2015 April 29

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Talking of chalcidoids – which we were on April 27 – I came across some myself today.  On March 8 I showed a batch of eggs of the Vapourer Moth Orgyia antiqua.  Well, a whole bunch of parasitoidal chalcidoid wasps came out of them today.  From front of head to tip of abdomen, they were a little less than 1 mm in length.  The wings extended a little bit more behind, and the antennae projected forward, but including wingtips and antennae the total length was still less than 2 mm.  They were very active and, though I tried, I just couldn’t get a photo of them.

   I did get photos of a couple of insects.  The first is a bright green maggot of a hoverfly from Rithet’s Bog.  I might at one time have called it Catabomba, but I’m not sure whether that name is still valid.  The other is a micro moth from Snowberry on Mount Tolmie.  Thanks to Eric LaGasa for identifying it.  He writes:  Your image is an example of the plain-Jane version of the Orange Tortrix, Argyrotaenia franciscana (was A. citrana a while back).  It’s rather ubiquitous around here (Washington) on a huge range of hosts, and occurs in an interesting mix of wing patterns (http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=3612 ).

   Ken Vaughan writes:  Here’s a couple from Swan Lake on 22 Apr 15: a teneral male Pacific Forktail and a male California Darner. Very little variety for Odonata as of now, but that will change.

Pacific Forktail Ischnura cervula

(Odo.: Coenagrionidae)

Ken Vaughan

California Darner Rhionaeschna californica (Odo.:Aeshnidae)  Ken Vaughan

   Scott Gilmore writes from Upper Lantzville: Yesterday (April 28) I came across a couple of interesting critters (see pictures below). A Root Maggot Fly and a green stink bug.  It was also a six-species-of-butterfly day with Cabbage White, Pacific Azure (= Western Spring Azure), Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Mourning Cloak and Western Brown Elfin.  [Jeremy Tatum comments – We’ve had several zero-species-of-butterfly days recently down here in Victoria.]

Root Maggot Fly  Anthomyia procellaris (Dip.: Anthomyiidae)  Scott Gillmore

Stink bug Zicrona sp. (probably caerulea)  (Hem.: Pentatomidae) Scott Gillmore

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I notice that we have had several flies (Diptera) on this site recently, so, to continue in this vein:  When a butterfly or moth caterpillar is ready to pupate, its outermost skin peels off, revealing the pupa underneath.  But when a brachyceran fly maggot is ready to pupate, it doesn’t slough its outmost skin.  Instead the skin hardens to form the pupa, which is called a puparium.  The photograph below shows two fly puparia, which I photographed today.  To protect sensitivities, I shall not go into further details of the life-history here (Rated PG). 

Fly puparia  (Dip.: Tachinidae)   Jeremy Tatum