Category Archives: Featured Photos

Black and Yellow Leafhopper

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

10mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

In an earlier post I remarked how I initially mistook a colorful micromoth for a leafhopper, and that I later saw a similarly marked leafhopper. This is the leafhopper I had in mind, although now I can’t really say they look all that alike.

I did see quite a few of this variety of leafhopper though.

Another individual

 

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Spider Egg Sac

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

If like me you occasionally flip over rocks and such to see what might be lurking beneath, then you’ve no doubt seen things like this:

6mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I’m pretty sure this is the egg sac of some sort of spider. It was underneath a small rotting log.

I usually just carefully put things back the way I found them. Curiousity got the better of me this time. I peeled away the egg sac and carefully opened it. If you’ve ever wondered what’s inside, here’s the answer.

Eggs

Each one of those eggs are less than a millimeter in diameter. There were probably ten or so. read more

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Green and Black Poison Dart Frog

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

20mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Unlike the drab poison dart frog I posted recently, this one lives up to my expectations of having bright warning colors.

Do you notice anything strange about this frog’s back? Take a closer look.

Hitchhiking tadpole

All Costa Rican dendrobatids lay their eggs on the forest floor. Parenting behaviors beyond that vary by species. One or both of the parents care for the eggs, keeping them moist until they hatch (sometimes by the male urinating on them). After hatching the tadpoles are carried by one or both of the parents, sometimes singly, sometimes en masse, to suitable sites to complete their development. read more

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Golden Silk Spiders, Mating

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

When I first spotted this female Nephila clavipes, she was positioned rather low in her web. Her background was cluttered and shaded. I prodded her a few times, and as I’d hoped, she retreated to a higher position in her web where I thought I might be able to get a more pleasing background.

Unexpectedly, her quick movements drew the attention of a male that was also hanging out in her vicinity. I’ve read that males prefer to mate when the female is preoccupied with a meal (so they’re less likely to become a meal themselves). Perhaps he mistook her quick retreat as movement toward prey. At any rate, he wasted no time approaching her and getting into a mating position. read more

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Rocket Frog: An Atypical Dendrobatid

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

20mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

If like me you associate poison dart frogs with bright colors, then you might be as surprised as I was to learn that this rather drab frog is also a member of that family, Dendrobatidae.

Not surprisingly, this frog and other members of the genus Colostethus lack the skin toxins that some other members of the family have. No wonder they try to blend in, especially given their diurnal lifestyle.

Colostethus species also differ from other dendrobatids in their association with moving water instead of standing water. Their common name, rocket frogs, refers to their habit of quickly leaping into streams and then drifting away. This one was in fact next to a small stream, but obligingly stayed put. read more

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Richardiid Fly

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

6mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I’m pretty sure this fly is a species in the family Richardiidae.

Dorsolateral view

It was really concentrating on mopping up whatever that blob is, allowing me to get several shots from various angles.

Dorsal view

Reference:

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Dictyopharid Planthopper

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 18, 2011 | Gandoca-Manzanillo NWR, Limon Province, Costa Rica

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Golden Silk Orbweaver

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

January 18, 2011 | Gandoca-Manzanillo NWR, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I’ve never quite been happy with any of the photos I’ve taken of this species, Nephila clavipes. This photo is no exception. I do like that it captures the gold color of the web, and that at least a few of the leg tufts are in focus.

It’s a shame the spider lost a leg somewhere along the way. The missing leg distracts me every time I look at her.

These spiders really are quite large. This one measured around 30mm, 70mm if you throw in the legs.

See if you can spot the little fly that’s perched on her abdomen. read more

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Eyelash Viper

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

~30cm | January 18, 2011 | Gandoca-Manzanillo NWR, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This eyelash viper, Bothriechis schlegelii, was on the side of a tree. A recent crypsis challenge asked readers to find it, which turned out to be fairly easy.

In the photo above, you can easily see the two scales above the far eye that give this snake its common name. No other Costa Rican snake has this distinctive feature.

I used my Canon 100mm macro combined with my Tamron 1.4x teleconverter to get some closeup shots, without getting too close myself. A handful of people die in Costa Rica every year from bites by this snake. read more

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Velvet Worm Identification

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

30mm | January 18, 2011 | Gandoca-Manzanillo NWR, Limon Province, Costa Rica

As mentioned in my previous posts about the velvet worm above, I researched a bit before traveling to increase my chances of finding one. Only after the trip, when I started thinking about identifying it, did I realize I didn’t know what characters are important in identifying Onychophorans.

Undaunted, I started searching the internet for someone that might be able to help me identify it. I started with Julián Monge-Nájera. Julián explained that he writes about Onychophoran ecology. He put me in touch with a taxonomist coauthor, Bernal Morera Brenes. Both were extremely helpful. Not only did they give me access to some of their relevant articles, they gave me permission to publish those articles here. read more

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