they do it is not very far.  The Three-toed Sloth has a territory of about 40 trees but they return frequently to a home tree called a modal tree.  The diet is not that varied especially considering the diversity of tree species growing in any one given area.  They prefer to eat younger leaves which can be found at the end of the branches.  They are aided in reaching these by having proportionately long arms in comparison with body length.

One of the best trees in which to spot a sloth is the Cecropia tree.  These have an open crown which makes viewing more accessible.  The Cecropia is also a good place for the sloth to sunbathe.  It has a very low basal metabolism and very slow passage of food through the alimentary canal, sometimes up to a month.  The sun’s energy heats up the sloths body and helps speed up digestion.  In a temporal or period of low sunlight levels the sloths can die of hypothermia.

The sloth descends to the ground every 7 days or so to defecate.  There are several theories as to why they might do this but the most plausible is the fact that the sloth being such a slow mover if it were to defecate from the tree tops, any potential predator would spot the fresh feces, look up and there is its meal sitting directly above.  That descent for a toilet trip is hazardous to a slow moving creature so once a week it takes its life in its hands, climbs backwards down a tree trunk, bores a hole in the earth with its short stubby tail and poops.  It covers the material to stop it being easily located then ascends to the tree tops to wait another week before coming back down again.

Different individuals have different food preferences in terms of the leaves they eat.  This preference is conferred on a young sloth by its mother.  It inherits the taste for certain leaves by tasting the leaf fragments on the lips of the mother.  As different individuals have a specific group of tree species from which they are taking leaf, a small area with high tree species diversity can support a larger number of sloths than it otherwise would.

This female sloth had been hanging around in the vicinity of the mango orchard near the restaurant for weeks.  Every few days it would change its location to a new tree.  One night it was hanging from a vine about 9 feet above the ground.  It didn’t appear to be doing anything in particular and didn’t seem like it was going anywhere.  I went and got the camera and took a series of pictures then departed to leave the creature to figure out what it was going to do next.

Philip is a biologist, writer and photographer as well as the onsite naturalist guide at Bosque del Cabo Rainforest lodge on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.

www.bosquedelcabo.com

Photo Feature

Hide and Seek

There are some animals that may be present in large enough numbers to be considered common but are not seen that often because they don’t want to be seen.  They may live in inaccessible areas or make themselves scarce upon your approach.  Two such reptiles turned up last week.

The Southern Bromeliad Boa, (Ungaliophis panamensis), is a dwarf boa not reaching dimensions anywhere similar to its more famous relative the Boa Constrictor.  It is regarded as being not very abundant but I find this species more frequently than some of the other snakes at Bosque.  This individual turned up in the Boa Bar early one evening.

These boas can be found from high in the trees to ground level in the forest.  They are normally active from dusk to dawn.  The diet consists of frogs, small lizards and small rodents.  They are very shy and placid snakes more inclined to hide their heads under the body rather than bite if disturbed.

Basilisks are renowned for their ability to run across the surface of the water which gives them their alternative name of Jesus Christ Lizards.  They are diurnal lizards and generally can be found in the vicinity of water such as creeks, ponds, mangroves and estuaries.  As soon as you approach they will stand up on their back legs and take off running bipedally across the surface of the water.  What allows them to do that is the fact that the toes on the hind feet are long and fringed which spreads the weight of the lizard over a much wider surface area and consequently not breaking the surface tension.

This was a male Common Basilisk, (Basiliscus basiliscus), that I found sleeping in a palm near the restaurant one night.  When fully grown the males are approximately 3 feet long.  The males have a crest on the back of the head and a high fan that runs the length of the body and then the tail.  The females are smaller and unadorned.  The adults feed on a large variety of food including pond vegetation, insects, lizards, snakes, rodents and small birds.  The juveniles are more restricted to a diet of smaller arthropods.

Text and Photographs are taken from the forthcoming book:

The Natural History of Bosque del Cabo by Philip Davison

Temperature and Rainfall

Average Daily Rainfall 0.01 ins.  Total Weekly Rainfall 0.08 ins

Average Daily Rainfall 0.3 mm.  Total Weekly Rainfall 2.0 mm

Highest Daily Temp 94°F.  Lowest Daily Temp 76°F.

Highest Daily Temp 34.3°C.  Lowest Daily Temp 24.7°C.

Species List for the Week

Mammals

• Mantled Howler Monkey
• Spider Monkey
• White-faced Capuchin Monkey
• Common Tent-making Bat
• Western Red Bat
• White-nosed Coati
• Agouti
• Alfaro’s Pygmy Squirrel
• Red-tailed Squirrel
• Three-toed Sloth
• White-lipped Peccary

Birds

• Mealy Amazon
• Red-lored Amazon
• Scarlet Macaw
• Great Curassow
• Broad-winged Hawk
• Mangrove Black Hawk
• Roadside Hawk
• White Hawk
• Golden-naped Woodpecker
• Lineated Woodpecker
• Streak-headed Woodcreeper
• Black-hooded Antshrike
• Chestnut-backed Antbird
• Short-billed Pigeon
• White-tipped Dove
• Rufus Piha
• Long-billed Hermit
• Stripe-throated Hermit
• Blue-crowned Manakin
• Red-Capped Manakin
• Spectacled Owl
• Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
• Cherrie’s Tanager
• Bright-rumped Atilla
• Buff-rumped Warbler
• Dusky-capped Flycatcher
• Golden-crowned Spadebill
• Great Kiskadee
• Great Tinamou
• Black-throated Trogon
• Slaty-tailed Trogon
• Violaceous Trogon
• House Wren
• Black Vulture
• Turkey Vulture

Reptiles

• Barred Ameiva
• Cat-eyed Snake
• Central American Smooth Gecko
• Central American Whiptail
• Common Anolis
• Common Basilisk
• Clawless Gecko
• Dwarf Boa
• Four-lined Ameiva
• Golfo Dulce Anolis
• Green Parrot Snake
• Litter Skink
• Mediterranean House Gecko
• Pentaprion Anolis

Amphibians

• Banana Frog
• Black and Green Poison Arrow Frog
• Golfo Dulce Poison Arrow Frog
• Marine Toad
• Milky Frog
• Red-eyed Green Tree Frog
• Savage’s Thin-fingered Frog

Butterflies

• Agraulis vanillae
• Anartia Fatima
• Anartia jatrophae
• Caligo atreus
• Colobura dirce
• Cupido comyntas
• Dione juno
• Dryas iulia
• Eueides lybia
• Eurema albula
• Heliconius erato
• Heliconius ismenius
• Heliconius sapho
• Hermeuptychia hermes
• Mechanitis polymnia
• Mesosemia zonalis
• Morpho cypris
• Morpho helenor
• Morpho menelaus
• Philaethria dido
• Phoebis argante
• Phoebis sennae
• Pierella helvina
• Pierella luna
• Pyrgus oileus
• Pyrrhogyra crameri

Plants

• Alamandra  cathartica Flowering
• Alpinia purpurata Flowering
• Apeiba tibourbou Fruiting
• Arachis pintoi Flowering
• Arundina graminifolia Flowering
• Attalea rostrata Fruiting
• Bauhinia variegata Flowering
• Brosimum utile Fruiting
• Caryocar costaricense Flowering
• Cascabella thevetia Flowering and Fruiting
• Citrus spp  Fruiting
• Clusia rosea Flowering and Fruiting
• Clusia vallerii Fruiting
• Cocos nucifera Flowering and Fruiting
• Crestentia alata flowering and Fruiting
• Costus speciosus Flowering
• Couroupita guianensis Flowering and Fruiting
• Dypsis lutescens Flowering and Fruiting
• Etlingera elatior Flowering
• Ficus citrifolia Fruiting
• Ficus insipida Fruiting
• Heliconia chartacea Flowering
• Heliconia latispatha Flowering
• Heliconia pogonantha Flowering
• Heliconia psittacorum Flowering
• Heliconia rostrata Flowering
• Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Flowering
• Hymenaea coubaril Fruiting
• Hymenocallis littoralis Flowering
• Inga spp Fruiting
• Ixora coccinea Flowering
• Lantana camara Flowering and Flowering
• Lagerstroemia speciosa Fruiting
• Morinda citrifolia Fruiting
• Musa acuminate Flowering and Fruiting
• Nephelium lappaceum Fruiting
• Pachira quinata Flowering
• Piper auritum Flowering and Fruiting
• Piper nigrum Fruiting
• Piper umbellatum Flowering and Fruiting
• Pleiostachya pruinosa Flowering
• Plumeria rubra Flowering
• Psychotria sp Fruiting
• Stachytarpheta frantzii Flowering
• Zammia sp Flowering

 

 

Felipe del Bosque Blog March 18^th 2013

Open Wide

The weather continues to be hot and dry.  The skies are clear blue during the day and filled with stars at night.  The cracks in the forest floor are widening and deepening.  There is a certain amount of dust in the air being raised from the parched roads.  It is settling on the vegetation giving it that drab and tired look.

The White-lipped Peccaries, (Tayussu pecari), are still making their daily circuits of the grounds around the main lodge area.  They have now been here two weeks and show little sign of leaving.  Their habit of slowly walking around the grounds with little concern regarding the attention of the visitors makes them an easy photographic subject.

The Puma was seen one night by the staff as they left the lodge.  It was crossing the road by the Titi Trail. There is a large Fig Tree, (Ficus citrifolia), fruiting in the gardens in front of the restaurant.  This is attracting the attention of lots of animals particularly monkeys and toucans.

The pond is still full of Savage’s Thin-fingered Frog, (Leptodactylus savagei), and Marine Toads, (Chaunus marinus).  It is one of the few remaining damp areas around which they can congregate.  One pair of Savage’s Thin-fingered Frogs paired up and spawned this week producing the characteristic foam nest that looks like a patch of whipped cream that has been deposited on the water surface.  The Marine Toad males have been calling as has a lone male Banana Frog, (Dendropsophus ebreccatus).

Early one evening the Halloween Crabs, (Gecarcinus quadratus), were out in force even before the sun had set.  It has been very dry and those weather conditions normally keep the crabs confined to their burrows where the air has slightly higher moisture content.  Several weeks ago when the crabs became active it heralded the onset of rain.  This occasion was no different as a few hours later the heavens opened and down came .09 inches of rain.  That might not be much but it was enough to dampen the ground for a couple of days and bring the crabs out en masse the following morning.

Trooping of the Monkeys

If fortune favors you then it is not too hard to find all four species of monkey that inhabit Costa Rica on the grounds of Bosque del Cabo within little more than a few hours.  Where there is an abundant supply of food from the fruiting trees it may be possible to predict the time of their daily visits.  Over the last week one group of White-faced Capuchin Monkeys, (Cebus capucinus), has been passing through the grounds every afternoon on their way to a Guaba tree that has a copious supply of bean pods.

