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Waxy Planthopper Nymph

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

6mm | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica

Underneath that elaborate waxy shelter lies a planthopper nymph.

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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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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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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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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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Shingling

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

I spotted quite a few trees with leaves like these plastered to their trunks. After some searching, I believe this is probably a plant in the Monstera genus. This adhesive climbing behavior is known as shingling. Interestingly, the leaves of the grown plant take on a very different form (follow the wikipedia link above).

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Webspinners

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

10mm | January 18, 2011 | Gandoca-Manzanillo NWR, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I don’t think I’ve ever photographed webspinners before, so this represents another first from my most recent trip to Costa Rica. That’s notable to me because they have an order all to themselves, Embioptera.

As I walked the coastal trail leaving Manzanillo, I noticed many trees with webbing on their trunks. I stopped to look at a few, but I didn’t see any movement. I suspected webspinners were responsible, but it was only later when I decided to probe one of the webs that the webspinner above emerged. It didn’t seem very happy with the situation, and moved quickly to try and take refuge within the web again. Eventually it chewed a hole through which it disappeared. read more

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Immature Argiope

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

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

Closeup crop

Argiope spiders are easy to recognize. They sit head down in the center of their webs with their legs paired up. They don’t even bother to hide themselves during the day. They are among a relatively small number of orb weavers that add a decoration to their web, called a stabilimentum.

The form of the stabilimentum may change as the spider grows. Young spiders like this one may create a dense circular pattern as shown here. Older spiders are more likely to create sparser designs in various shapes. read more

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Ant-mimicking Broad-headed Bug Nymphs

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

14mm | January 17, 2011 | Cahuita National Park, Limon Province, Costa Rica

At first glance you’d think that’s an ant rather than a true bug. Look closely though and the beak gives it away. These broad-headed bug nymphs (Family Alydidae) were easily found on the same foliage where I saw some Ectatomma ants. Perhaps those ants are the model for this mimic. The caption for this photo certainly suggests that’s the case.

Here’s a side by side comparison.

Mimic, feeding

Model?, waiting in ambush

Notice how the antenna tips are darker in the photo below. I wonder if that makes them appear shorter and closer in length to the model? read more

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Juvenile Tree Frogs

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Troy Bartlett

20mm | January 17, 2011 | Cahuita National Park, Limon Province, Costa Rica

I thought the tree frogs shown here were both young Mexican tree frogs, Smilisca baudinii. I asked Brian Kubicki though, and he replied that based on just these images it could be that or possibly Smilisca puma.

15mm

Reference:
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