Panama`s Brilliant Butterflies

Panama’s Brilliant Butterflies
May 28 – June 4, 2016
Trip Report
Saturday May 28, 2016
Arrival and Orientation
Arrival day! This morning we welcomed the early arrival of Bill, Richard and Jan by midmorning at the Canopy Lodge. After quickly settling into their spacious guest rooms, everyone
was eager to see what was flying around the gardens. Almost immediately, we had great
looks of One-spotted Prepona, Odites Metalmark (female), Green-celled Cattleheart, Falcate
Skipper and Maculosa Skipper in the gardens. Erato and Zebra longwings, White Yellow,
Cloudless and Apricot sulphurs were seen darting around the Lodge, a beautiful Blue-andorange Eighty-Eight perched with open wings on a nearby Cecropia branch, and no doubt the
most eye-catching butterflies of the morning were the morphos: Common Morpho, Stub-tailed
Morpho and the stunning Cypris Morpho all made great sweeping passes along the stream,
offering great views. The weather this morning was warm and sunny, very favorable
conditions for the butterflies. In addition to the butterflies, the garden birds – Orange-billed
Sparrows, Thick-billed Euphonias, Gray-headed Chachalacas, Flame-rumped Tanagers,
Snowy-bellied Hummingbirds and a family of Gray-necked Wood-Rails entertained us too!
Meanwhile, Barb and Marc took a detour to the Canopy Tower for lunch on their way to the
Lodge and during their short time there, saw Blood-spot Metalmark, Rusted Metalmark, Costaspotted Metalmark and 4 Regal Hairstreaks!
At midday it started to rain and everyone retreated for a siesta after lunch. The rest of the
guests arrived mid-afternoon just as the rain was stopping, and after a brief group orientation,
we were off exploring the property again for any interesting finds. The overcast afternoon
didn’t bring forth a lot of butterfly activity later this afternoon, but emerging cicadas, a sphinx
moth caterpillar (“hornworm”), a Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth and even more birds gave
us no lack of cool things to look at. We met at 6:30 to review photos and our arrival day
checklist, followed by a delicious dinner. Since most had early starts for their travel days,
everyone opted for an early night to get a good sleep and be ready for a full day of butterflies
and wildlife ahead.
Sunday May 29, 2016
Las Minas Road and La Mesa/Finca Macarena
This morning we were up bright and early with the birds! Before breakfast we enjoyed
watching the garden birds at the feeders, along with some early butterflies too – a Pale OwlButterfly was found feeding on a piece of ripe banana below the feeder, and another was
attracted to the butterfly bait on the platform beside the lounge. Shortly after breakfast, we
headed up to Las Minas Road. We started off our morning with clear blue skies, great for
butterflies! As we walked along Las Minas Road, we scanned the grassy roadsides and found
White and Mimosa yellows, Immaculata Skipper, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Barnes’ Metalmark,
Sara and Sapho longwings, Blue-gray and White satyrs, Pale Sicklewing and many tiny
Radiant Skippers. Among many things, we are always keeping many keen eyes open for
some of the most beautiful butterflies we always hope to see on our butterfly tour: tiny, fuzzylegged metalmarks called jewelmarks. Then, about half-way along the road, we spotted a tiny
dark butterfly flitting around at eye level over some broad leaves; once it landed we could see
well through our binoculars that it was a Simple Sarota, one of these spectacular little
butterflies! It challenged us with views, but everyone got at least a glance before it flitted
away. We hope for more of these little beauties. As we carried on down the road, we came
across a Pale Sicklewing perched high on a leaf and a boldy-marked Thoria Skipper. By midmorning, we had made it to our turn-around point, and the dark rain clouds were starting to
move in. The walk back produced nice views of Orange-patched Crescent and Tutia
Clearwing. Timing was perfect, as we got back to the van it started to rain, quite heavy, and
we headed back to the lodge to enjoy the rain from there. Just before lunch, an Azure-winged
Eurybia dazzled some of the group watching the gardens from the veranda.
