Ecology – Caribbean Footprint

Tiny critters: Orange longhorn beetle (Oxymerus aculeatus)

juli 14, 2026

The Orange longhorn beetle is not officially called that; no popular name has been designated for these animals yet, but we do know that the scientific name is Oxymerus aculeatus, a species belonging to the family Cerambycidae (longhorn beetles).

Wild flowers: Palu di Dushi kabei (Maclura tinctoria)

juli 13, 2026

admin

Many of the local fruits that were once popular are now hardly known. An example of such a forgotten plant is the Dushi kabei also called Palu di mora or Palu dushi di kabei.

Fauna Marine environment - Mariene milieu

Fish: Sharptail Snake-Eel (Myrichthys breviceps)

juli 10, 2026

admin

Various species of moray eels can be found in the waters of the ABC islands. Moray eels belong to the group of fish and not snakes, as many people think.

Flora Wild flowers - Wilde bloemen

Wild flowers: Wayaca (Guaiacum officinale)

juni 30, 2026

admin

The popular and striking native local tree Guaiacum officinale has, in addition to its scientific name, several other names that vary from island to island and from location to location on the ABC-islands

Birds - Vogels Ecology - Ecologie

Leucism 2: a leucistic Rufous-collared sparrow

juni 16, 2026

admin

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the subject of leucism. Photographer Tom Lacroix recently found a leucistic Rufous-collared sparrow on Curaçao.

Fauna Marine environment - Mariene milieu

Shells: Amber Pen Shell (Pinna carnea)

juni 11, 2026

admin

When walking along the shores of our islands we you can sometime find delicate pink wing-shaped bivalve shelves of varying sizes that look and feel like they are made of the most fragile of materials.

Flora Wild flowers - Wilde bloemen

Wild flowers: Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus)

juni 3, 2026

admin

This post is also available in: Dutch (below) The Buttonwood is a tree species that has become part of the landscaping in various neighbourhoods on all three islands of Aruba,…

Curaçao Environment - Milieu

Titbits: Nature in June – Crystallized Salt

juni 2, 2026

admin

If conditions are favourable in the months of June and July—meaning high temperatures accompanied by significant evaporation of surface water, and no rain showers—then you can observe the natural process of salt formation in the various historic salt pans that the island of Curaçao boasts.

Birds - Vogels Ecology - Ecologie

Biology: Leucism in the animal world

mei 27, 2026

admin

In nature, various colour abnormalities can occur in animals, including birds. Albinism is one of them, but an even more common abnormality is so-called leucism; an abnormality in the pigment cells that leads to reduced pigmentation and can affect all types of pigments.

Marine environment - Mariene milieu

Marine treasures: The Blue button (Porpita porpita)

mei 20, 2026

Michelle Pors-da Costa Gomez

Anyone visiting and strolling along the coast regularly can encounter a bright blue organism resembling a jellyfish after a period of change in wave and wind patterns: the Blue Button.

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