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.

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.

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.

Shells: Caribbean Four-tooth Nerite

Marine snails which are part of the Nerite family often have small teethlike protrusions which can often be found on the mouth plate (columella fold), the calcerous part at the opening at the bottom of the shell where the slug’s body moves to the outside.

Wild flowers- Banana di ref/rif

Along the entire northern coast of our island, in the saliñas and along inlets and inner bays, grows a small plant that we all walk over carelessly and hardly look at.

Download Book ‘Rikesa di yobida‘ now!

The very popular book ‘Rikesa di yobida’, written by authors Gerard van Buurt and Carel de Haseth and illustrated with pictures by these authors and by Leon Pors, was published in 2011 by Fundashon Bon Intenshon on Curaçao.

Wild flowers- Mexican poppy

A wild plant you can mainly find on places where the original vegetation is heavily disturbed is the so called Mexican poppy or Flowering thistle.

Wild flowers – Cawara / Karawara (di mondi) (Cordia dentata)

When it rains the mondi is full with these cream coloured flowers, growing in dense clusters on shrubs or small trees that have dark green leaves that feel rough to the touch.

Wild flowers- Basora pretu (Varronia curassavica)

The Varronia curassavica is called Basora preto on Aruba, Karishuri on Bonaire and Basora pretu on Curaçao. It is a plant that can easily be overlooked and often considered to be a weed…