Pale Owl-Butterfly (left), Simple Sarota (right)
After lunch, we waited out the rain and once it stopped, we headed back up to Finca Macarena
in La Mesa. Heavy skies were not in our favor, and there were not many butterflies braving the
overcast weather this afternoon, yet we did see a nice distinct Argon Skipper and a cluster of
some prickly caterpillars. But despite the drizzle, the birds were active and we made the most
of the afternoon watching Tawny-crested Tanagers, Tawny-capped Euphonias, Rufousbreasted Wren and a Hoffmann’s Two-toed Sloth on the move through the epiphyte-laden
trees. Back at the lodge, we gathered to review our checklist for the day, followed by a hearty
dinner. The light sheet on the top deck at the lodge attracted a new butterfly for us – a Brown
Owl-Butterfly, one that even Tino and Jenn had never seen until now, and new for the Canopy
Family butterfly list! A great way to end our first full day of the tour.
Monday May 30, 2016
Cerro Gaital and Las Mozas pastureland
Again we awoke to nice skies and promising weather
for the morning. After an early breakfast, we boarded
the van and headed up to Cerro Gaital trail, a beautiful
cloud-forest covered protected area, part of the Cerro
Gaital Natural Monument. Along the way, we stopped
briefly at the bridge to check out the Granducifolia
plants, but only a Timnia Clearwing was there for now,
so we carried on up the road. We started off the walk
at Cerro Gaital with a Veined White-Skipper behind the
guard house. Along the trail, we picked up Ittona
Skipper, Banded Banner, White-spotted Prepona,
Hermione Skipper and Great Scrub-Hairstreak. We
watched a Cream-spotted Tigerwing lay eggs on its
host plant, and equally as entertaining, a few species of
dragonflies darting over the little pond at the end of the
Veined White-Skipper
trail. Gold-bordered Hairstreak and a lovely Barajo
Hairstreak (which churned up some funny nicknames!) were highlights back along the road.
Before returning back to the lodge for lunch, we stopped again at the patch of Granducifolias at
the bridge crossing, and this time there was a lot of activity! Many Black-bordered Crescents
(Tegosa), Banded Peacocks, Orange-patched Crescents, along with Alana White-Skipper,
Common Mylon, Orange-striped Emesis, Crimson-patched Checkerspot, Julia, Mimic and
White-dotted crescents and even a couple daylight moths, a species of daytime flying moth,
were buzzing around. A little bit of sun makes this area very productive! Back at the lodge,
Barb came across a Mottled Scrub-Hairstreak, a new species for our checklist!
The rain held off after lunch so we headed out again at 2 pm, to Las Mozas field. Upon arrival,
we could see many butterflies flying around the field: Tropical Buckeye, Banded Peacock,
White Peacock, and little ones – Tropical and Central American checkered-skippers, White
Yellow, Dusky-blue Groundstreak and more. We found a pair of Whitened Crescents mating,
and Zebra and Erato longwings were flying above the low shrubbery. In addition to the
butterflies, the birds were great too – White-collared Swifts, Red-legged Honeycreeper and a
lovely perched Roadside Hawk were some of this afternoon’s bird highlights. Then once
again, the dark rain clouds moved in and we retreated to the van. We made a worthwhile stop
at the El Valle Market to do some souvenir shopping, and some people picked up some
beautiful molas and other Panamanian handicrafts.
We met before dinner to review our extensive checklist for the day, butterflies, birds and
mammals, and enjoyed a delicious dinner. After a long day, everyone was feeling a little tired
and called it a night early to be ready for another exciting day to come.
Central American Checkered-Skipper (left), Whitened Crescents (right)
Tuesday May 31, 2016
Altos del Maria
Today we were up before dawn for an early
breakfast.
The weather was looking
promising and as soon as we were all ready,
we loaded up into three 4x4 trucks and
headed to the highlands. It wasn’t long until
we were climbing the steep paved roads to
Altos del Maria.
Tino, driving the first
vehicle, stopped just before we arrived to the
gate for a pair of Orange-bellied Trogons,
one of the specialty birds of the region. Also
at this stop, Blue-throated (Emerald)
Toucanets and Scaled Pigeons were spotted
in the treetops. After this enjoyable stop, we
continued up into Altos del Maria to search
for butterflies. The weather couldn’t have
been better – a sunny day is often a rare
event in this area, especially in the green
season, and we were lucky to have full sun
Tailed Sulphur
this morning.
