Insects and mammals: The smallest and the biggest

The number of species of insects living in Costa Rica can only be estimated but counts some hundred thousands for sure. There are more than thousand of butterfly species alone. Compared to that the more than 300 known species of mammals (half of them bats) take a back seat.

Beetle Beetles (Coleoptera) are one of the main groups of insects. Around the world there is a estimated number of about 350000 species. How many of then are present in Costa Rica can only be estimated.

Butterfly One of more than 1000 species of butterflies living in Costa Rica. The photo was taken close to Carrillos near Alajuela.

Weevils You have to tell your children by yourself...

Sloth in Tortuguero national park One of the strangest creatures you will meet while travelling in Costa Rica is the Sloth. The Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus variegatu) or three-fingered sloth from the family three toed sloths (Bradypodidae) is one of the two ...

Sloth in Tortuguero national park Sloths come to the ground, to urinate and defecate, only about once a week. Their fur exhibits specialised functions: the outer hairs grow in the opposite direction to that of other mammals (so as to provide protection from the elements ...

Sloth at Rio Sarapiquí Sloths have made extraordinary adaptations to an arboreal browsing lifestyle. Leaves, their main food source, provide very little energy or nutrition and do not digest easily: sloths have very large, specialised, slow-acting stomachs with ...