                 

The Capuchin Monkeys usually travel as a mixed sex and mixed age troop in anything up to 30 in number.  They prefer the mid levels of the forest but can be found in the canopy and on the ground.  They have a varied diet consisting of flowers, fruit and young leaves but 65% of the diet is insects, frogs and lizards which they obtain by gleaning the leaves as the move through the forest.  But the Capuchins will also take bigger prey.  At Bosque they are frequently seen catching and eating the Chestnut-mandibled Toucans, (Ramphastos swainsonii), if front of the restaurant.

This particular troop has several females carrying young of differing ages.  The female is sexually mature at about 4 years and will have one or rarely two young every 2 years.  The grey-furred babies are born in the trees and from that moment have to hang on tight as the mother jumps from tree to tree.  By 6 months old the offspring will be moving around independently.  The male mature at 8 years and head to join a new troop, in the other 3 species of monkey it is the females that leave the troop to find a new one into which they will be accepted.

In this troop one of the young males was taking a definite interest in the very new looking baby.  It could well be that he was the females last youngster and has lost out as her attention is devoted to the new arrival.

Unexpected Opportunities

Sometimes an animal appears at an opportune moment to photograph.  It could well be that you are out searching for a specific subject or perhaps just set off on a trail with nothing in particular in mind hoping to capture whatever comes your way.  I generally have a mix of those two situations going on.  I will head off to photograph something that I may have seen earlier or I need an image to complement a piece I may have been writing.  I am always aware that I may happen across sometime else on my journey so usually carry several lenses.  As most of my work is macro photography then it will invariably be several macro lenses.

Last week when I was out I saw a pretty little damsel fly which kept flying off but returning to settle in the same place.  I thought I could get quite close to it and if I did disturb it I was reasonably sure it would come back.  That is what happened.  When I got the pictures back I went through my reference material to identify what species I had.

Damselflies and dragonflies belong to the order Odonata.  Dragonflies tend to be larger, have joined eyes and hold their wings out to the sides.  Damselflies tend to be smaller, have distinctly separate eyes and hold their wings above them when at rest.  Both are aerial predators and feed on a variety of arthropods many of which are caught with lightning quick speed on the wing.  This one had beautiful powder blue stripes.  Wing veination is important in identifying these creatures and I am pretty sure this one is of the Family: Coenagrionidae, (Pond Damsels).  It was by the pond where I found it so the description is accurate.  Beyond that identification becomes more difficult and so I would say it is of the genus Agria but I am not sure what species as they are all so similar.  It is a fairly common genus of damselfly but like so many other forms of life here in Costa Rica their natural history has not been adequately studied.

One day on the underside of a heliconia leaf on the path to the Bosque restaurant I noticed a strange cluster of minute globules each one suspended on a microfilament stalk.  I had seen them before and knew what they were but had never taken a picture.  It was the eggs of an Ant Lion.  The eggs are suspended on the thin threads as opposed to directly on the leaf surface to stop foraging ants from finding them.

When the eggs hatch and the larvae emerge they fall to the ground where they burrow in and set about constructing a crater of death.  The crater has steep sides and has been excavated in a substrate composed of loose grains such as sand or soil.  The sides then become very friable and any hapless creature stumbling into this depression in its efforts to escape will find itself dislodging grains and slipping further down the slope.  There awaits the ravenous assassin, the Ant Lion larva.  It has fearsome mandibles that are set open like a man trap.  With its front legs it flicks more sand grains at the struggling victim.  It slides further and further down the slope until finally it hits the bottom and the trap springs shut around it.  The Ant Lion larva sucks out its preys internal juices and discards the freshly drained cadaver.

Ant Lions belong to the Family: Myrmeleontidae of the insect Order: Neuroptera.  The adult Ant Lions have long thin abdomens but characteristically of this order the wings which are only half the length of the body feature a complex network of fine veins.

Beetles are the most numerous named group of animals on the planet.  The Order:  Coleoptera contains approximately 320 000 named species.  Costa Rica has 47 000 named species of beetle.  Within the Coleoptera the Weevils Family: Curculionidae is the most numerous named family of either plant or animal boasting more than 50 000 species worldwide with 7 500 species found in Costa Rica.  As with most beetles I can quite often identify them to Family level but beyond that takes more of a dedicated coleopterists skills.

                 

The most distinctive feature of the weevils is the long slender snout which is an elongation of the head.  The antennae are borne on the snout where they are supported on the sides but then angle forwards at 90°.  The end of the snout is tipped by the strong mandibles which allow the weevil to eat their way into the seeds and nuts which make up the staple of their diet.  Many weevils feed on plant material as well as fungi.  The larvae of some beetles can become pests burrowing throughout and feeding on living plant tissue.

One day last week when I was walking the Zapatero Trail, the man responsible for trail maintenance approached me and asked if I had seen the Black-throated Trogon, (Trogon rufus), sitting on the nest.  I had walked past without noticing until he showed me a broken off rotten tree about 5 feet high with a hole in it.  I could clearly see the male trogon sitting on the nest so headed back for my camera and returned to take the pictures hopefully without disturbing the bird.  The images weren’t great but I wasn’t prepared to stress the animal in pursuit of a photograph.

More Flowers and Fruit

The grounds of Bosque are still producing many flowers and fruit to captivate the interest of most casual visitors.  At entrance of the Zapatero Trail the fruits of the Guacimo, (Guazuma ulmifolia), Family: Sterculiaceae, can be found on the ground.  This is one of the fruits that the peccaries seek out when other food becomes scarce.  When crushed the fruits give off a sweet aroma.  Guacimo belongs in the same family as Cacoa, (Theobroma cacao).

In front of the restaurant is a small tree with distinct red flowers that resemble brushes used for cleaning bottles.  For this reason it has been named the Weeping Bottlebrush, (Callistemon vitiminalis).  It is a native of Australia and belongs in the same Family as the Eucalyptus, Mytaceae.  It is widely planted throughout Costa Rica as a decorative ornamental as well as an attraction for hummingbirds many species of which will visit the flowers which are in bloom most of the year.

One of the plants growing around the restaurant gardens produces flowers that are used most nights to decorate the tables.  Not only are they attractive to look at but they also emit a pleasantly scented perfume.  Frangipani, (Plumeria rubra), Family: Apocyanaceae, is a plant recognized by anyone who has visited Hawaii as one of the main components of the leis.  It is in fact a native of Central America not to Hawaii where it is grown as a decorative ornamental.  The plant is used medicinally as a cure for a number of internal and external conditions.  The sweet scent is an attractant for Hawk Moth pollinators that are fooled into visiting the plant with the promise of nectar.  As they move from flower to flower they transfer the pollen but the plant doesn’t live up to expectations as it does not expend energy producing a feed for the moth.

Along with the fruiting fig there is another tree near to the restaurant that has been the location of a daily visit by the White-faced Capuchin Monkeys Guaba, (Inga thybaudiana).  This is one of the Family: Fabaceae – Mimosoideae which when fruiting produce long bean-filled pods.  There are many species of Inga and these ones seem to be liked by the monkeys which use their sharp teeth and strong jaws to tear off the shell and get to the beans inside.

Philip is a biologist, writer and photographer as well as the onsite naturalist guide at Bosque del Cabo Rainforest lodge on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.

www.bosquedelcabo.com

Photo Feature

The Powerful Smell of Death

Two very common birds seen at Bosque del Cabo, either on the ground or in the air are the Turkey Vulture, (Cathartes aura), and the Black Vulture, (Coragyps atratus).  On the ground they are easily distinguished by the color of the head which in the Turkey Vulture is bright red while in the Black Vulture is black.  While soaring on the thermals above the lodge the outstretched wings of the Turkey Vulture are overall grey with a black leading edge while those of the Black Vulture are overall black with a pale patch towards the tip of each wing.

Old World vultures have acute vision and can spot a dead animal on open grassland from some distance and from some height.  New World vultures have sometime of a problem; trees.  It is impossible to view a dead animal lying on the ground underneath the canopy.

When an animal dies the subsequent decomposition of its tissues release certain chemicals that are associated with the scent of death.  As this scent plume rises it is dispersed by wind currents forming a scent gradient over a given distance.  The olfactory lobe of the brain in the Turkey Vulture has been shown to be much larger than other birds and the birds have been demonstrated as being able to follow this scent plume to its source.  The Black Vulture and the occasionally seen massive King Vulture, (Sarcoramphus papa), do not possess this ability but rely on the Turkey Vulture to locate the carrion.  They follow the Turkey Vultures to the forest floor where being more dominant, Black Vultures, or much larger, King Vultures, force the Turkey Vultures off the meal.  Although they are equipped with a keen sense of smell the Turkey Vultures have a weak bill that cannot tear through hide especially the way the king Vulture can.  So despite the fact that they defer to the other vultures, the carrion is rendered into a form that the scavenging Turkey Vultures can later manage.

Text and Photographs are taken from the forthcoming book:

The Natural History of Bosque del Cabo by Philip Davison

Temperature and Rainfall

Average Daily Rainfall 0.00 ins.  Total Weekly Rainfall 0.00 ins

Average Daily Rainfall 0.0 mm.  Total Weekly Rainfall 0.0 mm

Highest Daily Temp 92°F.  Lowest Daily Temp 74°F.

Highest Daily Temp 33.3°C.  Lowest Daily Temp 23.7°C.