We started our morning
walking the area of La Gaita, up the steep hills of the area. The roadside vegetation is a great
place for butterflies, and we quickly came across Many-banded Daggerwing, Variable
Clearwing, Mimic Tigerwing, Cassius Blue, White and Mimosa yellows, Rita’s Remella and
others along this road. On the way down, a large pale Sulphur was spotted on a shrub along
the bank – we had a feeling it was something special, and after a quick glance, we noticed a
distinct point extending off the hind wing – a tail! This female Tailed Sulphur, new for the
Canopy Family butterfly list, was a highlight of the morning. Moments after enjoying this one, a
second one was spotted just a 100 ft away, another female, this one showing a nice burgundy
color on the outer edge of the hind wing. Another winged creature caught our eye on the way
down the hill – butterfly-like but actually a daytime-flying moth, Divana diva (family Castniidae),
was resting on a leaf on the bank. When it alighted it gave us a flash of deep blue and orange
on its hind wings. These moths resemble butterflies and are called “giant butterfly-moths” in
the Neotropics. They even have clubbed antennae!
Back at the trucks, we had a big mid-morning snack of sandwiches, trail mix, bananas, soft
drinks, coffee and tea. The butterflying continued during the snack as a cute Fine-lined
Hairstreak showed up along the bank beside the road. Its close cousin, a Togarna Hairstreak,
was also seen here! Danilo’s keen eyes spotted a delicate and large orchid in one of the large
roadside trees. After snack we headed up the paved hill to an open patch of Granducifolia; the
sun was shining and it was feeling hot for Altos Del Maria! The sun sparked great butterfly
activity here – Frosted Dartwhite, Cattleheard White, Diasia Clearwing, White-dashed
Metalmark (seen only by Tino), Orange-striped Emesis and a fresh White-patched Emesis
caught everyone’s attention. Stub-tailed Morphos chased each other around overhead and a
stunning Cypris Morpho made a pass offering great views of its yellow and iridescent bluepurple coloration. A mystery flasher, possibly Whitened Flasher, caught our attention and its
ID will hopefully be confirmed very soon upon close revision of the photos. This spot was
great!
We took a break for lunch at Lago Bonito, where a pair of Long-tailed Tyrants across the lake
delighted us. These pretty flycatchers are not very common around here. After lunch we took
a short walk along the “Transcontinental Biodiversity Trail” at Lago Bonito, while a big storm
was brewing. It was dark in the understory and not much was flying around, birds or
butterflies. But the forest was beautiful and everyone enjoyed the walk. We returned to the
trucks and headed back toward El Valle. Before returning, we made a final stop near the town
of Mata Ahogado, to see if anything was flying around. Activity level was quieting down at this
time, but White Peacock, Tropical Checkered-Skipper and a few chocolate brown grass
skippers were around. By this time, the birds were becoming active again – Blue-headed
Parrots, Masked Tityra, Blue-crowned Motmot and Barred Antshrike – caught everyone’s
attention.
Back at the lodge and after some down time, we met to review our growing checklist (now over
100 species!) and finished off the day with an optional night walk on the property, where we
saw Red-webbed Tree Frog, Fleischmann’s Glass Frog, Stream Anole, Cane Toad, Smoky
Jungle Frog and two species of clown tree frogs in the pond.
Wednesday June 1, 2016
Canopy Lodge gardens and Canopy Tower
The first butterfly of the day to greet us, in the dim dawn light, was a huge Banded OwlButterfly, which even obligingly landed on Bill’s head (sparking a photo shoot by Rich!). This is
one of the most beautiful of the owl-butterflies, however was a rather worn individual, still nice
to see and not one that we will see in the lowlands for the rest of the trip as it prefers the cool
foothills. Around breakfast time, more butterflies started to show, including a Common
Morpho, a usual suspect around the Canopy Lodge but this one in particular caught
everyone’s attention when it landed beside the fruit feeders and opened its wings to sun. Barb
was exceptionally happy as this was one of her
goals for this trip, to photograph a blue morpho
with its wings spread, which they rarely do. Also
of interest in the garden this morning was an Iris
Calephelis showing off its bright blue fuzzy brushfeet, again something that is not often seen
among butterflies.
After packing up and
checkouts, we took a short walk down the “magic
trail” as Barb coined it last year, a great place to
find butterflies and other creatures at the Canopy
Lodge. Mid way, we spotted Sara and Crimsonpatched longwings flying around, and a couple
indistinct skippers. At the end of the trail is where
we hit our butterfly jackpot for this morning, at a
patch of blooming Granducifolia.
