The wildlife of Costa Rica comprises all naturally occurring animals, fungi and plants that reside in this Central American country. Costa Rica supports an enormous variety of wildlife, due in large part to its geographic position between North and South America, its neotropical climate, and its wide variety of habitats. Costa Rica is home to more than 500,000 species, which represent nearly 5% of the species estimated worldwide, making Costa Rica one of the 20 countries with the highest biodiversity in the world. Of these 500,000 species, a little more than 300,000 are insects.
The queen butterfly is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae with a wingspan of 80–85 mm. It is orange or brown with black wing borders and small white forewing spots on its dorsal wing surface, and reddish ventral wing surface fairly similar to the dorsal surface. The ventral hindwings have black veins and small white spots in a black border. The male has a black androconial scent patch on its dorsal hindwings. It can be found in meadows, fields, marshes, deserts, and at the edges of forests.
Heliconius cydno, the cydno longwing, is a nymphalid butterfly that ranges from Mexico to northern South America. It is typically found in the forest understory and deposits its eggs on a variety of plants of the genus Passiflora. It is a member of the Heliconiinae subfamily of Central and South America, and it is the only heliconiine that can be considered oligophagous. H. cydno is also characterized by hybridization and Müllerian mimicry. Wing coloration plays a key role in mate choice and has further implications in regards to sympatric speciation. Macrolide scent gland extracts and wing-clicking behavior further characterize this species.
Battus philenor, the pipevine swallowtail or blue swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly found in North America and Central America. This butterfly is black with iridescent-blue hindwings. They are found in many different habitats, but are most commonly found in forests. Caterpillars are often black or red, and feed on compatible plants of the genus Aristolochia. They are known for sequestering acids from the plants they feed on in order to defend themselves from predators by being poisonous when consumed. The adults feed on the nectar of a variety of flowers. Some species of Aristolochia are toxic to the larvae, typically tropical varieties. While enthusiasts have led citizen efforts to conserve pipevine swallowtails in their neighborhoods on the West coast, the butterfly has not been the subject of a formal program in conservation or protected in legislation. The butterfly is however of "Special Concern" in Michigan, which is on the Northern limit of its range.
Archaeoprepona demophon, the one-spotted prepona, banded king shoemaker, or demophon shoemaker is a butterfly belonging to the family Nymphalidae.
Anartia fatima, the banded peacock, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is commonly found in south Texas, Mexico, and Central America but most studied in Costa Rica. This butterfly prefers subtropical climates and moist areas, such as near rivers. It spends much of its time in second-growth woodlands.
Agrias is a genus of Neotropical charaxine nymphalid butterflies found in South and Central America.
The lovely cotinga is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is found in North and Central America from southern Mexico through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and Nicaragua to Costa Rica with reports from western Panama. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. The male is a bright turquoise blue while the female is greyish-brown with pale underparts. Because of its total population size and wide range, this species is not yet considered vulnerable. The bird is mentioned in the Florentine Codex.
Philaethria dido, the scarce bamboo page or dido longwing, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Central America and tropical South America, both east and west of the Andes, from Brazil and Ecuador northwards to Mexico. Strays can sometimes be found in the lower Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas.
Hamadryas laodamia, the starry night cracker or starry cracker, is a species of cracker butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It can be found from Mexico to the Amazon basin, but is most common in lowland forest in the Caribbean area.
Aphrissa statira, the statira sulphur, is a species of Lepidoptera in the family Pieridae. The species is a medium-sized yellow butterfly, with females more pale than males. They are found from southern regions of Florida and Texas through southern Brazil and northern Argentina. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of several local host plants, while adults prefer to feed on the nectar of red or orange colored flowers. The species is most noted for their dramatic migrations in the tropical areas of the Americas. They have been the subject of many studies about how butterflies navigate and orient during migration.
Enantia is a genus of butterflies in the subfamily Dismorphiinae. They are native to the Americas.
Enantia melite is a species of butterfly that is found from Central America to the Amazon Basin. It has a wingspan of 48–52 millimetres (1.9–2.0 in), and is very variable. It lives in cloud forest and transitional forest, at altitudes of 400–1,800 metres (1,300–5,900 ft).
Dismorphia crisia, the crisia mimic white or cloud forest mimic-white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1782. It is found from northern Central America to Bolivia and the Amazon basin.
Enantia lina, the white mimic white or lina mimic white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found from Mexico to most of South America.
Enantia jethys, the jethys mimic white or bold mimic white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Mexico and Guatemala.
Hamadryas iphthime, the ringless blue cracker or brownish cracker, is a species of cracker butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It was first described by Henry Walter Bates in 1864. It is found in Mexico, Central America and parts of northern South America.