Species List for the Week

Mammals

• Mantled Howler Monkey
• Spider Monkey
• White-faced Capuchin Monkey
• Nine-banded Armadillo
• Common Tent-making Bat
• Western Red Bat
• Agouti
• Alfaro’s Pygmy Squirrel
• Kinkajou
• White-lipped Peccary

Birds

• Mealy Amazon
• Red-lored Amazon
• Scarlet Macaw
• Great Curassow
• Crested Caracara
• Mangrove Black Hawk
• Roadside Hawk
• White Hawk
• Yellow-headed Caracara
• Black-hooded Antshrike
• Chestnut-backed Antbird
• Common Paureque
• Short-billed Pigeon
• White-tipped Dove
• Rufus Piha
• Blue-crowned Manakin
• Red-Capped Manakin
• Spectacled Owl
• Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
• Bright-rumped Atilla
• Great Tinamou
• Black-throated Trogon
• House Wren
• Riverside Wren
• Black Vulture
• Turkey Vulture

Reptiles

• Barred Ameiva
• Boa Constrictor
• Central American Smooth Gecko
• Central American Whiptail
• Common Basilisk
• Clawless Gecko
• Four-lined Ameiva
• Golfo Dulce Anolis
• Litter Skink
• Mediterranean House Gecko
• Pug-nosed Anole

Amphibians

• Banana Frog
• Black and Green Poison Arrow Frog
• Golfo Dulce Poison Arrow Frog
• Masked Smilisca
• Marine Toad
• Milky Frog
• Red-eyed Green Tree Frog
• Savage’s Thin-fingered Frog

Butterflies

• Agraulis vanillae
• Anartia Fatima
• Anartia jatrophae
• Caligo eurilochus
• Chlosyne theona
• Dione juno
• Dryas iulia
• Eueides aliphera
• Eueides lybia
• Heliconius erato
• Heliconius hecale
• Heliconius ismenius
• Heliconius sapho
• Heraclides cresphontes
• Hermeuptychia hermes
• Marpesia berania
• Mesosemia zonalis
• Morpho helenor
• Philaethria dido
• Phoebis sennae
• Pierella helvina
• Pyrgus oileus
• Urbanus simplicius

Plants

• Alamandra  cathartica Flowering
• Alpinia purpurata Flowering
• Apeiba tibourbou Fruiting
• Arachis pintoi Flowering
• Arundina graminifolia Flowering
• Attalea rostrata Fruiting
• Bauhinia variegata Flowering
• Caryocar costaricense Flowering and Fruiting
• Cascabella thevetia Flowering and Fruiting
• Citrus spp  Fruiting
• Clusia rosea Flowering and Fruiting
• Clusia vallerii Fruiting
• Cocos nucifera Flowering and Fruiting
• Crestentia alata flowering and Fruiting
• Costus speciosus Flowering
• Couroupita guianensis Flowering and Fruiting
• Dypsis lutescens Flowering and Fruiting
• Etlingera elatior Flowering
• Ficus citrifolia Fruiting
• Ficus insipida Fruiting
• Heliconia chartacea Flowering
• Heliconia latispatha Flowering
• Heliconia pogonantha Flowering
• Heliconia psittacorum Flowering
• Heliconia rostrata Flowering
• Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Flowering
• Hymenaea coubaril Flowering and Fruiting
• Hymenocallis littoralis Flowering
• Inga spp Fruiting
• Ixora coccinea Flowering
• Lantana camara Flowering and Flowering
• Lagerstroemia speciosa Fruiting
• Morinda citrifolia Fruiting
• Musa acuminate Flowering and Fruiting
• Nephelium lappaceum Fruiting
• Pachira quinata Flowering
• Piper auritum Flowering and Fruiting
• Piper nigrum Fruiting
• Piper umbellatum Flowering and Fruiting
• Pleiostachya pruinosa Flowering
• Plumeria rubra Flowering
• Psychotria sp Fruiting
• Stachytarpheta frantzii Flowering
• Zammia sp Flowering

Felipe del Bosque Blog March 11^th 2013

Cracks Startjng to Show

It has been another dry and waterless week.  Not a drop of rain has fallen.  Strangely the trails through the forest are only now showing the slightest signs of cracking up.  The water level in the creek is low but there is still enough water flowing to service the lodge.

As it continues to dry the amphibians that are still active at night have made their way to places where even the slightest degree of dampness prevails.  Several large female Marine Toads, (Chaunus marinus), have found their way into the drains by the restaurant.  The water level in the pond is still reasonably high and has attracted a large number of Savage’s Thin-fingered Frogs, (Leptodactylus savagei), which gather after sundown.  The Marine Toads have been missing from around the pond for several months now but all of a sudden the males have turned up and started calling.  It will be interesting to see if this heralds a change in the weather.

It is not only the toads, the Halloween Crabs, (Gecarcinus quadratus), have also started to emerge in huge numbers once the sun has set.  They may be land crabs but they breathe by means of gills which have to remain moist to function.  We are in the driest part of the year so the crabs along with the toads may know something we don’t.

Colorful Dancing

February and March as well as being the driest months of the year are also the peak times for butterfly watching.  You can walk on any of the forest trails and cast your eyes in any direction, left to right, up and down, and there you will see butterflies.  They come in all different colors and have different patterns of flight.  Some are bright and garish while others subtly blend in with their backgrounds.  There are fast flyers and slow flyers.  Some butterflies are large and obvious while others are small and must be searched for diligently amongst the undergrowth.

I can’t imagine there is anyone who does not like butterflies.  In temperate regions they are the harbingers of summer.  The fly in greatest numbers when the sun is shining and so are always associated with those hot sunny days with beautiful blue skies.

                 

                 

                 

At Bosque the guests are always thrilled to see the shimmering electric blue of the Morphos, of which there are 4 species on the grounds.  Both the large size and the scintillating color make them a prize sighting.  Around the gardens there are the constantly active and seemingly never settling yellows, creams, whites of the Sulphurs.  There are several patches of Lantana camara scattered throughout the gardens.  This is the favorite nectar bush of the Nymphalids, particularly the Longwing Butterflies.  They tend to have brightly patterned wings sporting bold red, orange and yellow.  If you head to the low growing garden vegetation edging the forest and spend a little time looking then you are bound to see some of the Skippers.  They are small and move very quickly.  If you are lucky you will also perhaps see one or two individuals of the Hairstreaks.  Their delicate wings are decorated with spots and fine lines that appear to have been applied with a very fine paint brush and it is that which gives them their name.  Flying low to the forest floor are a whole set of butterflies that will only be noticed when spooked and take flight, the Satyrs or browns.  When they close their wings the patterning is that of dead leaves and so they disappear from sight.  There are other butterflies related to the Morphos but lack the bright iridescence.  Instead they have bright eyespots that act as targets, a bulls-eye for predator attacks to deflect the predator away from the body and towards a non-vital piece of wing membrane.  These are the Owl Butterflies.

One such butterfly turned up by the pond last week.  Overhanging the swimming pool suspended from the underside of a plant midrib there have been several chrysalises.  They are bright emerald green in color blending in unnoticed against the green leaves of the plant.  Then when day when you look the chrysalis will be a grey colored papery empty shell, the newly ecluded butterfly having transformed from its leaf-eating caterpillar stage has metamorphosed into a winged adult whose sole purpose is to find a suitable mate and reproduce.  As the butterflies had simply vanished before they could be seen and their identities ascertained it was a mystery as which species had been present.

Then one day one of the chrysalises that been found near the bar had its inhabitant emerge.  Its wings at first were crumpled like scrunched up paper balls thus hiding the pattern that would allow its identity to be finally revealed.  As the body fluids flowed through the veins the wings unfurled and stretched the colors and patterns now slowly taking form until finally their fully glory was exposed and we had the species name, Opsiphanes tamarindi.  The caterpillars feed on heliconia and bananas, none of which there are shortage of around the restaurant area.

Unexpected Visitors

Every so often one or two of the scorpion species will turn up near my cabin.  Last week I took out a couple on a walk through the forest after dinner.  Just to illustrate how we can use a variety of means by which to find things in the forest once the sun has set I carried with me a hand held black light.  When we had walked far enough on the trail away from the restaurant so that conditions were completely dark, I turned on the black light and sure enough within less than a minute I had located a scorpion sitting on a leaf consuming some small insect that it had caught.  Scorpions fluoresce a deathly pale blue color under black light and stand out immediately in the darkness.  The scorpion we had found was a bark scorpion, (Centruroides limbatus).

A few days later I found an individual of the same species by my cabin.  It was in a reasonably good position to photograph so I set the camera up and took its picture.  Scorpions tend to be nocturnal predators.  They use the pinchers, pedipalps, at the front to capture and hold the prey while the chelicerae or mouthparts chew it up.  They normally limit the use of the sting to defense.  Anything equipped with venom that causes an instant and acute sensation of pain is usually using it to deter its own predators.  This one raised its tail in a threatening stance when I moved the surrounding leaves in order to get a better photograph but didn’t show any signs of striking out.

Another of the visitors to my cabin over the past week was a tiny frog that I noticed tucked up away from the sun.  Small frogs are notoriously difficult to identify especially if it is a juvenile that you have in front of you as the colors can so often be totally different to the adults.  This one I think was one of the Terrarana group which includes the rain frogs.  There has been a recent taxonomical revision of the Terrarana which now has four families and four subfamilies containing 833 species.  Previously the Genus Eleutherodactylus contained over 700 species making it the singularly most species rich genus of vertebrates on the planet.  The newly revised numbers have been reduced to a more manageable 185 species.  Nonetheless the Terrarana contains within its four families 28% of all New World Tropical frogs and 13% of global anurans.

The distinguishing feature of these frogs is their totally terrestrial reproductive habits.  They don’t need to return to water to reproduce.  The adults pair up and the female lays her eggs amongst the leaf litter on the forest floor.  The eggs are few in number, quite large in comparison to the size of the adult and filled with yolk.  The whole process of development takes place within the egg so there is no free-swimming tadpole stage.  Seven or eight weeks after being laid a tiny little copy of the adult emerges.  I am sure that this was a juvenile but as yet have not reached a conclusion on which particular species.

Flowers and Fruit

Before heading out on the trails of Bosque del Cabo in search of adventure and animal sightings, if you take some time to explore the gardens at a more leisurely pace you will still find a wealth of things to hold your interest.

Many of the trees in and around the gardens are not native to Costa Rica but that does not make them any the less intriguing.  Each one has its own story.  Some of them have decorative or strange flowers while others have fruits that are more fascinating.

The Jackfruit, (Atrocarpus heterophyllus), is closely related to the Breadfruit, (Atrocarpus altilis), and both of them are of the Family: Moraceae which also contains the figs.  We have both Jackfruit and Breadfruit trees growing within walking distance of the restaurant as well as a a large variety of fig species growing both in the gardens and the forest.  It is thought that Jackfruit originated in India but is now found throughout tropical South East Asia.  In fact it can now be found growing in tropical situations globally where conditions are right.  The fruits themselves are the largest to be found borne by any tree.  The fruit contains a sweet starchy pulp that is used for everything from curries to desserts.

One small tree that captures everyone’s attention is the Rosa de Monte, (Brownea macrophylla).  It belongs in the Family: Fabaceae – Caesalpiniodeae and is a native of Panama south into northern South America.  There are several individuals gracing the gardens of Bosque and the most captivating feature are the large orange flower heads growing directly from the wood of the branches like large colorful pincushions stuck with long yellow and orange needles.  They are used continuously at Bosque for table decorations in the restaurant and bar.

At the moment the Cashews, (Anacardium occidentale), have been flowering and are now producing the distinctive nut for which the plant is famed.  Cashews belong in the Family: Anacardiaceae which also includes Mango, Pistachio and Poison Ivy.  The flowers are pollinated by insects and once done so the fruit develops.  You have to be very careful when handling cashews as the shell of the nut contains highly irritating and caustic volatile oils.  If you get them on your skin they can cause an intense reaction and burning sensation.  The nuts have to be roasted and even then you need to be careful as the smoke containing the oils can seriously damage the respiratory system.  As the nut is growing and maturing the stem of the fruit also grows into a large fleshy structure called the cashew apple or marañón.  It has a very distinctive taste, somewhat astringent, but nonetheless sold in the markets in San Jose as a popular fruit.