Lampeto
Metalmarks, Irenia Metalmark, Blue-based
Common Morpho
Theope, Meton, Bitias and Gold-bordered
hairstreaks, White-dotted Crescent, Broken Silverdrop, Red-studded Skipper and more were
actively flying around. Up on the road, Marc spotted a Menander Metalmark, another new one
for the trip! By mid-morning we were ready to head to our next destination: The Canopy
Tower, to see what exciting butterflies awaited us in the lowlands! The 2-hour trip to the tower
was uneventful and most took advantage of a snooze on route.
Upon arrival at the Canopy Tower, we barely got settled into our rooms – instead, we went
straight up to the 3rd floor and observation deck for optimal butterfly viewing! Out the canopylevel windows, we saw Regal Hairstreak, Fundania and Iphiclus sisters, Malachite, Polydamas
Swallowtail, Janais Hairstreak, Hecale Longwing and Shaus’ Flasher. One odd butterfly
caught our eye – all tan in color, with a faint green color on the underside of the fore wing.
After some searching, we didn’t find any good matches, and concluded that it was a very worn
Tropical Greenstreak. Our first “cheater” butterfly (inside the Canopy Tower, usually found on
the windows in the dining room and lounge) was a Dingy Purplewing, new for the trip and new
for the Canopy Family butterfly list.
After a delicious lunch in the 3rd floor dining room and some down time, we met for a short
orientation of the Canopy Tower and a review of the itinerary for the days to come. By this
time though it had started raining, heavy at times, which limited our butterfly watching for the
afternoon. Most opted for a siesta during the rain, others reviewed and identified butterflies in
their photos from the past days. Regardless, it was an enjoyable afternoon, a time to catch our
breath and enjoy the tropical rain shower. We reviewed our checklist a little later into the
afternoon, followed by dinner. Outside the dining room windows during dinner, an Olingo (a
nocturnal, arboreal mammal related to a raccoon) was spotted moving swiftly through the
Cecropia trees!
Thursday June 2, 2016
Pipeline Road
This morning we started up on the observation deck of the Canopy Tower at dawn – the BEST
place to be in Panama! As the sun rose, the Keel-billed Toucans began to croak and the other
birds started their day. Even early-morning butterflies, the Narcosius Flasher, was already
patrolling its territory above the treetops. As it was a little early for butterfly activity in general,
so the birds stole the show up here before breakfast – Blue Dacnis, Green Honeycreeper,
Cinnamon Woodpecker, Palm Tanager, Green Shrike-Vireo and a perched Double-toothed
Kite were highlights this morning. After breakfast, we boarded the “Tinamu” – Canopy Tower’s
special open-back truck – and headed out for a full day adventure. Our principal destination
for the day was Pipeline Road, a world famous wildlife-watching destination in Soberania
National Park, but our first stop was at the Ammo Ponds just beyond the town of Gamboa.
The grassy roadsides provided great habitat for many species of butterflies, of which we saw
Banded Longwing, Tropical Buckeye, Queen, Mimosa Skipper, Hanno Blue, a roosting
Josephus Owl-Butterfly, Whirlabout, Variable Cracker and some others, along with some
notable water birds (Rufescent Tiger-Heron and Purple Gallinule and a calling White-throated
Crake), dragonflies and grasshoppers! Jerry and Linda Harrison, friends and fellow butterfly
enthusiasts met us at the Ammo Ponds this morning and continued with us for the rest of the
day.
Marysas Hairstreak (left), male Mexican Sailor (right)
We had barely made it into the entrance of Pipeline, and the butterflies started showing up.
We parked and walked toward the entrance gate, where a Two-eyed Eighty-Eight was resting
on the gatehouse. Then, Joan spotted a large aqua-blue hairstreak in the grasses. It was
beautiful! Similar to the Sky-blue Hairstreak, this Marsyas Hairstreak was a great find! In fact,
the two species are so similar that it was only Barb’s photo of a partial upper side that allowed
us to distinguish and identify our butterfly by its more extensive dark edging around the
aquamarine blue color. It was very cooperative and allowed us to get a lot of great photos.
Nearby, a pair of Mexican Sailors whirled around, landing often and like the hairstreak,
cooperative for photos. Southern Sicklewing, Dina Yellow, Gray Theope and Emerald-patched
Cattleheart were also spotted here. While walking back to the “Tinamu,” Barb and Marc
spotted a Marcus Skipper (one of that are sometimes called the “fantastic-skippers”) and a
Yellow-rimmed Eighty-Eight. Everyone delighted in seeing the skipper, but unfortunately the
eighty-eight had already taken off. Back at the “Tinamu,” we had a snack and carried on down
Pipeline Road in search of more butterflies and wildlife.
