Category Archives: Featured Photos

Leafhoppers, displaying

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

4mm | January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Some leafhoppers (family Cicadellidae) spread their wings in the manner shown above, perhaps as part of some mating ritual.

Reference:

[book:1554073456]

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Jumping Spider with Prey

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This little salticid has captured a small fly of some sort.

White scales on the chelicerae almost look like a mustache.

Frontal view

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Another Micropezid

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

13mm (body) | January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Here’s another micropezid, waving its front legs like they are apt to do.

Frontal view

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Strawberry Poison Dart Frogs

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

The botanical garden is home to many of these colorful little strawberry poison dart frogs, Oophaga pumilio. Unfortunately, they seem to prefer hanging about in the plastic planters. Above, you can see some of the little fertilizer beads. Below, one was just inside the container.

Inside a plastic plant containerI would have been preferred a more natural setting.

Although they were easy to spot amongst the plantings, I would have preferred a more natural setting.

One more

As you might expect, the bright coloration is a warning to not touch these little frogs.

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Green and Black Poison Dart Frog

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I spotted another of these relatively large frogs, Dendrobates auratus, in the botanical gardens. Unlike the one I spotted a few days before, this one wasn’t carrying a tadpole.

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Another Micropezid

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This one looks a lot like the one I found ovipositing.

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Female Yellow-headed Gecko

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Compared to the male, this female Gonatodes albigularis is quite drab.

She looks as if she has suffered some unfortunate incident. Not only does she appear to be regrowing the tip of her tail, but one of her hind feet seems a bit mangled.

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Feeding Derbids

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

30mm (wingspan) | January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica

These planthoppers in the family Derbidae are feeding on the yellow stem.

You can clearly see the left one’s beak (rostrum) inserted in the stem. Next time I’ll have to try and get a good profile shot. They really are odd looking.

Face on

Also odd are those Velcro like hooks along the leading edge of the wing.

What purpose might these hooks server?

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Male Wandering Spider

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This wandering spider in the family Ctenidae was spotted at the base of a large tree.

The large palps leave no doubt that this is a male.

Palps indicate a male

The eye arrangement was my first clue to the family. They also have a deep groove along the mid-line of the carapace, called a fovea, just barely visible in these photos.

I wasn’t able to identify this one any further than family. It’s quite a large spider though. The body measured 25mm (~1″) and with legs it was around 80mm (~3″).

Some species of Ctenidae have a nasty reputation. Suspecting at the time that this was a Ctenid, I kept a respectful distance. read more

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Bronze-backed Climbing Skink

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I thought it would be difficult to identify this skink, but it turns out there are only three skinks in Costa Rica. Only two of those occur in the area I was in. And only one, Mabuya unimarginata, is bronzed like this one.

Chiefly arboreal, this one was nonetheless basking on a log near the ground.

Showing more of the body

See more images of this species here.

Reference:

[book:0970567804]

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