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Project Noah Nature School
Anteos maerula
This is definitely a leaf mimic butterfly. The undersides perfectly mimic these Guacimo leaves where it is resting. The dorsal sides are yellowish Yellow Angled Sulphur
Tropical dry forest in NW Costa Rica 4 months into the 6 month dry season.
I am glad you mentioned the yellow back, unless it would be very tricky to separate this one from Anteos clorinde.
Thanks Chun! @Chebeague, I saw it fly right into those leaves. The dorsal side is yellow and it is quite large so it was easy to spot fluttering around. I moved in for a shot and it flew away and came back a few moments later.
100% resembles a leaf, this species is far better at mimicking than most leaf-mimic butterflies that I have seen.
Thanks Avinash. If I had not seen this creature fly to this spot I would never have seen it!
Wow.. completely hidden.. if not for the title of spotting suggesting a butterfly
Spotted on Mar 18, 2012
Submitted on Mar 25, 2012
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