Clusters of unique white flowers called “huesitos” or “little bones” were abundant and in full
bloom along Pipeline Road, giving off a fragrant scent, but no butterflies were visiting them.
We came to a sunny patch where a Common Spurwing was feeding on a bird dropping in the
middle of the road. Slightly further up, some more butterflies were moving around. A beautiful
Squared Bent-Skipper was flying close to the ground and some disturbed vegetation, landing
briefly but consistently enough to allow for photos. In the same spot, a Whitened Bluewing
landed on a fallen log, giving nice views.
By midday we arrived at our lunch spot and settled here for a little while. While Jenn and Tino
were setting up the picnic lunch, a Rusty Metalmark was flying around along the forest edge,
landing only briefly before popping up again. Lunch along Pipeline Road was relaxing and
enjoyable, and after a little rest (where Jenn spotted an odd “owl-fly” on a vine), we continued
on foot further down the road. The weather was beautiful – sunny and warm, we couldn’t have
asked for better conditions during the rainy season in Panama! Some dragonflies caught our
attention at the puddles along the road, and some enjoyed birds such as Purple-throated
Fruitcrows and Golden-collared Manakins. Butterfly highlights this afternoon were a couple
Almoda Skippers (lifers for Tino and Jenn), Lavinia Clearwing and Northern Ectima
(Crackerlet). We encountered a few interesting caterpillars, one resembling bird poop and
another with bright yellow spines that would no doubt give a nasty sting. As the activity started
to calm down we made our way back to the Tinamu and returned to the Canopy Tower,
reviewed the checklist for the day and retired to our rooms.
Almoda Skipper (left), Lavinia Clearwing (right)
Friday June 3, 2016
Metropolitan Natural Park and Old Gamboa Road
& Summit Ponds
The day started out beautiful, up on the
observation deck with the birds and the early
morning butterflies.
Two-toned Groundstreaks,
quite a few of them, sunned themselves in the
treetops and were seen well from the deck. At
breakfast, they really started to come out and we
saw some gorgeous Costa-spotted and Inca
metalmarks, with their intense bright color accents
of yellow, pink and blue on their contrasting dark
wings, Cramer’s (Canopy) Satyr and White-trailed
Skipper.
After breakfast we headed out to
Metropolitan Park in Panama City, a protected dry
forest that boasts much biodiversity including many
great butterflies. Unfortunately, the moment we
arrived it started to rain, and rain, and rain. Not
Costa-spotted Metalmark
often it rains during the morning in Panama,
especially in the Pacific lowlands, so this was a little unusual. But the rain was fresh and we
decided to go for a little walk up the hill toward the viewpoint in hopes that it would start to let
up. We reached the rancho at the half way point and stopped to wait out the rain some more.
But it didn’t let up. After a decent wait, we decided to head back to the Canopy Tower. The
rain continued through the morning.
After lunch the rain stopped, so we took advantage and headed out right away to Summit
Ponds and Old Gamboa Road, only 10 minutes from the Canopy Tower. The weather was
promising and the butterflies and birds seemed pleased to have a break in the rain. A
Gartered Trogon perched on the hydro wires above the road. We stopped at the ponds to
have a look, some of the local water birds, Lesser Kiskadee, Amazon Kingfisher, Green Heron
and Greater Ani were seen here. A Panna Skipper, a pretty spreadwing skipper with chocolate
brown color overall and subtle soft markings was spotted on a leaf near the water’s edge. On
Old Gamboa Road, we found Barnes’ Metalmark, Dusky-blue Groundstreak, Split-banded OwlButterfly, Thamyra Satyr, Plain Satyr, Banded Peacock and Eligius Flat. We walked down to
an area of a known roost for Spectacled Owls, but nobody was to be found there. On the way
back to the van, Barb spotted a tiny Lucianus Metalmark, one of the target butterflies for this
site. Orange above and white below, this mini butterfly was a delight to see!
Back at the Canopy Tower, we met for a final checklist session and wrap up of the tour,
followed by a delicious dinner.
