Not in the Guide
If it’s the incomplete guide, what’s missing? In this photo album, I’ll try to fill in some of the gaps and share some photos of animals that aren’t in the guide.

How often do you see insect eggs? Given how many insects there are around us, there must be tons, but they’re rarely seen. On a recent visit to Philipsburg, I found many clusters of what are almost surely oleander caterpillar moth (Empyreuma affinis) eggs. The moth itself was unknown on St. Martin before hurricane Luis, but is a Caribbean species with an expanding range. Now, they’re extremely common, perhaps in part because there are so many oleander bushes on the island. In the photos you can see eggs at different stages of development, including empty ones which had already hatched.

I also captured images of a few critters a the Rastafarian farm during their We Agree with Culture event. There were clusters of leafhoppers on some of the bushes, and a Cuban tree frog. The Cuban tree frog is another species that has been spreading around the Caribbean and beyond.

Do you have the book? It would be awesome if you would post a review on Amazon. Even awesomer if it’s a good review! Thanks!

Amazon.com: The Incomplete Guide to the Wildlife of Saint Martin (9781453861158): Mark Yokoyama: Boo
www.amazon.com
Amazon.com: The Incomplete Guide to the Wildlife of Saint Martin (9781453861158): Mark Yokoyama: Books

St. Martin is a small island with a rich historical and natural heritage. It is also experiencing great pressures from increasing population and tourist development that threaten the local environment and sites of historical interest. Below are ten organizations that are dedicated to the preservation of Saint Martin and the exploration of its natural and historical treasures.

EPIC (Environmental Protection in the Caribbean) is a non-profit dedicated to promoting conservation in the Caribbean, particularly Saint Martin, through research and community-based projects. Much of their work focuses on cleaning up the Simpson Bay lagoon, protecting and expanding mangrove wetlands and research on sea birds.

Sint Maarten Pride Foundation is a local organization dedicated to environmental awareness and conservation on Sint Maarten. Their work includes beach and pond clean-ups as well as work to preserve historical landmarks.

Nature Foundation St. Maarten is a non-profit that manages the Dutch side marine parks and also promotes conservation of wetlands and terrestrial habitats on the island.

St. Maarten National Heritage Foundation is a non-profit that operates the museum in Philipsburg, and promotes the study and preservation of local history, culture and nature.

Musee de Saint Martin is the museum in Marigot is dedicated to the preservation of Saint Martin heritage. The Association Archéologique Hope Estate is based there, as is Heritage magazine.

Réserve Naturelle de Saint-Martin manages the French side nature reserve, including the large marine reserve and land-based reserves on the French side. They also conduct a variety of research including sea turtle nesting surveys.

St. Martin Trails is a hiking association that goes on hikes every Sunday to various parts of the island, with quarterly trips to hike on nearby islands.

Youth Link Foundation organizes activities of social, cultural, environmental and educational value for youth on Sint Maarten.

Sint Maarten Archeological Center is a non-profit promoting science and archaeology amongst youth while preserving the archaeological heritage of the island.

And, of course, Les Fruits de Mer is the world’s first extreme shallow snorkeling team, dedicated to exploring the shallowest waters of the world and sharing their wonders.

Who did I miss in this post? Let me know!

Looking for more info on Caribbean biology? Here are a few of the online resources I found very helpful. Bookmark it for next time you see a weird critter in your backyard!

Saint Martin/Lesser Antilles/Caribbean Biology Resources on the Web | Les Fruits De Mer
www.lesfruitsdemer.org
If you’re like me, you often need to identify Caribbean animals, and it’s not always easy to find resources on the web, so I figured I’d post links to some of my favorites. The Catalog of the Lepidoptera of the French Antilles is a site in both French and English that features most of the butterflie

Delivered copies to the Shipwreck Shop offices today. They should be in the stores soon!

A couple weeks ago, a large hillside area over Sucker Garden in the Dutch side burned. Apparently a fire to burn brush or trash had gotten out of control. Luckily, there were no serious injuries or houses burned. Although it was perhaps the largest fire in recent memory, the fire department was able to get it under control, and in some places slave walls (stone walls from colonial times) stopped the spread.

I was in the area on Friday, and took a few minutes to walk the area. I was particularly interested to see if any animal remains would be there, particularly the Leeward Island racer, a snake which is effectively extinct on the island. As it turned out, aside from thousands of burnt and crumbling snail shells, there wasn’t much to see. It was quite odd, though, to walk through the burned area. As you can see in the photos, without grass and brush, it’s very clear how little soil there is in much of the island.

A couple folks mentioned that they saw something about the book in a local paper. If anyone has it, can you save it and let me know? Thanks!

I have a couple galleries of local stuff here. The first is a set of plants and critters from the Grand Case area. It’s pretty heavily weighted towards the spider that has absolutely overtaken mangroves and pond shores around the island. It seems to prey heavily on midges, which have been super common for a while, perhaps explaining the population explosion for the spiders.

The next set is just a few photos of an awesome rainbow that I saw the other morning in Grand Case Bay.

If you’re like me, you often need to identify Caribbean animals, and it’s not always easy to find resources on the web, so I figured I’d post links to some of my favorites.

The Catalog of the Lepidoptera of the French Antilles is a site in both French and English that features most of the butterflies and moths of this area. A few groups are missing (Hespirids, Pyralids, etc.) but the families that are present are well represented with photos and descriptions. The focus is primarily on Guadeloupe and Martinique, but distribution in St. Martin and St. Barths is also noted.

The Museum of Comparative Zoology Caribbean Insect Database is sometimes down, but when it’s accessible it’s a great place to find thousands of specimen photos.

Father Sanchez’s Web Site of West Indian Natural History is a terrific overview of West Indian fauna with tons of photos. It includes the full range of vertebrates and invertebrates, plus information about many plants and fungi.

The Action Nature St. Martin Guide is in French and has quite a few of the species on Saint Martin.

Mark de Silva’s page at the Moth Photographers Group is primarily focused on the Grenadines, but many of the species are found throughout the Caribbean.

The Caribbean Spiders Photo Gallery by Jo-Anne Sewlal is a great place to see photos of various spiders from different families.

Tom Murray’s Florida Butterfly Database features many species also found in the Caribbean.

BatHead has a Caribbean Bat Guide that is really terrific, plus information about which species are on each island.

Caribherp will help you identify your West Indian reptiles and amphibians. The site is very comprehensive and includes photos.

The Virgin Islands Arthropod Database is a handy resource for checking to see what species might be nearby, although you will have to go elsewhere to get photos.

And, of course, no list would be complete without The Incomplete Guide to the Wildlife of Saint Martin. With information and photos of about 300 species, it is far from comprehensive, but it is a good place to start understanding the wildlife of Saint Martin and the northern Lesser Antilles as well.

UPDATE: Barbara reminded me of the Biological Inventory of Sint Maarten, which offers an excellent overview about the flora and fauna of the island and a very valuable list of references for digging deeper.