Butterflies of Panama

  In August of 2003 and September of 2004, I visited central Panama, staying at the wonderful Canopy Tower, in Soberania National Park (check out my Links for the Tower's lovely website.). Among the remarkable variety of wildlife I saw at the Tower, and on field trips to the surrounding areas, was an assortment of colorful butterflies in every shape and color. I did my best to capture as many species as possible on video, but it was certainly an uphill battle for this amateur; they simply move to fast for me! The view decent stills below were collected when the butterflies were kind enough to land on accessible flowers and wait for a few seconds for me to get my act in gear. This sampling only scratches the surface of the hundreds of species seen (if not identified). I claim no particular knowledge in the field of lepidoptery, although I would bet that a couple of the critters pictured below are moths rather than butterflies. Since my first visit I have started to put some names to some of these beauties, at least getting it down to genus (sometimes the best one can do given the remarkable variety of butterflies in the neotropics). Still, I would welcome input from anyone who can put a name to any of these species; please e-mail me if you can help me out, or if you'd like a larger version of any of these images. Enjoy!

The first several pictures are of butterflies that belong to the general category of "mimics." While a bright, colorful upperside may confer some reproductive advantages, it can certainly represent a liability in terms of visibility to predators, particularly when at rest. Thus, in many species of tropical butterflies, natural selection has provided a considerably duller pattern and coloration on the underside of wings, particularly when at rest. The top two images are of large critters known as caligo, or owl butterflies. On the upperside, they are a bright blue reminiscent of the stunning morpho butterflies of the area; when they alight and fold up, the pattern on their wings appears similar to the face and eye of an owl. In the little info I found on the subject, it is suggested that the striking pattern on the wing serves to redirect attacks by predators; a butterfly can survive some holes in the wings (indeed, I saw a number of caligos with tattered but functional wings). It is also my theory that the pattern may also serve to divert some attacks entirely, by leading a potential predator to believe that there is an actual owl present, rather than a tasty butterfly snack. The third species, alone at center, is a bit confusing to me. It shows a similar "eye" pattern, but on the upperparts; this was a considerably smaller butterfly, and rested with its wings open, which is where the camouflage pattern exists. Perhaps this species is a mimic of a mimic, from a completely different family, having evolved in a convergent manner an adaptation that conferred an advantage. The fourth and fifth pictures, at bottom, are of a larger species, a closed morpho butterfly. What I wouldn't give to capture the beautiful flourescent blue of this creature with wings open!

 


A closed Caligo butterfly Note that these species land with wings closed, as they are too large to hide in an open position
A considerably smaller owl mimic, open at rest
A closed morpho, in 2003. Another closed morpho, this time on the Plantation Trail in 2004.

  The two images below are of the same butterfly, spotted in Metropolitan Park in Panama City. After a year of sitting on this, I believe this species is a Ruddy Daggerwing, a distinctive species of brushfoot that strays occasionally to the southwestern United States. When open, it displays a beautiful striped pattern, but when alit, it looks for all the world like a tattered leaf among the litter on the forest floor. I never would have found this butterfly had I not seen it flying!  
Wonderfully camouflaged leaf mimic, the Ruddy Daggerwing. Stunning when open!


The butterfly pictured at right typifies the tremendous difficulty faced in field identification of butterflies in the neotropics. This creature is undoubtedly a skipper, but moving beyond genus is next to impossible. I read a recent article in the New York Times regarding this very phenotype in Costa Rica, and it said that there are at least 8 species of this skipper present in Costa Rica, distinguishable only by physical differences in their caterpillars, a fairly useless distinction in the field. I must presume the same difficulty presents itself in neighboring Panama, so I can only place this butterfly, spotted at the Canopy Tower in 2004, in the category of "blue skippers". A lovely skipper at the Canopy Tower, 2004.


  Below is a more random selection of some decent butterfly/moth images, with one handsome caterpillar, spotted by my 8 year-old friend Eamon. There are probably a couple of dupes here, but often the differences in coloration between species are subtle. I have done my best to place these creatures in at least the broadest of categories; pass your cursor over the image for as much detail as I have to offer. One note; the dark species immediately below left, pictured on the screen of the Canopy Tower's dining area, while backlit, was actually that dark, looking like black satin!  










A lovely, satin-black moth on a screen at the Tower. A hairstreak on the feeders at the Tower.
A Banded Peacock, a common tropical brushfoot. A Banded Peacock handsomely placed on a flower at the Tower.
A Banded Peacock?, in the closed position. A Banded Peacock, one of many on Old Gamboa Rd. in 2004.
I haven't a clue about this oddly-shaped butterfly spotted at the Tower in 2003. This one is easy, a beautiful Malachite in 2003 on Pipeline Road.
A lovely translucent brown moth, from 2003. A lovely brown moth, which I could only film head-on at the Canopy Tower in 2003.
I haven't found a match yet for this lovely black-and-white butterfly from 2003. A nice caterpillar spotted near the Summit Ponds in 2003.
An undetermined brushfoot, probably an Emperor, on the parking lot deck at the Tower. I believe this is a Gray Cracker, at the end of Pipeline Road in 2004.
A longwing, probably Erato Heliconian, in 2003. Another nameless longwing, quite common in 2003.
A common, but unidentified longwing, from Semaphore Hill in 2004. The same as above, in the closed position.
Yet another unnamed longwing, on Pipeline Road in 2004. A common longwing on a beautiful flower in 2004.
An unidentified butterfly from Pipeline Road in 2004, a mimic that I call <I>Owl-and-a-Half</I>. A long-distance and fuzzy shot of a gorgeous butterfly on Old Gamboa Road in 2004- I also missed filming a lovely 88 at this spot.


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