In direct contrast with the green vegetation and sticking up like red-hot pokers at the forest edge are the flowering heads of the Aphelandra golfodulcensis, Family: Acanthaceae.  The bright red coloration which is the complementary color to green stands out in vivid contrast to all that surrounds it and attracts the attention of hummingbirds which have acute color vision and come to the flower to feed.  Each day the flowering head produces one or two new blooms which are long scimitar-shaped flowers containing nectar.  Only two hummingbirds, the Long-billed Hermit and the Stripe-throated Hermit have the appropriately adapted apparatus to feed from these flowers.  They have long bills that fit into the flower, the drink the nectar and while doing so the bill becomes coated in pollen which will be transferred to the next flower it visits, effecting pollination.  The fact that the plant only produces one or two new flowers every day keeps the hummingbirds coming back and is known as trap-lining.

In the same area as the Aphelandra are several species of Piper Family: Piperaceae.  The Pipers have one species from the Old World Tropics which is known by everyone, Black Pepper.  The pipers are called candlestick plants because of the way the flower and fruit stand erect.  They are pollinated by insects, namely beetles, and when they produce fruit it is the fruit-eating bats that come in, consume the fruit, defecate and disperse the seeds.

Philip is a biologist, writer and photographer as well as the onsite naturalist guide at Bosque del Cabo Rainforest lodge on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.

www.bosquedelcabo.com

Photo Feature

White Lips

On occasion people head off from Bosque del Cabo to Corcovado National Park on a day tour in the hope of seeing some of the animals they may not see here.  One of those animals is the White-lipped Peccary, (Tayussu pecari).

Bosque del Cabo has herds of the smaller of the two peccaries, the Collared Peccary, (Tayussu tajucu).  They can be seen in herds of up to 20 on any of the trails, but most commonly on the Titi Trail.  They pose no threat and if you come across them on the trail they will generally just move off to one side out of the way.  Over the years that Bosque has existed as a rain forest lodge White-lipped Peccary have only been seen on once when a huge herd migrated out of the National Park and along the coast.  They passed through the grounds of Bosque over the course of one day and haven’t been since.  Until last week that is.

A small herd of 6 found its way into the grounds and initially we thought it may be yet another transient episode and they would come and go very quickly.  It was an ideal opportunity for everyone to get photographs of a little seen animal.  They didn’t appear to be shy and wandered across the lawn in front of the restaurant 2 or 3 times a day.  They could be seen and heard as well as smelled.

White-lipped Peccaries and Collared Peccaries can inhabit the same area but generally the presence of the former drives the latter into higher drier habitat.  It is fairly obvious where the White-lips have been feeding as the ground will have been turned over as they did up roots, tubers and grubs.  They also feed on fruits, seeds, leaves and any unwary small animal.  As they trundle around the grounds you can see them sometimes stop to take some of the palm nuts fallen from the various palm species in the gardens.  White-lipped Peccaries are one of the very few animals that will feed on the leaves and stalks of Dumb Cane, (Dieffenbachia spp), which are highly toxic to most everything else.

Many people will have read the exaggerated stories of the peccary’s ferocious nature.  As already mentioned the Collared Peccaries are non confrontational.  The Whitelips will make a lot of bluff threats accompanied by loud teeth clacking but generally if the bluff is called they will make a hasty retreat.  Large pink monkeys are not to be messed with.

One of the reasons to welcome the presence of White-lipped Peccaries to Bosque is that their presence normally indicates the good health of a habitat.  Over most of Costa Rica they have either been hunted to extinction in the areas that they formerly lived or as the habitat has been altered and trees disappeared, then so do the peccaries and there number one predator the Jaguar, (Pantera onca).  If they stay wandering the forests and lawns of Bosque it might indicate that after 22 years of the lodge operating then a more pristine habitat level has been reached.  But anyone having visited the lodge will know that to be the case.  I have over the years seen Tapir tracks and several visitors have seen one.  It would be nice if we got a small group of Tapirs established.  Finally a couple of Red Brocket Deer would complete the set.  But for now let’s hope the peccaries stay around for a while longer and maybe even set up home.

                 

Text and Photographs are taken from the forthcoming book:

The Natural History of Bosque del Cabo by Philip Davison

Temperature and Rainfall

Average Daily Rainfall 0.0 ins.  Total Weekly Rainfall 0.0 ins

Average Daily Rainfall 0.0 mm.  Total Weekly Rainfall 0.0 mm

Highest Daily Temp 99°F.  Lowest Daily Temp 75°F.

Highest Daily Temp 37.2°C.  Lowest Daily Temp 23.9°C.

Species List for the Week

Mammals

• Mantled Howler Monkey
• Spider Monkey
• White-faced Capuchin Monkey
• Nine-banded Armadillo
• Common Tent-making Bat
• Greater White-lined Bat
• Western Red Bat
• Agouti
• Kinkajou
• White-nosed Coati
• Collared Peccary
• White-lipped Peccary

Birds

• Red-lored Amazon
• Scarlet Macaw
• Bare-throated Tiger Heron
• Great Curassow
• Crested Caracara
• Roadside Hawk
• Golden-naped Woodpecker
• Pale-billed Woodpecker
• Black-hooded Antshrike
• Chestnut-backed Antbird
• Wedge-billed Woodcreeper
• Short-billed Pigeon
• White-tipped Dove
• Rufus Piha
• Long-billed Hermit
• Rufus-tailed Hummingbird
• Stripe-throated Hermit
• Blue-crowned Motmot
• Blue-crowned Manakin
• Red-Capped Manakin
• Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
• Cherrie’s Tanager
• Bright-rumped Atilla
• Buff-rumped Warbler
• Dusky-capped Flycatcher
• Golden-crowned Spadebill
• Great Tinamou
• Black-throated Trogon
• Black Vulture
• Turkey Vulture

Reptiles

• Barred Ameiva
• Central American Smooth Gecko
• Central American Whiptail
• Clawless Gecko
• Four-lined Ameiva
• Golfo Dulce Anolis
• Litter Skink
• Mediterranean House Gecko
• Pug-nosed Anole

Amphibians

• Black and Green Poison Arrow Frog
• Golfo Dulce Poison Arrow Frog
• Masked Smilisca
• Marine Toad
• Milky Frog
• Red-eyed Green Tree Frog
• Savage’s Thin-fingered Frog

Butterflies

• Anartia Fatima
• Anartia jatrophae
• Dione juno
• Dryas iulia
• Eueides lybia
• Glutophrissa drusilla
• Heliconius erato
• Heliconius ismenius
• Heliconius sapho
• Hermeuptychia hermes
• Junonia everete
• Mechanitis polymnia
• Morpho helenor
• Morpho Menelaus
• Philaethria dido
• Phoebis sennae
• Pierella helvina
• Pierella luna
• Pyrisitia nise
• Strymon megarus
• Urbanus simplicius
• Urbanus tanna

Plants

• Alamandra  cathartica Flowering
• Alpinia purpurata Flowering
• Apeiba tibourbou Fruiting
• Arachis pintoi Flowering
• Arundina graminifolia Flowering
• Attalea rostrata Fruiting
• Bauhinia variegata Flowering
• Brosimum utile Fruiting
• Caryocar costaricense Flowering
• Cascabella thevetia Flowering and Fruiting
• Citrus spp  Fruiting
• Clusia rosea Flowering and Fruiting
• Clusia vallerii Fruiting
• Cocos nucifera Flowering and Fruiting
• Crestentia alata flowering and Fruiting
• Costus speciosus Flowering
• Couroupita guianensis Flowering and Fruiting
• Dypsis lutescens Flowering and Fruiting
• Etlingera elatior Flowering
• Ficus citrifolia Fruiting
• Ficus insipida Fruiting
• Heliconia chartacea Flowering
• Heliconia latispatha Flowering
• Heliconia pogonantha Flowering
• Heliconia psittacorum Flowering
• Heliconia rostrata Flowering
• Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Flowering
• Hymenaea coubaril Fruiting
• Hymenocallis littoralis Flowering
• Inga spp Fruiting
• Ixora coccinea Flowering
• Lantana camara Flowering and Flowering
• Lagerstroemia speciosa Fruiting
• Morinda citrifolia Fruiting
• Musa acuminate Flowering and Fruiting
• Nephelium lappaceum Fruiting
• Pachira quinata Flowering
• Piper auritum Flowering and Fruiting
• Piper nigrum Fruiting
• Piper umbellatum Flowering and Fruiting
• Pleiostachya pruinosa Flowering
• Plumeria rubra Flowering
• Psychotria sp Fruiting
• Stachytarpheta frantzii Flowering
• Zammia sp Flowering

Felipe del Bosque Blog February 11^th 2013

Arranging Dried Flowers

There was no rainfall at all over the past week.  That is not unusual for this time of year; February and March are normally the two driest months.  The grounds of Bosque and the surrounding forest still look lush despite the lack of rain.  One of the features that I use to indicate just how dry it the conditions are, is the creek.  At the moment, although the level is down, the water is still flowing quite freely.

More of the trees have started to flower.  Some of the Ajo Trees, (Caryocar costaricense), are already flowering for a second time this season.  The Pochote trees, (Pachira quinata), are dropping their distinctive shaving brush flowers.  The fruit of the Milky Tree, (Brosimum utile), also known as breadnuts, are raining down from the canopy where ever these trees are found.  The monkeys are particularly fond of them but being wasteful feeders take one bite of the fleshy rind and throw the remainder away.  The Monkey Comb, (Apeiba tibourou), is littering the forest floor in areas with its distinctive spiny ball-like fruits.

Rarely What It Seems

Costa Rica is a very biodiverse country.  It doesn’t matter whether you are talking about families of plants or animals you will find the numbers staggering in comparison to a temperate country.  All of that diversity is held within a country that covers only 0.03% of the earth’s land surface.  Even with well studied groups such as beetles or butterflies and moths it is not always easy to identify individuals down to species level.  You could spend your life in this special little country and dedicate yourself to trying to make an inventory of the life that exists here and you would barely scratch the surface.

When something new turns up it is always exciting.  I am continually thrilled to find a species that I have never seen before.  It is all the more satisfying when I find a species that has not previously been recorded on the Osa Peninsula or more so if it has only been recorded a few times in Costa Rica.  Occasionally a weird creature will turn up that I have never seen any species of anywhere before.  That is what happened earlier this week.

