Daily Archives: August 31, 2016

Poison Dart Frog, Tranquilo Bay

Poison Dart Frog, Tranquilo Bay Lodge, Bocas Del Toro, Panama

This is an early post for tomorrow. I leave in the middle of the night for 13 days (with travel) in South Africa, in Kruger National Park, where I am not certain at all I will have wifi or internet, so this may be the last post for a while, or posts may be intermittent. I promise to catch up when I get home. 🙂

The island of Bestimeno, where Tranquilo Bay Lodge is located in Bocas del Toro, Panama, has only the red/orange variety of Poison Dart Frog. Just across the bay, on Popa, they have several varieties: ranging from orange with blue legs to yellow with turquoise legs, all the same species (so far)…and even another species altogether which is black with yellow stripes. There is a Smithsonian study going on right now to determine the pattern of genetic variation in the Poison Dart frogs of Bocas del Toro. This shot was taken on our first afternoon hike at Tranquilo…using the flash on the camera.

Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/60th @ ISO 200 @ f4 with on-camera flash. It was considerably dark under the canopy in the rainforest, Processed and cropped slightly in Lightroom.

Urania Swallowtail Moth

Urania Swallowtail Moth, Tranquilo Bay Lodge, Bocas del Toro, Panama

We saw hundreds, maybe even a thousand, of these spectacular migrating moths while in Panama. They were everywhere, from the Continental Divide at 4000 feet, to flying out over the bays of Bocas del Toro at sea level. It is the Urania Swallowtail Moth…a moth, despite looking very like a green and black swallowtail butterfly, and despite flying during the day. Of the huge number I saw, this is one of only two I saw perched. The other was at night on the ceiling of my cabin porch, next to the porch light. Interestingly, by the light of my flashlight or the flash on my camera (and I suspect any light striking the back of the moth near the perpendicular) the “green” is bright metallic gold.

Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. ISO 800 @ 1/250 @ f4. Processed and cropped slightly in Lightroom.