www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I have just returned from a wonderful trip to Costa Rica meeting Fair Trade producers. I saw many butterflies and I was able to identify most of them from Jeffrey Glassberg's wonderful book "Butterflies of Mexico and Central America." I attach photos of those I have been unable to identify. Any help will be much appreciated.

Four more for ID please.

For the first set, I'd say:

1st and 6th: Actinote anteas
2nd: Some form of Papilio polyxenes
3rd: pass for the moment!
4th and 5th: Parides iphidamas
7th: Actinote ozomene
8th: Another form of Papilio polyxenes ?
9th: Staphylus mazans

I'll come back later for the others - doubtless when others have had some fun too!

Guy

I'll take another pass on the skippers for the moment, but I think the others in your second set are:

2nd: Eresia clio
3rd: Siculodes sp (a moth) (I haven't got any books on the moths of the region)

I'm really looking forward to the rest of your piccies from that trip. What a wonderful experience.

Guy

Thanks so much Guy. I can include you on my WeTransfer list if you want to see a good selection of my photos. Just PM me with your email address.

Thanks Ian - done.

Guy

I'll have a little stab at the skippers, based mainly on ones I saw back in 2005. The Skipper in the first batch bears a resemblance to one I Identified as the Ocola Skipper Panoquina ocola and the first one in the second batch could be of the Bolla genus?

Another rather tatty specimen for ID.

My first impression of this one was another skipper, and this chap seems to think so too

https://www.charliedoggett.net/tag/banded-skipper/

But whether it is or whether its a moth I can't be sure

Yes, it's a skipper. I spent some time last night trying to track down which, and failed! I did, however, come across this very similar skipper on the web, unfortunately posted without a name:



(from http://www.hr-rna.com/RNA/Bfly%20pages/ ... 20list.htm)

Guy

I, also, spent some time with my various Central American books.
There are about ten 'Banded Skippers', none of which show the unusually coloured underwing of your example - most are plain grey or blackish. It may be worth submitting your photo to Andrea Solis (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Angel_Solis4). He is a very pleasant and knowledgeable chap, who I'm sure would be interested, and probably be able to help.

Tony M.

Thanks. I will try that.

Another evening of internet browsing came up with Castniomera drucei A Moth!

Edit: that one that Guy found would seem to be Castniomera atymnius

Thanks for all your research. It could be either if the two moths mentioned. So many butterflies to see in Central America and even more confusing when the moths look like butterflies!!

Well done Buggy! I was torn moth/skipper at first, but when I saw that similar one on the web, with the image name 'skipper large open cut' I dropped the moth idea!

Guy

All very interesting and Bugboy is spot on. My first thoughts were moth, but the antennae seemed too 'knobbed' for it not to be a butterfly. What a fascinating (for some! ) hobby we have...

Tony M.

I think we can be forgiven for thinking it was a Skipper, the family Castniidae to which they belong has been placed with the Skippers in some of the older classification systems! They also seem to be Diurnal and commonly called Giant Butterfly-moths. Lets not forget the Hedylidae which still seem to be floating around between butterflies and moths depending on who's scientific findings you believe, it's all very confusing for us amateurs