Photo Gallery
Photos by Rich Hoyer unless otherwise noted
Boarding the plane for our flight north to Alta Floresta, a bustling town and starting point for many a jungle adventure.
Photo: Idie Ulsh
Perched on the edge of a vast rainforest wilderness made up of both private reserve and protected state land, Cristalino Jungle Lodge is surprisingly close to civilization. After an hour by bus and then 20 minutes by boat, you arrive in a naturalist’s paradise.
Our comfortable rooms are in small clearing in the jungle, often the best birding and butterflying spot in the area.
From the rooms it’s a one-minute walk to the dining hall, that is if macaws, a gaudy eighty-eight, or a troop of monkeys don’t distract you from the lure of our delicious meals.
Though the tour will focus on seeing a diversity of tropical butterflies, one of the spectacles that never fails to delight is the riverbank puddle party.
Every step we take into the forest could result in one beautiful butterfly after another, such as this sombermark, Euselasia phelina…
…or this male Black-and-white Metalmark, Hyphilaria parthenis, on the underside of a leaf (the common name derived from the female).
In the private reserve that surrounds the lodge are hikes that give access to several habitats, including a prominent, rocky hill with cerrado-like habitats…
…where the watchful eye may catch sight of a roosting Blackish Nightjar among the rocky outcroppings.
n the other direction from our rooms is a trail to the peccary wallow. With plentiful sun and minerals, it’s a great spot for butterflies such as this eighty-eight, Diaethria clymena.
A spotting scope can be quite useful in spotting butterflies on distant flower clusters, though occasionally it can attract the butterflies more directly, such as this Red Rim, Biblis hyperia.
Some butterflies in search of salt may land on skin, this one a Malachite, Siproeta stelenes.
While the goal will be to give all participants a chance to see every species we come across, there will also be ample opportunities to photograph our exciting finds.
We’ll also pause to admire and photograph other forms of wildlife, such as this moth caterpillar…
…and these tent-making bats.
A female Bare-faced Curassow poses during the post-rain shower burst of activity on a Cristalino boat ride.
The Rufescent Tiger-Heron is a common sight on the boat rides we’ll take from the lodge.
A highlight of Cristalino Jungle Lodge is the canopy tower, offering a spectacular view of the pristine rainforest…
…as well as canopy butterflies and birds, such as this Bare-necked Fruitcrow.
We’ll probably see over a dozen species of clearwings, here Ithomia agnosia, attracted by the Heliotrope that we hang in the forest understory, one of several butterfly-attracting tricks we’ll employ.