I was heading out to one morning to meet the guests that were about to go for a walk through the forest with me.  On the ground outside my cabin, making its way at a fast pace between the fallen dead leaves littering the pathway was a strange looking scorpion.  I had not seen anything like it but there was something about the way it was moving that just did not seem right.  Every time I lifted a leaf it would quickly run under yet another.  Finally I managed to wrangle it into an open area for a closer look.  I could see now that it was not a scorpion but appeared to all intents and purposes to be a spider mimicking a scorpion.  Its front two legs seemed to be held out in front like a pair of pincers and the body was elongated but lacking the segmented tail and the sting.  It was like no spider I had ever seen before.  I was late for my tour so placed a jar over the top of it so that I could photograph and hopefully identify it when I returned.

I arrived back at my cabin in the afternoon and could now scrutinize more closely the strange creature I was holding in an insect jar in front of me.  I had been pretty sure it was not a scorpion but rather a spider until under magnification I could see it most certainly was an arachnid but astonishingly not something I had been expecting to see.  It had eight legs and what I had originally mistaken as pincers I could now see were two blunt tipped pedipalps.  This was a Solifugid or Sun Spider.  They are not actually spiders but a separate Order: Solifugae within the Class: Arachnida.  The elongated fiery orange prosoma, (head), was tipped with two fearsome looking chelicerae.  Two black spots marked the eyes.

Solifugae is Latin for hiding from the sun which is strange given the common name of these creatures is sun spider.  They are carnivores and actively hunt small arthropods.  Some desert living species can grow to an impressively large size, (not as large as newspapers would have you believe though).  I remember being both fascinated and horrified by some preserved specimens my grammar school biology teacher liked to terrify the kids with.  Those chelicerae are perfectly capable of delivering a nasty nip.

Despite extensive searching I could find almost no literature regarding solifugids in Costa Rica.  I have been visiting the country for over 20 years and lived here for 13 years and this is the first species of solifugid I have seen.  At least I have the photographs so that future investigation may reveal a little more about it but for now it will just have to remain a nameless enigma.

What is the Meaning of This

Spiders are very prevalent at the moment both around the grounds and in the forest at Bosque.  The two most obvious spiders seen largely due their size are the Golden-orb Spider, (Nephila clavipes), and the Silver-orb Spider, (Argiope argentata).  You don’t have to wander too far from the confines of your cabin or the restaurant to locate either of these two species.  The Golden-orb Spider has a very obvious web, the orb, made from a bright yellow silk which gives it the name.  It is not too much of a stretch of the imagination to assume the Silver-orb Spider has a white colored silken orb.

There is one very distinctive feature of the Silver-orb Spider’s web that makes it even more visible.  Scattered at intervals throughout the vegetation you will see what appear to be large white X shapes.  Further investigation will lead you to find that these X shapes are in the centre of a spider web.  More often than not you will see the spider responsible for the construction of the X sitting right at its centre, the Silver-orb Spider.

The inclusion at the centre of the web is known as a stabilimentum and there is no definitive answer as to why the spiders spin them.  There are several theories, any one of which may be correct.  Many spiders at the end of every day take their webs down and build a new one just before sunrise.  There are other spiders that leave their webs permanently in place, the Silver-orb Spider being one of them.  To prevent birds flying through the web thus destroying it, getting covered in sticky silk and causing the spider to construct a new web, the stabilimentum may mark the position of the web to prevent that from happening.  I have no data to show the frequency with which birds fly through non stabilimentum webs.  The spider is an arachnid; it has eight legs which divide up quite nicely into four pairs.  You will generally see the spider sitting in the centre of the web with one pair of legs aligned along the four bars of the cross.  If the sun rises and the light hits the cross the spider will take shelter behind the cross.  If you disturb the spider it will disappear from in front of your eyes to be found later hiding behind the cross.  The silk the spider uses to make the stabilimentum is highly reflective of ultra violet light.  Insects are attracted to a source of ultra violet light and so the web now becomes an active trap luring the insects in.  Birds, unlike ourselves, see ultra violet and so the X is not white but ultra violet to the bird’s eyes.  Each of the theories has its own credibility but no one has yet solved the puzzle of the stabilimentum.  It could be that each and every one of the theories has some merit.

Unexpected Visitors

Last week I mentioned the myriad of animals that visit my cabin day and night.  I am never short of house guests.  I returned one night last week to find a handsome hawk moth clinging to the mesh screening of the cabin door.  Hawk moths belong to the Family Sphingidae.  They are reasonably easy to recognize to family level due to the long narrow forewings which tend to be triangular in shape.  They are fairly longed lived as adults in comparison with some other Lepidoptera.  In Costa Rica there are somewhat in the region of 145 species hawk moth.  I was not sure what particular species it was that had decided to grace my cabin with its presence but I am always happy to see something new, photograph it and hope to make the I.D. sometime later.

Ginger Snap

Around the grounds of Bosque you will find many plants growing that are not native to the country.  The gardened areas are just that – gardens containing exotic tropical ornamental plants from far flung areas of the globe.  They are there as decorative specimens, a lot of them grown for their fabulous flowers, perfumed scents or the amazing leafy displays.

Growing in borders near the bar and swimming pool are a variety of prettily flowered and heavenly scented plants one of which is the White Ginger, (Hedychium coronarium).  Due to its predilection for damp shady areas it is grown in areas where other showy scented blooms will not.  But despite its attractiveness and sweet smell, it is regarded in many parts of the world as an invasive plant.  It is a member of the ginger Family Zingiberaceae and originated in the Nepalese Himalayas but is now grown extensively almost everywhere with suitable conditions.  Where growing conditions are right it can spread from underground rhizomes and can become a weedy pest very quickly.  Here at Bosque it is solely confined to the flower beds around the swimming pool.  The sweet perfume that it issues at night brings in hawk moths which hover in front of the flower and use their long proboscis to imbibe the nectar and subsequently transfer the pollen.  Given that information then perhaps its other name of Butterfly Lily would be more appropriate.

Philip is a biologist, writer and photographer as well as the onsite naturalist guide at Bosque del Cabo Rainforest lodge on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.

www.bosquedelcabo.com

Photo Feature

Side Step

Last week while walking the Zapatero Trail with a couple of guests, we were approached by two other visitors to the lodge who were walking on their own slightly in front of us.  On the path they had spotted a venomous snake, a Terciopelo, (Bothrops asper), and had wanted to warn us of its presence in the middle of the trail.  When we arrived at the spot where the snake lay coiled on the ground I could see that it was only a juvenile and its position tucked in at the base of an exposed tree root crossing the width of the trail suggested it posed little danger to anyone.  So I decided to leave it without disturbing its peace and return later in the day to take its picture.

Terciopelos are ambush predators and will sometimes just sit in the same position for days on end without moving.  The small ones feed more on frogs, lizards and small rodents while the adults prey on much larger rodents.  The adults can get to over 7 feet, (2 meters +), in length.  They are very cryptically colored, the body having a base of grey with the dorsal surface suffused with a mottling of soft browns.  Along the sides are dark brown triangles that meet at the apices.  These triangles are outlined with a pale cream border that when viewed from above give the impression of a series of X’s running down the snakes back.

The Terciopelo is sometimes referred to as the Fer-de-Lance, which strictly speaking is a South American snake Bothrops atrox.  The name is French and translates into iron lance head due to the obvious triangular shape of the head.  The head is dark above and pale below; in some specimens the head is yellow below giving it the other colloquial name, Barba Amarilla or yellow beard.

The Terciopelo is a pit viper.  The head houses everything the snake needs to detect its prey and then deliver that deadly venomous cocktail that will be injected resulting in almost instantaneous death.  The eyes with their elliptical pupils allow the snake to see but most snakes do not possess the visual acuity equal to that of some other predators such as birds.  But what they lack in respect of eyesight they more than make up for with two other pieces of sensory apparatus.  The tongue is essentially an organ of scent in snakes. It can pick minute quantities of scent particles in the air or on the substrate.  Due to the tongues forked structure the snake can pick up a scent gradient in the air, it can detect from which direction the prey or potential predator is moving.  They sometimes locate and sit on a rodent trail which is more than likely where its prey is going to come by at some point.  Between the eye and the nostril is another depression on the head which houses sensory organs that allow the viper to detect small changes in background infra red radiation.  This is the characteristic pit which gives pit vipers their name.  Any approaching mammal or bird will be registered as a signal change suggesting dinner has arrived.

This particular Terciopelo was a young female.  She looked liked she was well fed as her body was quite plump.  I placed the tripod on the ground in front of her, composed the shot and got the photograph.  I then moved around to the side and got the full body profile picture.  Despite the fact that I was shooting with a lot of flash the snake never flinched.  I was only a few inches away from it.  The whole point of the cryptic coloration, the camouflage, is that you don’t move because as soon as you do so you have blown your cover.  I now moved in even closer to get the whole head filling the frame.  The snake was obviously aware of my presence and the tongue started to taste the air but it did not move a muscle.  I was now about 2 inches away.  Click, I got the head.  Now I needed just one more image.  I moved the tripod so that I could place the camera directly above the snake and get a plan view.  That was it, I was satisfied and the snake was probably relieved to have an end to all those explosions of light flashing in front of it.  I packed everything up and took as small twig to lift the subjects head slightly off the ground.  It uncoiled and slipped slowly into the leaf litter at the side of the trail leaving the path clear and safe for anyone who might be walking on it later in the day.

Text and Photographs are taken from the forthcoming book:

The Natural History of Bosque del Cabo by Philip Davison

Temperature and Rainfall

Average Daily Rainfall 0.00 ins.  Total Weekly Rainfall 0.00 ins

Average Daily Rainfall 0.0 mm.  Total Weekly Rainfall 0.0 mm

Highest Daily Temp 96°F.  Lowest Daily Temp 74°F.

Highest Daily Temp 33.2°C.  Lowest Daily Temp 23.4°C.

