A female Mediterranean fruit fly pumps eggs through her ovipositor into the soft outer layers of a ripe coffee berry. Coffee is one of Costa Rica's prime exports
In 2011 National Geographic had a photo contest and ironically one of the winners in the nature category was a picture of a fruit fly resting on a green coffee bean in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Obviously unknown to the photographer, it implicated one of Costa Rica’s worst nightmares is alive, well, and continues to threaten Costa Rica’s multimillion dollar agriculture business.
The Mediterranean fruit fly, is one of the world’s most destructive fruit pests. This pest attacks more than 260 different fruits, flowers, vegetables and nuts and causes billions of dollars in damages.
It was in 1955 the Mediterranean fruit fly first invaded Costa Rica and did over $2 million in damages, or in today’s dollar, around $20 million. And back in 1955, the agriculture business was only a fraction of what it is today. With said, Costa Rica has taken massive steps to combat any infestation and has established detection procedures so that the pest does not make Costa Rica its home. Read more... (519 words, 1 image, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)
Up until quite recently in Costa Rica, the proposition of saving both money and the Earth with photovoltaic solar systems has stood on some pretty shaky ground. But that is changing. Nowadays, more and more Costa Ricans and expats are installing stand-alone or autonomous photovoltaic systems in the country’s remotest regions and have made it possible for people to live well where ordinarily they could not. Also, although stand-alone solar systems are worth their investment versus a generator, with their large battery banks they do constitute a hefty initial outlay – but it is worth it? Yes it is!
Imagine investing in a product that builds the most home equity, requires no maintenance, comes with a factory warranty of 25 years, begins paying for itself the month after it’s installed and diminishes your home or business’ carbon footprint. A photovoltaic grid-tie system reduces or eliminates electricity bills through solar panels that generate energy for the grid, which is obliged to deduct the energy’s cost from the owner’s monthly bills. In other words, the electricity bill is either reduced substantially or eliminated. The system is essentially solar panels and an inverter. Read more... (740 words, 3 images, estimated 2:58 mins reading time)
click on the city to view the current and forthcoming weather conditions
Alajuela | Cartago | Chacarita | Dominical | La Fortuna/Aerial | Golfito
Jaco | Liberia | Puerto Limon | Puntarenas | San Isidro de General
| San Jose | Tamarindo | Tambor | Tortuguero
Unlike the U.S and other countries, where there are four seasons, Costa Rica has no real summer, fall, spring or winter, only dry and rainy and/or very wet times of the year.
The dry season (or “tourist season”), generally starts during November and last to June.
The wet season starts in June and goes to November and a time when one can get the best deals on hotels and other forms of recreations.
Average temperature is around 75 degrees Fahrenheit, but in the high mountain areas it can get below freezing. Starting in December to April (the peak of the tourist season) normally there is little rain. Keep in mind that Costa Rica is a tropical country, so the average rainfall in the country is around 100 inches, some mountainous areas get over 200 inches of rainfall on a yearly basis with the heaviest rain period between September to October. Read more... (394 words, 1 image, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)
Above NASA map shows the tracks of all Atlantic hurricanes which formed between 1851 and 2005, so in reality Costa Rica never receives the blunt force, but they sure can receive the effects when it is downgraded to a major Tropical Storm.
We get asked all the time, does Costa Rica get hurricanes? Well, yes and no, meaning “yes” they do receive the tropical aftermath of one, like heavy rains of what Tropical Storm Tomas did in November 2010 that caused sever damage and deaths.
In meteorology; a tropical cyclone (or tropical disturbance, tropical depression, tropical storm, typhoon, or hurricane, depending on strength and location) is a type of low-pressure system, which generally forms in the tropics. Hurricane is the term used to describe tropical cyclones that form in the Caribbean where we are located.
Hurricanes need the warm humid air above tropical oceans in order to develop. That’s why they form over ocean waters close to the equator. In addition, that’s why they form only during the summer and early fall, when those waters are about 80 degrees Fahrenheit or above. However, you won’t normally see hurricanes form right at the equator. That’s because at zero degrees latitude there isn’t enough turning of winds in the atmosphere to give tropical cyclones the “spin” they need to get started.
Read more... (802 words, 2 images, estimated 3:12 mins reading time)
Herbert Nanne TBF Costa Rica. Nanne is a biologist and The Billfish Foundation’s (TBF) Central America Conservation Director.
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Costa Rica, one of the world’s premier sportfishing destinations, has named Herbert Nanne, and Monica Gutierrez to the country’s recently formed Sportfishing and Tourism Commission.
Nanne is a biologist and The Billfish Foundation’s (TBF) Central America Conservation Director. Gutierrez is a lawyer and President of Pronature, a sister conservation entity to TBF.
After a TBF sponsored socio-economic study was presented last year on the positive impact sportfishing has for the country, the Costa Rica Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute (INCOPESCA) created the commission in July 2010. Its duties include creating alternative projects among the small and medium-scale artisan coastal fleets to reduce commercial fishing during closed fishing seasons. It’s also charged with promoting sportfishing in Costa Rica and proposing conservation measures to be adopted by INCOPESCA for all sportfishing species.
“We’ve started discussions to promote converting commercial fishers to sportfishing and eco-tourism operations,” said Nanne. “We’re beginning in the Gulf of Nicoya, a highly productive area that is severely overexploited. The nearby ports of Puntarenas and Caldera are visited by cruise-liners and the tourists could be taken on sportfishing trips or for tours to observe the beauties of the islands and mangrove estuarine systems where tropical fauna is abundant. Read more... (539 words, 2 images, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)
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