Flagship species for the Cockpit Country would certainly include the Giant Swallowtail Butterfly (Pterourus (Papilio) homerus) and the Yellow- and Black-bill Parrots (Amazona agilis and A. collaris, respectively). P. homerus is the second largest butterfly in the world (the largest is found only in Papua New Guinea)

But we would like to encourage you to appreciate the other species as well:- how about the Yellow Boa (Epicrates subflavus) below left? It grows to about 2 metres and is frequently found near human populations where it eats associated vermin, such as rats. This may lead to the species downfall because many people react by killing snakes on sight. How about the snails?! Jamaica is "Snail Heaven" and has the highest density of snails in the world! And the frogs:- their night chorus fills the night during rainy season! And those eyes...! We like the Bats, too; they pollenate most of our commercial crops, and the insect-eaters eat between 1000 and 3000 insects per night! So a colony of, say, 50,000 bats might eat 50 million mosquitos every night! If you lived here in Cockpit Country, you would appreciate that! The third photo above, shows a beautiful wasp....but beware! We realised a few seconds after taking the photo that it was actually ovipositing (laying eggs) in Susan's finger! Its "stinger" actually numbed her flesh... Note that wasps which sting use a modified ovipositor for this purpose.