Thursday May 21, 2015
Canopy Tower Observation Deck and departures
Our final morning on the observation deck did not disappoint – Tino spotted an Orange-banded
Metalmark, and new butterflies for the trip including Orion Cecropian, Short-lined KiteSwallowtail, Amyntor Greenstreak and Least Prepona continued to show up. This morning we
said goodbye to some of our friends who joined us for this year’s tour, while others extended
their stay at the Canopy Tower and in Panama to continue enjoying the butterflies, birds and
Panama’s exquisite wildlife in general. Overall, we saw 210 species of butterflies, including
several new ones for Canopy Family’s official butterfly list, and additionally, over 200 species
of birds for the trip (not listed in this report). On behalf of the Canopy Family we thank all of
our participants for their enthusiasm in watching and learning about Panama’s butterflies with
us, it was a memorable and exciting tour!
Butterfly List
Classification follows Butterflies of America
28
PAPILIONIDAE
swallowtails
Papilioninae
1
Neographium agesilaus
2
Neographium philolaus
3
Battus polydamas
4
Parides eurimedes
5
Parides childrenae
6
Parides sesostris
7
Heraclides androgeus
8
Heraclides thoas
swallowtails & cattlehearts
Short-lined Kite-Swallowtail
Dark Kite-Swallowtail
Polydamas Swallowtail
True Cattleheart
Green-celled Cattleheart
Emerald-patched Cattleheart
Androgeus Swallowtail
Thoas Swallowtail
PIERIDAE
whites & sulphurs
Dismorphiinae
9
Enantia jethys
Coliadinae
10
Eurema albula
11
Pyrisitia proterpia
12
Pyrisitia dina
13
Pyrisitia nise
14
Phoebis sennae
15
Phoebis neocypris
16
Phoebis argante
17
Phoebis agarithe
18
Aphrissa statira
Pieridae
19
Pieriballia viardi
20
Archionas brassolis
21
Catasticta hegemon
mimic-whites
Jethys Mimic-White
sulphurs & yellows
White Yellow
Tailed Orange
Dina Yellow
Mimosa Yellow
Cloudless Sulphur
Tailed Sulphur
Apricot Sulphur
Large Orange Sulphur
Statira Sulphur
whites
Viardi White
Cattleheart White
Frosted Dartwhite
LYCAENIDAE
hairstreaks & blues
Theclinae
22
Evenus regalis
Pseudolycaena marsyas
23
24
Rekoa meton
25
Rekoa palegon
26
Arawacus togarna
27
Arawacus sito
28
Cyanophrys amyntor
29
Cyanophrys herodotus
30
Laothus barajo
31
Lamprospilus collucia
32
Electrostrymon hugon
33
Ziegleria hesperitis
34
Calycopis cerata
35
Calycopis isobeon
36
Strymon mulucha
37
Strymon gabatha
38
Ministrymon zilda
39
Strephonota tephraeus
hairstreaks
Regal Hairstreak
Marsyas Hairstreak
Meton Hairstreak
Gold-bordered Hairstreak
Togarna Hairstreak
Fine-lined Hairstreak
Amyntor Greenstreak
Tropical Greenstreak
Barajo Hairstreak
Two-toned Groundstreak
Ruddy Hairstreak
Hesperitis Groundstreak
Cerata Hairstreak
Dusky-blue Groundstreak
Mottled Scrub-Hairstreak
Great Scrub-Hairstreak
Square-spotted Hairstreak
Pearly-gray Hairstreak
29
30
May/June 2016
31
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40
Panthiades bitias
41
Chalybs janais
Polyommatinae
42
Leptotes cassius
43
Cupido comyntas
44
Hemiargus hanno
Bitias Hairstreak
Janais Hairstreak
blues
Cassius Blue
Eastern Tailed-Blue
Hanno Blue
RIODINIDAE
metalmarks
Riodininae
45
Eurybia unxia
46
Necyria duellona
47
Ancyluris jurgensenii
48
Ancyluris inca
49
Detritivora barnesi
50
Calephelis fulmen
51
Calephelis shausi
52
Calephelis iris
53
Calephelis sp.
54
Parcella amarynthina
55
Caria mantinea
56
Sarota acantus
57
Emesis lucinda
58
Emesis oncypore
59
Emesis cypria
60
Ariconias albinus
61
Thisbe irenea
62
Juditha odites
63
Juditha caucana
64
Synargis mycone
65
Menander menander
66
Calospila lucianus
67
Nymphidium ascolia
Nymphidium haematostictum
68
69
Theope virgilius
70
Theope lycaenina
metalmarks
Azure-winged Eurybia
White-dashed Metalmark
Costa-spotted Metalmark
Inca Metalmark
Barnes’ Metalmark
Fulmen Calephelis
Shaus’ Calephelis
Iris Calephelis
Calephelis sp.