Species List for the Week

Mammals

• Central American Squirrel Monkey
• Mantled Howler Monkey
• Spider Monkey
• White-faced Capuchin Monkey
• Kinkajou
• White-nosed Coati
• Agouti
• Pygmy Squirrel
• Nine-banded Armadillo
• Three-toed Sloth
• Collared Peccary

Birds

• Red-lored Amazon
• Scarlet Macaw
• Crested Guan
• Great Curassow
• Black Hawk
• Yellow-headed Caracara
• Spectacled Owl
• Black-hooded Antshrike
• Chestnut-backed Antbird
• Short-billed Pigeon
• White-tipped Dove
• Magnificent Frigatebird
• Brown Pelican
• Plain Xenops
• Rufus Piha
• Long-billed Hermit
• Red-capped Manakin
• Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
• Fiery-billed Aracari
• Bright-rumped Atilla
• Dusky-capped Flycatcher
• Buff-rumped Warbler
• Great Kiskadee
• Bananaquit
• Golden-hooded Tanager
• Palm Tanager
• Great Tinamou
• Black Vulture
• Turkey Vulture

Reptiles

• Barred Ameiva
• Cat-eyed Snake
• Central American Smooth Gecko
• Central American Whiptail
• Common Basilisk
• Four-lined Ameiva
• Golfo Dulce Anolis
• Mediterranean House Gecko
• Terciopelo
  

Amphibians

• Black and Green Poison Arrow Frog
• Marine Toad
• Red-eyed Green Tree Frog
• Rough-skinned Dirt Frog
• Savage’s Thin-fingered Frog

Butterflies

• Anartia Fatima
• Anartia jatrophae
• Caligo eurilochus
• Dione juno
• Dryas iulia
• Glutophrissa Drusilla
• Heliconius erato
• Heliconius hecale
• Heliconius ismenius
• Heliconius sapho
• Heraclides cresphontes
• Hermeuptychia hermes
• Magneuptychia libye
• Marpesia berania
• Mechanitis polymnia
• Morpho helenor
• Morpho Menelaus
• Opsiphanes tamarindi
• Parides erithalion
• Pierella helvina
• Pierella luna
• Philaethria dido
• Phoebis sennae
• Pygus oileus
• Pyrisitia nise
• Pyrrhogyra crameri
• Siproeta stelenes
• Urbanus simplicius
  

Plants

• Alamandra  cathartica Flowering
• Alpinia purpurata Flowering
• Apeiba tibourbou Fruiting
• Arachis pintoi Flowering
• Arundina graminifolia Flowering
• Attalea rostrata Fruiting
• Bauhinia variegata Flowering
• Brosimum utile Fruiting
• Caryocar costaricense Flowering
• Cascabella thevetia Flowering and Fruiting
• Citrus spp  Fruiting
• Clusia rosea Flowering and Fruiting
• Clusia vallerii Fruiting
• Cocos nucifera Flowering and Fruiting
• Crestentia alata flowering and Fruiting
• Costus speciosus Flowering
• Couroupita guianensis Flowering and Fruiting
• Dypsis lutescens Flowering and Fruiting
• Etlingera elatior Flowering
• Ficus citrifolia Fruiting
• Ficus insipida Fruiting
• Heliconia chartacea Flowering
• Heliconia latispatha Flowering
• Heliconia pogonantha Flowering
• Heliconia psittacorum Flowering
• Heliconia rostrata Flowering
• Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Flowering
• Hymenaea coubaril Fruiting
• Hymenocallis littoralis Flowering
• Inga spp Fruiting
• Ixora coccinea Flowering
• Lantana camara Flowering and Flowering
• Lagerstroemia speciosa Fruiting
• Morinda citrifolia Fruiting
• Musa acuminate Flowering and Fruiting
• Nephelium lappaceum Fruiting
• Pachira quinata Flowering
• Piper auritum Flowering and Fruiting
• Piper nigrum Fruiting
• Piper umbellatum Flowering and Fruiting
• Pleiostachya pruinosa Flowering
• Plumeria rubra Flowering
• Psychotria sp Fruiting
• Stachytarpheta frantzii Flowering
• Zammia sp Flowering

 

 

Felipe del Bosque Blog February 11^th 2013

The Patter of Tiny Feet

The dry conditions continue but with the bonus of some rain at night which is enough to keep things green.  That hint of dampness is enough to tempt the Halloween Crabs, (Gecarcinus quadratus), out from the dark dank tunnels in which they reside beneath the surface of the forest floor.  They may be land crabs but they breathe through gills which have to remain moist to function effectively, so even though they may have escaped the confines of their aquatic environs and adopted a terrestrial habit, they have not fully adapted to totally dry conditions.  It always remains something of a surprise for people who had never heard of land crabs, and consequently only associate these crustaceans with the rocky coastal shorelines, to find the forest floor crawling with them following a summer shower.

It is not only those creatures in possession of 10 legs that have been spurred into action; the six-legged life forms of the social kind have suddenly become more obvious by their untiring activities.  Leaf-cutter Ants, (Atta cephalotes), familiar to most visitors to Bosque del Cabo due to the mesmerizing lines of slightly wavering fragments of leaf being carried in what seems like a slow moving river of green through the lawns and across the forest floor, have caught a second wind.

Normally at the height of the dry season the Leaf-cutter Ants cease their assiduous cutting and carrying during the daylight hours and recommence once the sun has set.  The dry season in the south west of Costa Rica can quite often result in very little rain for five months of the year and sometimes none at all during February and March.  At this time of year, should the ants cut and carry leaf, the distance over which it has to be transported and the time required to do so can result in the leaf drying out.  If the leaf contains small quantities of toxic compounds, as it dries these may become more and more concentrated thereby constituting a lethal cocktail for the ant or the fungus grown on the leafy mulch that provides staple diet of the ants.  This time of year those leaves delivered to the nest that were tasted and recognized as being unsuitable by the quality control ants are brought back to the surface and dumped on top.  The further we go into the dry season, the higher these mounds of dried leaves will built up around the entrances of the nest.

Currently the waste disposal ants in the colonies seem to be hard at work too.  In many of the nests around the trails excavation has been taking place at a heightened level of activity.  If you were to walk the trails on a daily basis you would see the heaps of earth accumulating in ever increasingly sized mounds.  Take a closer look and you will see the ants whose allocated employment is to remove excavated earth and waste products from inside the nest and bring it to the outside.  Each one is carrying a fragment larger than her own head.  Where the waste tip issues from the side of a hill or bank you will see the friable piles tumbling down, in ant terms each mouthful the size of a boulder, to the base.

Feeding of the Ravenous Hordes

The leaf-cutters are not the only ants that have been stimulated into action over the past week or so.  At various points on several trails long columns of ants moving quickly, deliberately and determinedly have been seen.  These are army ants, (Echiton spp), one of the forests most formidable mini predators.  Army ants have no nest, they are nomadic.  They have to periodically change the location of their temporary headquarters due to the fact that being such a super efficient predator, were they to remain in any one area for a protracted period of time they would deplete the locality of all small forms of life.

They may be encountered in one of two phases of activity; translocation or foraging.  When on the move to a new hunting area the whole colony including the queen is on the march.  There appears to be an endless river of ants streaming across the forest floor, insects in fluid form.  The workers carry the immobile pupae like swaddling aliens in their mandibles.  When virgin territory is reached the army ants ball up, linking their legs together to form a living bivouac, generally somewhere in a sheltered spot such as a hollow log or under a large fallen branch.  The queen moves to the centre, swells up and starts to lay about 60,000 eggs a day.

When the first larvae emerge, they emit a pheromone which causes a change in the behavior of the other workers.  They are stimulated into a hunting response which results in the mustering of half a million murderous assassins swarming through the forest slaughtering all that find themselves so unfortunate to be in their path.  The ravenous hordes surge relentlessly across the forest floor, up trees and scouring every nook and cranny.  The foraging front can be anything up to 60 feet across and 3 feet in breadth.

The ant’s progress will be heralded by flocks of exciting birds gathering as if at a tickertape parade.  You will hear the calls of antbirds, ant-thrushes, antwrens, woodcreepers, woodpeckers and tinamous.  If ever you see Grey-headed Tanagers you will see army ants, they are obligative followers of the army ants.  None of the birds are here to eat the ants.  As the front moves forward so many creatures are flushed, fleeing for their lives only to meet their end in the bill of a hungry bird.

Even if they escape those two terminal hazards, a third gruesome fate may await.  Clouds of parasitic flies, Phorid flies are flying in droves at the head of the advancing front.  The hum of their countless buzzing wings can be heard in the air.  They fly in and lay an egg on any victim attempting to escape the melee of death beneath.  The fickle hand of fate has played them a cruel hand.  They may have escaped mandibles, bills and jaws but the insidious cargo they now carry will now become their executioner.  When the egg hatches the fly maggot will eat its victim alive.

The ants push forward, unrelenting in their pursuit of fresh meat.  Whatever they come across they have, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, beetles, cockroaches, crickets, small frogs, small lizards, small snakes and even fledgling birds, it matters little to the ants.  There is no hiding place; the only choice is to run.  Once found, the prey is overwhelmed in a seething mass of frenzied killers, the ant’s venom laden stingers plunging through the victim’s skin time and time again and within seconds it will have been done to death.  Then it will be butchered on the spot, the slashing mandibles of the ants acting like meat cleavers to dismember the cadaver.  The separate parts of its now mutilated corpse will be carried back along feeder columns from the foraging front to the bivouac to feed the hungry carnivorous larvae.  Once the larvae pupate, the hunting response is turned off and away they go nomadically through the forest until they reach new and rich killing fields from which they will steal the lives of countless unfortunate creatures now dwelling there in blissful ignorance of their rapidly approaching fate.

Swollen With Indignation

Snakes are never the easiest animal life form to find in the forest.  They are ever-present but tend to elude those who want to see them but ironically make an appearance for those who don’t.  As with everything else, once you overcome your aversion to these reptiles, then they become fascinating creatures evolutionarily modified for a unique legless life-style.

One reasonably common snake around the grounds of Bosque del Cabo is the Neotropical Bird-eating Snake, (Pseustes poecilonotus).  They can grow up to six feet or more in length, are a pale blue-grey in color with a yellow belly and quite often a dark head.  If approached they put on a defensive display that involves flattening the neck laterally and turning the head side on so that they look larger than they are.  They are also very snappy snakes and are inclined to readily strike out and bite if molested, a characteristic of both juveniles and adults alike.

As the common name suggests, the bird-eating snake feeds on chicks and eggs from nests.  The breeding success of many birds at Bosque is hampered by these lithe predators whose forked tongue allows them to locate the presence of prey very quickly.  Many times around the restaurant area where Cherrie’s Tanagers and House Wrens nest and raise their offspring, it is almost a certainty that before too long the bird-eaters will turn up.

This individual I happened across this week when returning to my cabin.  It was lying across the path and I could see it ahead so just stood and watched for a while.  Its tongue was flicking constantly in and out tasting the air for scent particles.  It moved very slowly its head face down intently following what seemed to be a trail across the ground.  Then it lifted its body and flattened its neck, still its tongue rapidly flicking to taste the air and leaf litter in front as if something was bothering it.  I could see no sign of other life.  It looked like its attention was going to be held in this area for a while so I fetched the camera, lowered myself to the ground and took some close ups of its head before letting it slowly slither off into the undergrowth.

Unexpected Visitors

As the forest is so full of life it is no surprise that things turn up all over the place all of the time.  If I was to sit on the patio of my cabin and take time to look around I will see a myriad of small animals each one of which can capture your attention and then hold you thrall to its actions which can be observed, noted and later analyzed.  It may produce nothing more than an air of idle curiosity but when you delve a little deeper then most subjects however large or small have a fascinating life history and natural biology.

This week I was sat reading in the shade and noticed a line of minute ants making their way up and down the outside wall of my abode.  They were little more than moving specks and in typical ant fashion were following in a fairly strict line in both directions.  There was nothing unusual in this per se and my attention was concentrated more on where they were coming from and consequently where they were going to before returning again.

