Amber phantom, La Isla Escondida, Colombia

Colombia isn't just a paradise for birding and herping, it's also a hotspot for butterflies with 1,600 species known. Jungles, however, do not easily reveal them. Many of the cryptic species hide in the undergrowth. They don't come out much or not visibly so, and may only do so in ideal conditions. If you'd like to maximize productivity for butterfly photography, wide open sunny spots are a better choice.

La Isla Escondida has 5 main tracks allowing you to navigate its gorgeous primary forest, 4 out of 5 tracks are narrow and do not allow much daylight to hit the ground. Even though surely the butterflies are there, you will not easily find them and when you do, they won't settle down. During rainy weather, which is all too common, you may see none at all.

On this day I intentionally lagged behind the rest of the group to try and capture some. Which is pretty time consuming, but at times worth it. Such as this stunning Amber Phantom butterfly, which I chased around for a good 15 minutes. It's a true jungle butterfly. It is elusive, only to be found locally in deep, shady parts of the rain forest. Its life cycle is cryptic, or better said, unknown.