Orange-banded Metalmark
Lampeto Metalmark
Simple Sarota
White-patched Emesis
Dark Emesis
Orange-striped Emesis
Albinus Metalmark
Irenia Metalmark
Odites Metalmark
Molpe Metalmark
Rusty Metalmark
Menander Metalmark
Lucianus Metalmark
Creamy Metalmark
Blood-spot Metalmark
Blue-based Theope
Gray Theope
NYMPHALIDAE
brushfoots
Danainae
71
Lycorea halia
72
Danaus gilippus
73
Tithorea tarricina
74
Aeria eurimedia
75
Melinaea lilis
76
Methona confusa
77
Ithomia diasia
78
Ceratinia tutia
79
Godyris zavaleta
80
Hypoleria lavinia
81
Pseudoscada timnia
Heliconiinae
82
Dione juno
83
Dryadula phaetusa
84
Dryas iulia
85
Philaethria dido
86
Eueides aliphera
monarchs & clearwings
Tiger Mimic-Queen
Queen
Cream-spotted Tigerwing
Banded Tigerwing
Mimic Tigerwing
Confusa Tigerwing
Diasia Clearwing
Tutia Clearwing
Variegated Clearwing
Lavinia Clearwing
Timnia Clearwing
longwings
Juno Longwing
Banded Longwing
Julia
Green Longwing
Fine-lined Longwing
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87
Heliconius charithonia
88
Heliconius cydno
89
Heliconius doris
Heliconius erato petiverana
90
Heliconius hecale anderida
91
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Heliconius sapho
93
Heliconius sara
94
Euptoieta hegesia
Limenitidinae
95
Adelpha boeotia
96
Adelpha cytherea
97
Adelpha iphiclus
98
Adelpha malea
99
Adelpha melona
Biblidinae
100 Eunica monima
101 Myscelia cyaniris
102 Ectima erycinoides
103 Hamadryas amphinome
104 Hamadryas feronia
105 Hamadryas iphthime
106 Nica flavilla
107 Pyrrhogyra neaerea
108 Dynamine agacles
109 Dynamine postverta
110 Callicore pitheas
111 Callicore texa
112 Callicore tolima
Cyrestinae
113 Marpesia chiron
114 Marpesia petreus
Nymphalinae
115 Historis odius
116 Anartia fatima
117 Anartia jatrophae
118 Siproeta stelenes
119 Junonia evarete
120 Chlosyne janais
121 Chlosyne lacinia
122 Anthanassa drusilla
123 Anthanassa tulcis
124 Castilia eranites
125 Castilia ofella
126 Eresia clio
127 Eresia eunice
128 Eresia ithomioides alsina
129 Janatella leucodesma
130 Tegosa anieta
Charaxinae
131 Fountainea nobilis
132 Memphis kingi
133 Archaeoprepona amphimachus
134 Archaeoprepona demophon
Zebra Longwing
Cydno Longwing
Doris Longwing
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Crimson-patched (Erato) Longwing
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Hecale Longwing
Sapho Longwing
Sara Longwing
Mexican Fritillary
sisters
Oberthur’s Sister
Cytherea Sister
Iphiclus Sister
Fundania Sister
Melona Sister
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banners, crackers & eighty-eights
Dingy Purplewing
Whitened Bluewing
Northern Ectima
Red Cracker
Variable Cracker
Brownish Cracker
Little Banner
Banded Banner
Pale Sailor
Mexican Sailor
Two-eyed Eighty-Eight
Yellow-rimmed Eighty-Eight
Blue-and-orange Eighty-Eight
daggerwings
Many-banded Daggerwing
Ruddy Daggerwing
beauties & crescents
Orion Cecropian
Banded Peacock
White Peacock
Malachite
Tropical Buckeye
Crimson-patch Checkerspot
Bordered Patch
Orange-patched Crescent
Pale-banded Crescent
Mimic Crescent
White-dotted Crescent
Clio Crescent
Eunice Crescent
Variable Crescent
Whitened Crescent
Black-bordered Crescent
leafwings
Noble Leafwing
King’s Leafwing
White-spotted Prepona
One-spotted Prepona
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135 Prepona dexamenus
Satyrinae
