Blog Archives

Litter Frog

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

I thought this was perhaps an Eleutherodactylus species in the family Leptodactylidae. That determination was based mainly on the pads visible on the undersides of the hands and feet.

I asked Brian Kubicki for his opinion, and he said this is Craugastor polyptychus. That last link notes that this species was recently split from Eleutherodactylus bransfordii, so I guess was on the right track.

Looking around on the internet, it looks like the two species are separated by elevation, with this species occurring at lower elevations. read more

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Mystery Exuvia

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

What do you make of this exuvia? I found it just like this, sticking out of a large downed tree spanning a small creek.

Not sure if you can tell, but there’s a few small horns on the side and then one larger forked horn extending out from the bottom. Whatever left it squeezed out through a split on the top.

It measured 10mm in diameter, and there’s about 18mm extended out of the tree. I carefully pulled the rest out, and it measured 45mm long overall.

The whole thing

Even the rear end is somewhat bizarre looking. read more

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Snout Beetle

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

18mm | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

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Prominent Caterpillar

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

22mm | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This caterpillar looks enough like some of my local caterpillars that I can confidently say it’s a prominent moth larva. Its markings camouflage it well as it inserts itself into areas it has eaten.

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Large Bark Katydid

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

75mm | January 19, 2011

Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This large katydid was trying to remain inconspicuous on the side a tree. With a body three inches long and antennae over twice that, it was difficult to miss. I considered making this a crypsis challenge, but it seemed too easy.

In the second photo, it’s in the lower right corner.

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Apterostigma collare

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

4mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I spotted the structure below on the underside of a large leaf. I really didn’t know what it was, and I gently poked at it. It was quite fragile as it turns out, and it fell open to reveal an ant nest. I then immediately regretted not having taken a photo beforehand. The next day I was lucky enough to find another one, also pictured.

6cm x 4cm | Unexpected ant nest

4cm x 2cm | Nest with an ant entering

These nests are the work of an ant in the genus Apterostigma. Ants of Costa Rica has an info page for this genus in Costa Rica. I tried to use the key there to identify these, but it was a bit technical for me. I’m basing the species identification on the statements from the site that seem to indicate that only Apterostigma collare builds these nests under leaves. There are some more photos of nests at that same site. read more

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Amplypygids – Tailless Whip Scorpions

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

These fearsome looking arachnids have an order to themselves, Amblypygi. Though commonly called tailless whip scorpions or whip spiders, they are neither. Intimidating though they may look, they aren’t dangerous and possess no venom. They are quite timid in fact, and I had to take care not to scare them away while photographing them.

Here’s how you might expect to see one actively moving about, with its oversized first pair of legs outstretched.

Longest legs extend outside frame

That first pair of legs is modified for use as antennae. They wave them about, sensing and probing. While the body of this one measured only 2cm, each one of those antenniform legs was 8cm long! read more

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Headlight Beetle

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

25mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

This click beetle in the family Elateridae was another night find. I’d like to say those light producing organs on the prothorax drew my attention. In reality, its “headlights” were “off” when I found it.

There are many species with these light producing organs spread across many genera, but they are all commonly referred to as headlight beetles.

On a side note, my blacklight flashlight was kind of a bust otherwise I’m afraid to report. I had hoped to find some scorpions at least, but this beetle was the only thing it turned up. read more

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Yellow-headed Gecko

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

This species, Gonatodes albigularis, can usually be found on surfaces two to three meters above the ground. Not surprisingly then, I spotted this male just above eye-level on the side of a tree, shortly after dark.

Male coloration as shown here is distinctive among Costa Rican lizards. Interestingly though, coloration changes after dark. The head darkens a bit and the body lightens somewhat. Both still remain distinct from each other. What you see above then is the night color phase, or perhaps a transitional phase between the two. Males also have that white-tipped tail. read more

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Brown Blunt-headed Vine Snake

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

As dusk arrived, I spotted this small vine snake, Imantodes cenchoa, descending a large tree. This species is chiefly arboreal, so seeing one near the ground was sheer luck.

A small snake, the head shown here is only 5mm wide. Overall I estimated this one to be less than a meter long, although they can grow to a bit more than that.

The head is much wider than the body. Thin as it may be, it can swallow prey ten times the width of its body. Nocturnal, these snakes hunt sleeping lizards, particularly anoles. read more

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