Coconut palms, Cocos nucifera Linnaeus 1753 (Family Arecaceae), line a beach near Cahuita, Cartago Province, Costa Rica. Humans and this tree have a long and involved history. Coconut palms may live for 100 years and attain 30 m in height. It is a tree that has provided food, shelter and clothing for many people. The species probably originated in the Eastern Hemisphere, but today is pantropical and subtropical.
Waterfall in Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica.
Stream in Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Gunacaste Province, Costa Rica.
Tropical forest in Rincon de la Vieja National Park, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica.
Secondary growth forest near Chilamate, Heredia Province, Costa Rica. The man walking the down the trail has been harvesting fruits from the forest.
Cattle being pastured where rain forest once stood. Heredia Province, Costa Rica.
Secondary growth forest. Heredia Province, Costa Rica.
Scenic view in Barrio Carrillo National Park.
Logging in Costa Rica. Cutting trees is a major threat to biodiversity in most of the tropical world.
The lake in the Diego de la Haya crater, Volcan Irazu National Park. This lake is well known for its color changing ability from light green to red. This is Costa Rica's highest volcano at 3432 m.
A valley of volcanic ash Volcan Irazu National Park. The volcano last erupted in 1965.
Clouds cover Volcan Irazu much of the time. On a clear day it is possible to see both the Pacific and Atlantic from the summit. Volcan Irazu is in the Cordillera Central Range.
Humans on the peak. Cerro de la Muerte, this is part of the Cordillera de Talamanca. Underneath the mist is a unique alpine plant community called paramo, with many stunted and dwarfed species.
Costa Rica has more than 2000 species of bromeliads. This one is an unidentified terrestrial species.
A club moss (Lycopodium). Barrio Carrilo National Park, Costa Rica.
The land planarian Bipalium kewense Moseley is believed to be originally from the Indochinese Peninsula. However, now this Platyhelminthes (flatworm) can be found over much of the tropical-temperate world. This specimen was photographed in Costa Rica. It has been accidentally transported by humans with greenhouse plants. In fact it was originally described from a specimen found at Kew Gardens in England in 1878. It is carnivorous, and feeds on earthworms.
A frog peering over a leaf. This frog was not identified.
Leaf cutter ant, Atta cephalotes (Linnaeus 1758), and a leaf cutter ant nest (below). Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. Leaf cutter ants harvest the forest canopy, bring the leaves to underground chambers where they are used to feed fungi, which in turn are eaten by the ants. Thus these ants practice agriculture.
Army ants. In the New World there are more than 150 species of army ants in five genera. A colony may contain more than a million individuals and they are carnivorous and feed mostly on arthropods. They search the ground as well as tree trunks and the forest canopy.
A pink winged romaleid grasshopper from Cahuita, Cartago Province, Costa Rica.
A cockroach that mimics a firefly. Costa Rica.
A black morph of the Central American scorpion, Centruroides limbatus (Pocock, 1898), Costa Rica. The venom of this species is not considered dangerous to humans. It uses crevices, usually above the ground and is often found in and around human dwellings.
Unidentified stick insect, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica.
Unidentified stick insect. Costa Rica.
Hawk Moth (Family Sphingidae) from Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. Hawkmoths are nectar feeders and may be mistaken for humming birds because they will hover in front of a flower while feeding on its nectar.
Unidentified butterfly. Costa Rica.
A lichen mimicking katydid (Family Tettigoniidae). Near Monteverde, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica.
Dead Leaf Mimic Katydid, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica.
A friendly parrot.
