trip that I made with a fellow friend and "man of the net"
back in August of 1990. My friend happened to have made
some acquaintances of the staff at the museum in the capital
Santo Domingo. Through this connection he was able to lobby
for permits and asked if I was game for the trip. I was single
and carefree with a yearning for adventure so I agreed. We
would spend 2 full weeks there in the far southwest corner
of the country (Pedernales province) which abutted the Haitian
border.
Upon our arrival in country we set about getting a rental van
to carry our gear and luggage. We then headed for the outskirts
of the capital which seemed to take an hour due to the winding
streets and signage. Once we had the capital in our rear-view
mirror the surrounding countryside became VERY rural quickly.
Dirt roads and a semi-arid biotope took over for quite a long way
along with the obvious presence of abject poverty. Most homes or
dwellings we passed were very ramshackle built along with assorted goats and chickens afoot.
Here is a snapshot below of what we saw just 2-3 hours away
from the capital.
Along our way we stopped at several places to stretch and
potentially collect butterflies. Not much was to be had in that
respect as heat and the dryness of the region enveloped us.
In some areas whole swaths of land had been turned to agriculture
and most specifically agave production. Here in the below picture
we take a "stretch" break with wild scrubland on one side whilst
on our immediate right (barely seen) a vast agave field rests.
A better view of the immensity of the agave field.
As we travelled further the topography went from being semi-arid
scrub with "dome-shaped mountains or iron shaped mesa's" to MUCH
more arid desert scrub with occasional rocky outcroppings. Naturally,
the farther we got away from any towns the fewer and fewer bits
of humanity we encountered....
I must admit that when you feel you are that "far flung" out in the
greater nowhere your mind starts to ponder or more importantly
HOPE that nothing goes wrong with your transportation !
As seen in the above photo the ground is very reddish in color and
rich in boxite (aluminum ore). We would be staying right by the
coast (sea level) on land owned by a subsidiary of Alcoah aluminum.
From there we would make daily forays out into the desert areas
and eventually would work our way up into the mountainous "spine"
bordering the Dominican/Haitian border. A goal was to reach Las
Abejas; a little known/travelled montane forest.
Below, is a photograph taken whilst in Las Abejas.
Although promising in its appearance the mountainous areas proved
to be VERY difficult if not nearly impossible to collect in. The tangle
of undergrowth was vast and unyielding. The slopes made for difficult
footing so, for fear of twisting an ankle or tumbling head over foot we
had to play it safe and stick to collecting along the roadsides where
visibility was better and flowers more prevalent.
One afternoon this fine young man passed by our way with his trusty
steed carrying water, grains, and other goods. I well imagine we both
must have looked like quite the sight with nets in hand, satchels, water
bota's, and cargo pants. Not to mention me with my indiana jones hat !
This colorful skimmer dragonfly was caught by me in the Las Abejas
region.
Of coarse, our primary goal was butterflies and although never nearly
as plentiful as moths they provided more excitement in trying to catch them.
Species-wise our butterfly counts were rather low given the biotopes that
we faced (desert scrub + montane inaccessibility). Each of us garnered
around 25-ish species a piece by trips end with at least another 5 species
having gotten away.
One particular afternoon a brief thunderstorm hit whilst we were in the
desert regions so, my friend and I planned an early start next morning
to catch the bloom overnight of the desert flowers and to hit mud puddles
in earnest.
We would be rewarded that morning by a hatch of Papilio zonaria --- a
zebra swallowtail (like) species which was a great mud puddler !
I REALLY enjoyed the quiet, obscurity, and serene beauty of the region
that we would call home for 2 weeks. No people, no towns, no traffic,
no noise, no tourist beaches, and absolutely no resorts for a long, long,
ways off. Just natural unencumbered beauty.
This coastal scene could be glimpsed not far from my residence room.
This lone fisherman's boat was another idyllic moment in my trip as
it was spotted just 1/4 mile or so away drifting in some shallows.
As it turned out our "mothing" at night would be much better and I've
probably got at least 75 species of them. Some species such as the
White-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata) would come to be so common and
bothersome that you just wanted to swat them with your net or step
on them if you could just to be rid of them and allow for something
diffrent to approach.
Here, I show a "sampling" of 13 of the 25 species of butterflies
which I encountered/captured on my 2 week trip. There are some
endemic ones here along with a few common. I only kept those
which were most intact and/or richly colored. I released many that
were damaged or otherwise poor in color. I was selective in my "wants"
as I did not feel the need to pillage.
The Dominican Republic is mostly known for its tourist resorts/beaches.
Few people, even these days visit it for much else. Yes, those with family
there also make a stop along with some businessmen. However, very few
private collectors ever have much opportunity to do as I did. I imagine
sometimes the occasional tourist collector does manage a few specimens.
I do know that the Carnegie Museum made a series of expeditions
there during the 1990's and the first decade of the 2000's. So, by far
they likely have the strongest and most complete insect fauna holdings
from the island.
I do hope this has been an enjoyable read this winter's afternoon.
to even imagine a group that big. The trips I went on were nowhere near that number. In fact, given the "so few trails" available to navigate for specimens (in the places I visited) there wouldn't have been much left to catch for anyone caught at the end of a long line of nets in front of you.