Off to one side of the ant column was another small dark speck that I could make out as having eight legs.  Tiny as it was, its form and behavior suggested that of a jumping spider, Family Saltacidae.  As I sat watching a small drama unfolded.  One of the ants broke ranks and the maverick spirit took a line of its own deviating away from the main caravan.  This was to be its undoing.  Small prey attracts small predators; nature is red in tooth and claw at every size level.  This ant that had left behind the safety in numbers that comes with a being part of a group had now exposed itself as a target.  That error did not escape the attention of the spider.

Despite its minute dimensions, the jumping spider is an evolutionarily adapted hunting and killing machine.  Looking at it face on you will find the front of the head bears huge eyes which in spider terms are visually acute.  It’s not very often that the spider prey will see these eyes as the jumping spiders are as stealthy as a cat.  Once they have singled out their victim they sneak up on it at the last moment launch into the air landing on the hapless prey.  Needle sharp chelicerae inject a powerful immobilizing venom and digestive enzymes which both kill the prey as well as reducing its innards to a soup that the spider can suck from its now dead shell.

That is what happened to the ant.  It would not have even registered that anything was happening.  The attack was lightning fast.  The ant did not know what hit it and it was dispatched in the blink of an eye.  The tragedy played out on the mini stage before me was one of countless such encounters that you can witness all around if you choose to redirect the focus of your attention.

Bat Sac

Despite their numbers, abundance and diversity bats are not always the easiest animals to find.  When you do find a bat, without having it in your hand it may not always be the easiest animal to identify to species level.  Costa Rica has a very diverse bat fauna, 111 species in total of which 80 species live on the Osa Peninsula.

Some bats are so distinctive though that their identity leaves little ambiguity as to what it is you are looking at, the Greater White-lined Bat, (Saccopteryx bilineata), falls into this category.  One morning while walking on the Zapatero Trail with a group of guests, we stopped to watch two bats flitting around between the giant buttresses of the tree.  They would settle momentarily then flit off again to land not so far away.  When they did land it was face down but with the head pushed out at almost a right angle to the body.  This is the characteristic poise of the Greater White-lined Bat.  After the tour had ended I headed back in the hope of getting some photographs.  My luck was in, the bats were still there.  They were not keen on my presence and kept moving but with a little perseverance I managed to capture several images.

The Greater White-lined Bat is one of the sac-winged bats belonging to the Family Emballonuridae.  They are insectivorous bats and are normally communal roosters having one male guarding a harem of one or more females.  Quite often there can be several roosts in close proximity.  They are called sac-winged bats as the male has a small pouched scent gland on the wing in front of the forearm.  This emits a smelly secretion which is used in both territorial and mating displays.  The male can be seen during the course of the day flying up and down in front of the females serenading them with releasing scent from his ‘sac’.

Philip is a biologist, writer and photographer as well as the onsite naturalist guide at Bosque del Cabo Rainforest lodge on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.

www.bosquedelcabo.com

Photo Feature

Localised Poison

There are two species of poison arrow frog to be found at Bosque del Cabo; the Black and Green Poison Arrow Frog, (Dendrobates auratus), and the Golfo Dulce Poison Arrow Frog, (Phyllobates vittatus).  Both are visually unique, both have different calls and they inhabit different habitats so there should be no confusion as to what you are looking at when you find one.

Currently on the forest floor behind the restaurant where the Creek Trail enters the forest the Black and Green Poison Arrow Frogs can be seen without little difficulty.  You just have to walk ten yards or so then stop and look down by your feet and invariably you will see at least one but often several hopping around.  They are not inclined to be shy either, quite often making their way across the open expanse of the cleared trail or jumping around on the leaf litter to the sides.  The Golfo Dulce Poison Arrow Frogs can be a little more difficult to locate.  They prefer damper habitat and can be found by the creek beds.

Both species have different calls.  The black and green has a high pitched trill which is produced in a very broken stuttering fashion.  The golfo dulce calls with a long unbroken trill.  At certain times of the year you can hear the golfo dulce constantly calling but that is not always going to lead you straight to them.  They are more retiring than their black and green relatives and usually call from under fallen leaves, hollow logs or small spaces in the banks.  Also due to their inherent ability with regards to ventriloquism they seem to be in a different location to where the calls are emanating from.

The poison arrow frogs are diurnal.  For a frog to be found hopping around on the forest floor during the light of day would normally make it an easy target for predators.  These frogs have evolved toxic skin secretions to protect them against predation.  But there is little point having a toxic skin secretion if the predators are not aware of it.  If the frog gets eaten it is too late for both the frog and the animal naïve enough to eat it.  The glowing colors that they sport make them stand out clearly against the background.  If something is so deliberately drawing attention to itself it is not inviting predators to dine on it but rather warning them off.  These are warning colors, aposematic coloration.

The black and green secretes a lipophilic alkaloid skin toxin which if you get it on your skin can cause burning and itchiness of cuts and scrapes.  Woe betides you if you get it on any mucus membranes such as eyes, nose or mouth.  Put two of these frogs in a bag together and they will die.  The golfo dulce is the most poisonous of the Costa Rican poison arrow frogs.  The skin toxin is a batrachotoxin which poisons heart muscle causing a painful death.  Do not attempt to handle these frogs but by all means admire them for their toxic beauty.

Text and Photographs are taken from the forthcoming book:

The Natural History of Bosque del Cabo by Philip Davison

Temperature and Rainfall

Average Daily Rainfall 0.04 ins.  Total Weekly Rainfall 0.29 ins

Average Daily Rainfall 1.1 mm.  Total Weekly Rainfall 7.4 mm

Highest Daily Temp 96°F.  Lowest Daily Temp 75°F.

Highest Daily Temp 35.9°C.  Lowest Daily Temp 24.8°C.

Species List for the Week

Mammals

• Mantled Howler Monkey
• Spider Monkey
• White-faced Monkey
• Agouti
• Alfaro’s Pygmy Squirrel
• Red-tailed Squirrel
• Greater White-lined Bat
• Collared Peccary

Birds

• Crimson-fronted Parakeet
• Red-lored Amazon
• Scarlet Macaw
• Great Curassow
• Crested Caracara
• Mangrove Black Hawk
• Roadside Hawk
• White Hawk
• Crested Owl
• Spectacled Owl
• Chestnut-backed Antbird
• Short-billed Pigeon
• White-tipped Dove
• Blue-crowned Motmot
• Rufus Piha
• Long-billed Hermit
• Red-capped Manakin
• Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
• Grey-headed Tanager
• Bright-rumped Atilla
• Dusky-capped Flycatcher
• Black-throated Trogon
• Great Tinamou
• House Wren
• Black Vulture
• Turkey Vulture

Reptiles

• Barred Ameiva
• Cat-eyed Snake
• Central American Smooth Gecko
• Central American Whiptail
• Clawless Gecko
• Four-lined Ameiva
• Golfo Dulce Anolis
• Mediterranean House Gecko
• Pug-nosed Anole
• Tropical Bird-eating Snake

Amphibians

• Black and Green Poison Arrow Frog
• Golfo Dulce Poison Arrow Frog
• Marine Toad
• Masked Smilisca
• Red-eyed Green Tree Frog
• Savage’s Thin-fingered Frog
• Stejneger’s Dirt Frog

Butterflies

• Anartia Fatima
• Anartia jatrophae
• Archaeoprepona demophon
• Caligo eurilochus
• Colobura dirce
• Dryas iulia
• Eueides aliphera
• Eueides lybia
• Eurema albula
• Glutophrissa drusilla
• Heliconius erato
• Heliconius hecale
• Heliconius ismenius
• Heliconius sapho
• Heraclides cresphontes
• Hermeuptychia hermes
• Morpho helenor
• Morpho Menelaus
• Parides erithalion
• Pierella helvina
• Pierella luna
• Pierella argante
• Phoebis sennae
• Philaethria dido
• Pyrisitia proterpia
• Pyrrhogyra crameri
• Temenis laothoe

Plants

• Alamandra  cathartica Flowering
• Alpinia purpurata Flowering
• Apeiba tibourbou Flowering
• Arachis pintoi Flowering
• Arundina graminifolia Flowering
• Attalea rostrata Fruiting
• Bauhinia variegata Flowering
• Cascabella thevetia Flowering and Fruiting
• Citrus spp  Fruiting
• Clusia rosea Flowering and Fruiting
• Clusia vallerii Flowering and Fruiting
• Cocos nucifera Flowering and Fruiting
• Crestentia alata flowering and Fruiting
• Costus speciosus Flowering
• Couroupita guianensis Flowering and Fruiting
• Dypsis lutescens Flowering and Fruiting
• Etlingera elatior Flowering
• Ficus citrifolia Fruiting
• Ficus insipida Fruiting
• Jacaranda mimosifolia Flowering
• Heliconia chartacea Flowering
• Heliconia latispatha Flowering
• Heliconia pogonantha Flowering
• Heliconia psittacorum Flowering
• Heliconia rostrata Flowering
• Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Flowering
• Hymenaea coubaril Fruiting
• Hymenocallis littoralis Flowering
• Ixora coccinea Flowering
• Lantana camara Flowering and Flowering
• Lagerstroemia speciosa Fruiting
• Morinda citrifolia Fruiting
• Musa acuminate Flowering and Fruiting
• Nephelium lappaceum Fruiting
• Piper auritum Flowering and Fruiting
• Piper nigrum Fruiting
• Piper umbellatum Flowering and Fruiting
• Pleiostachya pruinosa Flowering
• Plumeria rubra Flowering
• Psychotria sp Fruiting
• Stachytarpheta frantzii Flowering
• Virola guatemalena Fruiting
• Zammia sp Flowering

 

 

Felipe del Bosque Blog January 21^st 2013

A Waterless Place

We have had another glorious week of cloudless blue skies and sunny days.  For three consecutive evenings though the stars disappeared as a black mantle of storm clouds rolled in after sunset.  Although the rain they delivered didn’t actually amount to much, it was enough to dampen the ground to sticky, wash off the rapidly accumulating dust on the leaves and inspire a few amphibians to re-emerge.

The male amphibians are never shy of responding to a cue, however transient, when it comes to having an opportunity to reproduce.  Even on the driest of nights at the height of the waterless season there will always be one or two singular and disparate males of different species calling forlornly for a mate.  The brief rain brings hope anew and more potential amorés join in the chorus serenading to little more than the still damp air.  Their calls pervade the darkness adding to the ceaseless love songs of the katydids and crickets only to drift away and be lost on the light zephyr that whispers through the leaves.