136 Morpho cypris
137 Morpho helenor
138 Morpho theseus
139 Caligo atreus
140 Caligo illioneus
141 Caligo telamonius
142 Opsiphanes cassina
143 Selenophanes josephus
144 Narope testacea
145 Cissia confusa
146 Cissia pompilia
147 Cissia terrestris
148 Euptychia insolata
149 Euptychia westwoodi
150 Hermeuptychia hermes
151 Magneuptychia libye
152 Megneuptychia antonoe
153 Pareuptychia ocirrhoe
154 Taygetis thamyra
155 Yphthomoides renata
Least Prepona
satyrs
Cypris Morpho
Common Morpho
Stub-tailed Morpho
Banded Owl-Butterfly
Dusky Owl-Butterfly
Pale Owl-Butterfly
Split-banded Owl-Butterfly
Josephus Owl-Butterfly
Brown Owl-Butterfly
Confused Satyr
Plain Satyr
Cryptic Satyr
Insolata Satyr
Westwood’s Satyr
Hermes Satyr
Blue-gray Satyr
Cramer’s (Canopy) Satyr
White Satyr
Thamyra Satyr
Renata Satyr
HESPERIIDAE
skippers
Eudaminae
156 Epargyreus exadeus
157 Chioides catillus
158 Urbanus esmeraldus
159 Urbanus dorantes
160 Urbanus tanna/teleus
161 Urbanus simplicius
162 Urbanus procne
163 Astraptes fulgerator
164 Astraptes janeira
165 Astraptes sp.
166 Narcosius nazaraeus
167 Narcosius sp.
168 Autochton neis
169 Autochton longipennis
170 Autochton zarex
171 Spathilepia clonius
172 Cogia calchas
Pyrginae
173 Pyrrhopyge zenodorus
174 Melanopyge maculosa
175 Celaenorrhinus eligius
176 Noctuana stator
177 Bolla cupreiceps
178 Gorgythion begga
179 Potamanaxas thoria
180 Mylon maimon
181 Ebrietas anacreon
182 Helias cama
183 Eantis thraso
longtails, flashers & scarlet-eyes
Broken Silverdrop
Blurry-striped Longtail
Esmeralda Longtail
Dorantes Longtail
Tanna/Teleus Longtail
Plain Longtail
Brown Longtail
Two-barred Flasher
Shaus’ Flasher
Unknown Flasher
Nazaraeus Flasher
Narcosius Flasher
Broad Banded-Skipper
Spike Banded-Skipper
Sharp Banded-Skipper
Falcate Skipper
Mimosa Skipper
spreadwing skippers
Red-headed Firetip
Maculosa Skipper
Eligius Flat
Red-studded Skipper
Copper-headed Sootywing
Variegated Skipper
Thoria Skipper
Common Mylon
Common Bent-Skipper
Squared Bent-Skipper
Southern Sicklewing
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184 Achlyodes pallida
185 Ouleus panna
186 Quadrus contubernalis
187 Gindanes brebisson
188 Xenophanes tryxus
189 Antigonus erosus
190 Pyrgus adepta
191 Pyrgus oileus
192 Heliopetes arsalte
193 Heliopetes alana
Hesperiinae
194 Argon lota
195 Calpodes ethlius
196 Saliana esperi
197 Anthoptus epictetus
198 Lento hermione
199 Callimormus juventus
200 Callimormus radiola
201 Callimormus saturnus
202 Remella rita
203 Phanes almoda
204 Mnestheus ittona
205 Vehilius stictomenes
206 Vettius marcus
207 Enosis immaculata
208 Polites vibex
209 Pompeius pompeius
210 Metron chrysogastra
Pale Sicklewing
Panna Skipper
Striped Blue-Skipper
White-trailed Skipper
Glassy-winged Skipper
Common Spurwing
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Central American Checkered-Skipper
Tropical Checkered-Skipper
Veined White-Skipper
Alana White-Skipper
ruby-eyes & grass skippers
Argon Skipper
Brazilian Skipper
Perching Saliana
Trailside Skipper
Hermione Skipper
Juventus Skipper
Radiant Skipper
Saturnus Skipper
Rita’s Remella
Almoda Skipper
Ittona Skipper
Pasture Skipper
Marcus Skipper
Immaculata Skipper
Whirlabout
Pompeius Skipper
Orange-headed Metron
Trip report and photos by Jenn Sinasac
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