Relaxing with Critters in Costa Rica

Costa Rica butterflyWe stayed close to home this week, enjoying the warm weather and perfecting the art of relaxing in a hammock. In my opinion, part of the joy of living in Costa Rica is being able to co-exist with its abundant life forms.

When we are home we keep the many french doors open to cool the interior. This allows all sorts of critters to come and go through our living space. The other day the largest wasp I have ever seen came inside. He was aggressive and would fly towards us when we were in his sight. He ended up living his last hours stuck between the window screen and the window.

Costa Rica hummingbirdI saw a hummingbird fly into our house and head straight for the bedroom. She got stuck in a louvered glass window. Luckily I saw her fly in and we were able to help her escape. She was sighted not much later eating from the hummingbird feeder.

Costa Rica lizardAt least half a dozen lizards live inside our house. They range in size from 2-5". Each seem to have a territory they hang out in for many weeks before moving on to the next frontier. When we first arrived a slender anole liked to hang out in my clothes. He later moved from there to the living room window ledge.

Costa Rica scorpionScorpions in Costa Rica have a painful sting but are not lethal. We have seen two so far. A baby one in our bed and another larger one on the hallway floor. I photographed the larger one under the protection of an upturned wine glass.

Our house is in no way air tight. There are many ways for all types of bugs to enter. I have learned to live with numerous types of ants. They constantly criss cross the floor looking for dead things to carry away. They are quite efficient house keepers! Every morning I find ants drinking water out of the toilet bowl. I am not as fond of this type and shoo them away.

Costa Rica mothA nice thing about the area we live in is the lack of mosquitoes. There are a few but nothing like the lower elevations. I have seen colorful moths and many types of pretty butterflies. We enjoy listening to cicadas sporadically throughout the day and crickets every night. Life is good.