But one night enough rain fell to tempt out at least one or two female Red-eyed Green Tree Frogs, (Agalychnis callidryas), that had been tucked away deep within the depths of the vegetation away from the drying air.  They responded favorably to those males plying their suit and the next day several egg masses could be seen hanging from the underside of the leaves overhanging the pond.  Alas the sole male Banana Frog, (Dendropsophus ebreccatus), that had been enticed into trying his luck, sitting out on top of a leaf, his presence dangerously exposed to the attention of frog-eating bats and snakes,  remained alone, his calls unanswered at least for the time being.

Unexpected Guests

Snakes are one of those creatures that are actively sought or avoided by most people, there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground.  Two nice species turned up this week and in places far removed from the forest where one might be expecting to find them.  The first was a Tiger Rat Snake, (Spilotes pullatus), that had taken a brief residence in my bathroom.  One morning while I was sitting on the toilet I could hear a rattling sound above my head.  Lying across a beam not an arm’s length above my head was the snake, its body a beautiful deep glossy black interspersed with bands of yellow which are particularly pronounced on the head.  My presence had been noticed and in a nervous response so typical of many snakes it started to vibrate its tail which is what alerted me to its presence.  We had a wildlife photography group staying so I finished my business and returned with a bag to keep it safe until the photographers could take pictures of it.

The group was in luck, at least as far as the serpents go, as later that morning I found a very rarely seen snake on the steps inside the restaurant.  Lying on a stair against the wall was a Dwarf Boa, (Ungaliophis panamensis).  The Dwarf Boas normally live at the top of the trees tucked in between the leaves of bromeliads where they feed on small lizards and frogs.  Again it was temporarily bagged until the photographers managed to take pictures of a snake they would not normally have much chance of seeing.

On one of the night tours I noticed some leaves that have been stripped to the midrib.  They did not bear the telltale signs of Leaf-cutter Ant defoliation, with the typical scalloped edges produced by the ants cutting the leaf in a semi circle around themselves.  After a short time spent searching the culprits were found; the slug-like caterpillars of a moth.  The larvae resembled those of the Saddleback Moth, (Archaria hyperoche), of the Family Limacodidae in form but not in color. They were squat and fat colored in a dichromatic blue-green.  The front and back were armed with protuberances covered with batteries of urticating hairs. Just like the Saddleback Moth the Blue-nosed Caterpillars, (Acharia ophelians) are noted for their eye-catching caterpillars not the adult.  In both species the imago moths are small insignificant dull colored moths.

Seen to be Green

Two other animals that turned up this week had their camouflage fail them, at least as far as this potential predator was concerned.  One was the green colored bean-shaped preying mantis, Choeradodis rhombicollis.  It wasn’t too hard to see as it was on a white wall in the restaurant where its cryptic coloration and form which would normally blend it in perfectly with the background vegetation, in this instance had it stand out in stark contrast to its surroundings.

On the underside of one of the palms by the swimming pool I noticed two objects suspended and hanging down like small green pods.  Closer examination revealed a couple of chrysalises.  It was impossible for me to tell what species of butterfly or moth would eventually emerge from within as many tropical Lepidoptera do not have their full life histories recorded.  I could have taken them and waited for the winged adult to emerge thereby confirming its identity but instead I just took the photo and left them in place.  The immobile and sedentary chrysalis is an easy target for potential predators such as birds, lizards and wasps that they rely on their cryptic coloration to remain unseen.  I doubt if any of the visitors by the pool noticed them but I did.  Not long after I checked and found that they were both empty, the adult butterfly or moth having emerged and hopefully flown off.

Philip is a biologist, writer and photographer as well as the onsite naturalist guide at Bosque del Cabo Rainforest lodge on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.

www.bosquedelcabo.com

Photo Feature

A Bird in the Bush

There has been a male Great Curassow, (Crax rubra), and his harem of females hanging around the restaurant area for a few weeks now.  The curassows are large turkey-sized birds which, in spite of the fact that they are normally seen walking on the ground, can fly, albeit never much further than into the branches of trees above them to take refuge or roost for the night.  The male sports a handsome black plumage with a white belly and distinctive bright yellow expanded area to the top of his bill.  The females are the same size but with a soft brown body, dark head and a banded brown tail.  Both the sexes are adorned with a crest of curly feathers which can be raised or lowered at will.  They forage on the ground for the fruit and vegetables that constitute the main bulk of their diet.  This time of year as you walk through the forest an eerie basso profundo call can be heard emanating from deep with the shadows of the trees that you would sometimes swear you could feel passing through your body rather than your ears.  There is no reason to fear, it is the mating call of the male curassow with his characteristic uuooo,  uuooo.

Another elegant bird that has been making an appearance all around the grounds has been the Mangrove Black Hawk, (Buteogallus subtilis).  These raptors can quite often be seen down on the beaches feeding on crabs.  In the forest and the gardens they take a lot of lizards and snakes as prey.  The overall plumage is black with a dull yellow bill and legs.  The tail has one wide white band which traversing it.  This individual does not seem overly concerned by the proximity of people and will let you approach to directly underneath where he is perched.

At the moment some of the palms are fruiting which has encouraged the daily visit from a group of White-faced Capuchin Monkeys, (Cebus capucinus), eager for an easy feed.  Monkeys tend to be wasteful feeders and drop a lot of half eaten fruits to the ground.  They don’t go to waste though as there are creatures that cannot climb trees such as Agoutis, (Dasyprocta punctata), that sit and wait for food to fall from the sky.  Other animals which could fly up into the tree but don’t as they may be intimidated by the presence of the monkeys also wait on the ground for the food to come to them.  The most obvious of these are the Black Vultures, (Coragyps atratus), and the Turkey Vulture, (Cathartes aura).  Vultures are more commonly associated with carrion but they are also opportunists who will feed on fallen fruit.

Under the tree, strutting around like a self important sergeant major waiting to inspect the troop’s turnout is another carrion-eater, the Crested Caracara, (Caracara cherriway).  These birds are normally found in the more open areas rather than forested areas but over recent years have established themselves on the grounds of Bosque del Cabo.  Just like the vultures they are not averse to taking some of the fruit that will have become available at the base of the palm trees following the monkey’s banquet.

Text and Photographs are taken from the forthcoming book:

The Natural History of Bosque del Cabo by Philip Davison

Temperature and Rainfall

Average Daily Rainfall 0.09 ins.  Total Weekly Rainfall 0.56 ins

Average Daily Rainfall 2.40 mm.  Total Weekly Rainfall 14.20 mm

Highest Daily Temp 89°F.  Lowest Daily Temp 73°F.

Highest Daily Temp 31.8°C.  Lowest Daily Temp 23.5°C.

Species List for the Week

Mammals

• Central American Squirrel Monkey
• Mantled Howler Monkey
• Spider Monkey
• White-faced Monkey
• Kinkajou
• White-nosed Coati
• Agouti
• Alfaro’s Pygmy Squirrel
• Red-tailed Squirrel

Birds

• Mealy Amazon
• Red-lored Amazon
• Scarlet Macaw
• Great Curassow
• Grey-necked Woodrail
• Crested Caracara
• Laughing Falcon
• Mangrove Black Hawk
• Crested Owl
• Spectacled Owl
• Golden-naped Woodpecker
• Pale-billed Woodpecker
• Long-tailed Woodcreeper
• Plain Xenops
• Black-hooded Antshrike
• Chestnut-backed Antbird
• Short-billed Pigeon
• White-tipped Dove
• Rufus Piha
• Blue-crowned Motmot
• Long-billed Hermit
• Stripe-throated Hermit
• Red-capped Manakin
• Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
• Bananaquit
• Cherrie’s Tanager
• Summer Tanager
• Bright-rumped Atilla
• Dusky-capped Flycatcher
• Great Kiskadee
• House Wren
• Great Tinamou
• Black Vulture
• Turkey Vulture

Reptiles

• Barred Ameiva
• Basilisk
• Cat-eyed Snake
• Central American Smooth Gecko
• Central American Whiptail
• Common Anole
• Dwarf Boa
• Four-lined Ameiva
• Golfo Dulce Anolis
• Litter Skink
• Litter Snake
• Mediterranean House Gecko
• Tiger Rat Snake

Amphibians

• Black and Green Poison Arrow Frog
• Fitzinger’s Rain Frog
• Marine Toad
• Masked Smilisca
• Milky Frog
• Red-eyed Green Tree Frog
• Savage’s Thin-fingered Frog
• Stejneger’s Dirt Frog

Butterflies

• Anartia Fatima
• Anartia jatrophae
• Arawacus lincoides
• Archaeoprepona demophon
• Battus polydamus
• Chlosyne theona
• Dione juno
• Dryas iulia
• Eurema albula
• Heliconius cydno
• Heliconius erato
• Heliconius hecale
• Heliconius ismenius
• Heliconius sapho
• Heraclides cresphontes
• Hermeuptychia hermes
• Magneuptychia libye
• Marpesia berania
• Mesosemia zonalis
• Morpho helenor
• Morpho Menelaus
• Parides erithalion
• Pierella luna
• Pierella argante
• Phoebis sennae
• Philaethria dido
• Pyrgus oileus
• Pyrisitia nise

Plants

• Alamandra  cathartica Flowering
• Alpinia purpurata Flowering
• Apeiba tibourbou Flowering and Fruiting
• Arachis pintoi Flowering
• Arundina graminifolia Flowering
• Attalea rostrata Fruiting
• Bauhinia variegata Flowering
• Cascabella thevetia Flowering and Fruiting
• Citrus spp  Fruiting
• Clusia rosea Flowering and Fruiting
• Clusia vallerii Flowering and Fruiting
• Cocos nucifera Flowering and Fruiting
• Crestentia alata flowering and Fruiting
• Costus speciosus Flowering
• Couroupita guianensis Flowering and Fruiting
• Dypsis lutescens Flowering and Fruiting
• Etlingera elatior Flowering
• Ficus citrifolia Fruiting
• Ficus insipida Fruiting
• Jacaranda mimosifolia Flowering
• Heliconia chartacea Flowering
• Heliconia latispatha Flowering
• Heliconia pogonantha Flowering
• Heliconia psittacorum Flowering
• Heliconia rostrata Flowering
• Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Flowering
• Hymenaea coubaril Fruiting
• Hymenocallis littoralis Flowering
• Ixora coccinea Flowering
• Lantana camara Flowering and Flowering
• Lagerstroemia speciosa Fruiting
• Morinda citrifolia Fruiting
• Musa acuminate Flowering and Fruiting
• Nephelium lappaceum Fruiting
• Piper auritum Flowering and Fruiting
• Piper nigrum Fruiting
• Piper umbellatum Flowering and Fruiting
• Pleiostachya pruinosa Flowering
• Plumeria rubra Flowering
• Psychotria sp Fruiting
• Spondias mombin Flowering
• Stachytarpheta frantzii Flowering
• Virola guatemalena Fruiting
• Virola sebifera Fruiting
• Zammia sp Flowering