Elizabeth's Secret Garden

The Costa Rica jungle comes awake as the last ray of sunlight lays to rest behind the mountains. The night is so black that you can not see your hand in front of your face. (Note: A flashlight is a must after dark) The animal and insect world wakes the silence of the dark by singing, chirping, and screaming as an invitation to others of their kind to join them. Fact: This small cicada has the ability to make the loudest song in the insect world. To find out why, click on the following link. http://insects.about.com/od/truebugs/f/cicadacalls.htm   I woke my mom about five times the first night and an average of twice a night to reassure me that everything was fine in our tree house bedroom. The screens covering our windows did keep most creatures out, but did not prevent the loud symphony of nature voices to sing us to sleep. It only took an hour of wind and nature noises as well as objects falling on the tin roof, to realize our investment into earplugs was a goo...

Help “Elizabeth’s Secret Garden” identify the following plants, insects, and butterflies she found in Costa Rica on January 13th. The first person to correctly identify the picture with its common & scientific name, will receive credit. If the winner wishes, a link  to their blog or web-site can added under each picture they have correctly identified.   Only two  wins per person to allow others the chance to guess . Send your entries to elizabeth@thefuzzyhat.com . Have fun! Photo #1 Achiote ( Bixa orellana ) It’s nickname is the Lipstick Tree. It was use by the Kayapu in the Amazon to make body paint. Correctly identified by: Dragonfly Lady Web-site: http://www.GardenersReach.com Photo #2 Photo #3 Photo #4 Photo #5 Photo #6 Photo #7 Photo #8 Photo #9 White Peacock butterfly ( Anartia jatrophae)   Correctly identified by: Mindy Lighthipe          ...

On a very large Passiflora vine, caterpillars of the Scarce Silver-spotted Fambeau ( Dione juno) were quickly defoliating the leaves. The hundreds of caterpillars clustered together looked much like hanging fruit. I soon realized the “fruits” were alive when I noticed they were wiggling! The unison of munching caterpillars gave away their identity. Elizabeth’s Thoughts The long tails on this skipper could be quite an distraction for a bird! Instead of snapping at the vital abdomen, the bird might tear off the ‘tails’. The skipper can then continue its life missing only its fancy ‘tails’. This skipper butterfly I saw in Costa Rica has extremely long tails protruding from its wings. This is my first time seeing this particular butterfly species and I am trying to learn its identity. It looks like a White-striped longtail ( Chioides catillus ). Its flight was rapid and it appeared to skip as it flew. It was ...

Our second day in Costa Rica was when my explorations began. My mom and I began our day at about 5:00 a.m. The chirping birds were our natural alarm clock to start each new day. The balcony of our room overlooked the rain forest and the sounds of a nearby waterfall could be heard. It truly was a tropical paradise. The community has planted a variety of ornamental and food plants to reforest land destroyed for cattle raising. The jungle community we were staying with was VerdEnergia http://verdenergia.org/ . Their community has an Adopt a Tree program where they are replanting a diversity of rain forests plants. They are working on the reforestation of land that has been cleared for cattle raising. They purchase most of the plants from local schools. The students plant the seeds and then sell them to the jungle community.  The money then goes toward the education of children in the schools. You can learn more about the program at http://verdener...