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On March 13, 2001, I left Tucson to begin a three-month sabbatical in Costa Rica.
Following a short layover in Houston, I headed south across the Gulf of Mexico as the sun set in the west. Flying under the cover of darkness prevented me from seeing much of anything until I made out the lights of San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica.
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During my stay in Costa Rica, I will be based at the home of Joris Brinckerhoff and Maria Sabido, owners of the Butterfly Farm and Costa Rica Entomological Supply (CRES)
(www.butterflyfarm.co.cr). The business is about a mile from their home in La Guacima de Alajuela. |
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A Tour
When I arrived at the farm, the place was bustling with activity since not only were there a number of tours scheduled, but Wednesdays are also the day when pupae are shipped to butterfly houses around the world.
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After the introductory video, visitors are toured through the butterfly house, an enclosure with shade fabric to keep the butterflies contained and predators out. The enclosure is beautifully planted with species that are larval food plants and sources of nectar. Click here to see butterflies. |
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On the tour Milton shows visitors a butterfly close-up, in this case an owl butterfly, Caligo euriolochus. It was easily picked up as it fed on rotting fruit provided daily as food for this species. With this close examination, visitors can see the scaled wings which give butterflies their colors and get a close look at its coiled proboscis.
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After strolling through the enclosure, visitors are then taken to the lab where larvae are reared to pupation. After the larvae pupate, they are transferred to emergence cages.
Above the lab is a fine gift shop with Costa Rican products depicting butterflies. In addition to jewelry, there are also mounted specimens reared in captivity, a requirement of any natural history specimens exported from the country.
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As the final part of the tour, visitors are taken to the building where the pupae are packed for export. CRES has more than 100 breeders around the country who supply the pupae each week. You can learn more about the process and species available by visiting the Butterfly Farm’s website. |
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The pupae are sorted by species (see image of Morpho peleides) and by breeder, and are carefully packed between layers of cotton for shipping.
Next page
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