The Night Tour with Tracie "The Bug Lady" and Gianfranco Gómez

Home
The Night Tour with Tracie "The Bug Lady" and Gianfranco Gómez

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Night Tour with Tracie "The Bug Lady" and Gianfranco Gómez, Tour guide, Drake Bay, .
(1)

Come explore the fascinating world of tropical insects and arachnids with Tracie "The Bug Lady" and Gianfranco Gómez on this one of a kind adventure trek through the rainforests of Drake Bay, Costa Rica.

31/01/2025

Net-casting Spider (Deinopis longipes) spinning an egg sac during last night’s tour. This is something that we have encountered only a handful of times through the years, so it was an exciting find. This process takes well over an hour and the result is among the densest and hardest egg sac of any spider species. These dense layers of silk will protect the eggs from parasites as they develop.

18/01/2025

Cool Longhorn Beetle encountered during last night’s tour. I am pretty sure this is Aegomorphus polystictus. A first time sighting for us of the lovely species which was described by the legendary Henry Walter Bates in 1885.

12/01/2025

I was so excited a few nights ago to encounter this Crab Spider (Epicadus granulatus) for only the second time ever. Amazingly, the spider has stayed on the same plant and we have been seeing it on the tour every night since we first encountered it. Here’s another photo of this spectacular and rare spider from last night’s tour.

09/01/2025

Such an amazing spider encounter during tonight’s tour! We spotted this Crab Spider (Epicadus granulatus) for only the second time in 20 years! A rare and beautiful species, this Crab Spider can be found from Brazil and Peru as far north as Costa Rica. They are ambush predators, often waiting motionless to capture their prey. The only other time we encountered Epicadus granulatus was in 2021. A truly spectacular find.

05/01/2025

We have been seeing this female Broad-headed Rain Frog (Craugastor rugosus) during our night tour recently. She is beautiful and blends in perfectly to her leaf litter habitat. It is always exciting to see a Broad-headed Rain Frog. They are not particularly common on our trail and it is a regional endemic species which only exists in southwestern Costa Rica and western Panama. Virtually nothing is known about its natural history and the male’s call remains unknown. Scientists believe that they are likely mute and it is unknown how the male attracts the female for mating.

03/01/2025

Tailless Whip Scorpion (Paraphrynus laevifrons) feeding on a Notodontid Moth (Naprepa cyllota) during last night’s tour. Although moths are known to make up part of Tailless Whip Scorpions’ diet, this is the first time I have seen them taking this type of prey. The ability of this arachnid, which is mainly a static hunter, to trap a flying insect is a testament to its sophisticated sensory organs and lightning fast attack response

19/12/2024

Mussurana (Clelia clelia) feeding on a Common Basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus) during tonight’s tour! It was towards the end of the night when I spotted this Mussurana climbing in the vegetation. I thought this was strange because Mussuranas are normally terrestrial. As I approached, I realized the snake was stalking a sleeping Basilisk. The Mussurana seemed to be moving on top of the basilisk and I couldn’t believe the lizard wasn’t waking up and dropping to the ground. Seconds later, the snake struck the lizard and they both dropped to the ground. The Mussurana then began to inject the lizard with venom and to constrict it. Such an impressive predation event for our fortunate guests to witness 🐍

18/12/2024

Drab Streamside Tree Frog (Smilisca sordida) from tonight’s Night Tour 🐸

09/10/2024

Juvenile Fer-de-lance Pit Viper (Bothrops asper) from last night’s tour. I walked right past this sneaky little guy and only saw him when I backtracked on the trail. It’s always exciting to encounter these beautiful snakes 🐍

16/08/2024

Masked Tree Frog (Smilisca phaeota) posing for us during tonight’s tour 🐸

14/08/2024

The sublime camouflage of the Dead Leaf Katydid (Mimetica sp.) photographed during tonight’s tour.

10/08/2024

The iconic Gaudy Leaf Frog (Agalychnis callidryas) photographed during last night’s tour at

04/08/2024

We had a great view of this Central American Woolly Opossum (Caluromys derbianus) during tonight’s tour. This marsupial is nocturnal and highly arboreal. They feed mostly on fruit and nectar, but they are also known to feed on bats and other small vertebrates. The name of their genus, Caluromys, roughly translates to “beautiful mouse” 😍

03/08/2024

We were starting the tour tonight and this beautiful moth landed on my shirt. As soon as I saw it I knew it was a Tiger Moth (Arctiinae) that I had never seen before. I wanted to photograph it, but it flew off. A few meters down the trail and it was on my shirt again, once again it flew off. I bit further up the trail Tracie told me the moth was resting on a tree trunk! By now it seemed like the moth was just begging to get photographed, so I took my shot. Turn out this is Cratoplastis diluta (Erebidae/Arctiinae). Such a lovely species. The forest is always full of surprises.

18/07/2024

It was a very different world when I moved to Drake Bay in 2002. There was no electricity, there were no cellphones, there was no airstrip and our internet was nearly nonexistent. In fact, most of the communication was done by marine radio. They were some primitive times. I remember one night, in 2006, one of the guests on our night tour told us about a book that had just been published: “100 Caterpillars” by Jeffrey Miller, Daniel Janzen and Winifred Hallwachs. We knew right away that we had to have it. I don’t recall how we did it, but we managed to order the book and got it to Drake Bay. I remember excitedly flipping through the pages for the first time, in admiration of the spectacular photos of the species featured in the book. I distinctly recall the sixth caterpillar featured: Nystalea collaris and I remember hoping to someday encounter this beautiful species. Nearly 20 years later, tonight was finally the night! I spotted this beauty, feeding on a vine, about 4 meters above the trail. The description in “100 Caterpillars” says of this species: “Appearing to be a pink-brown, rotted and torn leaf, or a jagged piece of bark, this caterpillar is one of the classical notodontid caterpillar life forms - a big rear end, small head, and grotesquely modified dorsum” a perfect description for a truly spectacular caterpillar.

01/07/2024

Dead Leaf Moth Caterpillar (Oxytenis sp.) showing off it’s false eye spots during last night’s tour. While at rest, the eye spots are not visible, but when disturbed the caterpillar raises it’s head and inflates it, revealing the eyes, which may startle a potential predator. As adults, Oxytenis moths mimic a dead leaf.

01/07/2024

Gaudy Leaf Frog (Agalychnis callidryas) photographed in situ during last night’s tour 😍

30/06/2024

Cool encounter from tonight’s tour! Watson’s Climbing Rat (Tylomys watsoni) is an arboreal rodent which is endemic to Costa Rica and Panama. These large rodents are capable climbers and can be found fairly high in the trees. They feed on practically anything and are known to feast on chocolate and soap. 🐀

Address

Drake Bay

Telephone

506-8701-7356

Website

http://www.thenighttour.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Night Tour with Tracie "The Bug Lady" and Gianfranco Gómez posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.