Butterfly species: Tropical striped blue

Almost all year round this mini butterfly, the Tropical striped blue (Leptotes cassius) can be found on the flowers of the Wayaca, the Banana di ref, the Wabi, the Beyísima and many other flowering plants.

Birds: the Green Heron

Wherever there is a body of water, there is a good chance that a Green Heron is somewhere nearby.

Wild flowers: Passiflora foetida

A popular wild flower on the islands is the wild Passion flower, or Korona di la birgen as it is called in Papiamentu.

Blue-legged hermit crabs

There are several species of hermit crabs and one of them is the blue-legged hermit crab, an animal that can be found in shallow water in various parts of the Caribbean Sea and therefore also on our island.

Fatherly care

Years ago I had the fortunate opportunity to work with a professional nature photographer, Peter van der Wolf. He had a highly developed sense of animal behavior, and this helped him, for example, to trace nests of breeding birds.

Wild flowers: Common prickly pear

The spiny Infrou (Opuntia caracassana). This native cactus does exceptionally well on the island as it favours degraded areas such as pieces of land.

Wild flowers: Brassavola nodosa

The best-known orchid that naturally occurs on the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao is perhaps the Brassavola nodosa, also known as the ‘Lady of the Night’.

Island endemics – Anolis lineatus

The Tree Anole or Kaku is a frequently seen guest on beaches, in gardens and of course in the wild areas of both Aruba and Curaçao. It is an endemic species for these two islands, a species only occurring here and nowhere else.

Our failures in design

Not that long ago, all household garbage on Curacao was dumped into the sea, an act deemed acceptable because the sea was seen as this huge endless pit that would take care of our failures. Even today, dumping garbage overboard while underway is still a valid way of cleaning up, on board of ocean going vessels.

Butterfly species: Gulf fritillary 

Curaçao has about 58 butterfly species and in addition at least dozens of moth species, most of which have not yet been identified. Aruba and Bonaire have a similar diversity

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