2019 September 7

 

   Jeremy Tatum writes that there was a fresh Painted Lady on the Teasels at McIntyre Reservoir today.  There were still a lot of Cabbage Whites on the kale fields there.  Apart from the Cabbage Whites, we must be coming close to the last butterfly of the year.  Please keep reporting any that you see.

 

   Jochen’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

 

1 Eupithecia sp. 

2 Euxoa difformis

3 Lacinipolia pensilis

1 Tetracis pallulata

2 Xestia finatimis

 

Mike McGrenere writes:  Barb and I were at Elk/Beaver Lake Park yesterday morning  (September 6) and we came across a rather tattered Lorquin’s Admiral, the first one that we have seen in quite a while (photo attached).  I was at Swan Lakeon September 5 and I saw a Tiger Swallowtail near the parking lot.

 

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Mike McGrenere

   Annie Pang sends a photograph of a Mud-dauber Wasp, June 29 of this year – rather late to make its way into Invert “Alert”, but I couldn’t resist it.

 

Mud-dauber Wasp Sceliphron caementarium (Hym.: Sphecidae) Annie Pang

 

 

Jeremy Tatum writes:

 

Sonia Voicescu has been away for most of the summer, but on her return she undertook and completed the enormous task of transferring all our Invert Alert butterfly records for this year to eButterfly.  We must all be very grateful to Sonia for doing this huge amount of work.

 

Sonia tells us that this year eButterfly has so far recorded, mostly from Invert Alert, 52 species of butterfly from Vancouver Island.  Here they are:

 

First observed

 

1	Pale Swallowtail	2019-06-06 Narvaez Bay Rd, Saturna, BC, Canada,48.784412,-123.139760,British Columbia
2	Western Tiger Swallowtail	2019-06-22 3837 Blue Valley Road, Victoria, BC, Canada,48.510773,-123.468641,British Columbia
3	Anise Swallowtail	2019-05-31 Mt Tolmie summit,48.457057,-123.325677,BC
4	Clodius Parnassian	2019-06-16 Mount Prevost, North Cowichan, BC, Canada,48.831944,-123.764444,British Columbia
5	Western Sulphur	2019-06-16 Pass Main and Mt Cokely Rd,49.237931,-124.614562,British Columbia
6	Pacific Orangetip	2019-05-06 Mt Tolmie Water Reservoir,48.454581,-123.320932,British Columbia
7	Pine White	2019-08-21 Metchosin JM property,48.391770,-123.575479,British Columbia
8	Margined White	2019-04-28 Cowichan Station,48.730915,-123.671134,British Columbia
9	Cabbage White	2019-04-16 Notch Hill Park, Powder Point Road, Nanoose Bay, BC, Canada,49.275722,-124.151932,British Columbia
10	Purplish Copper	2019-08-04 Island View Beach Regional Park, Island View Road, Saanichton, BC, Canada,48.572399,-123.366975,British Columbia
11	Mariposa Copper	2019-06-22 Mount Cokely, Nanaimo C, BC, Canada,49.239444,-124.586667,British Columbia
12	Sylvan Hairstreak	2019-06-25 Nanaimo River Road, Nanaimo, BC, Canada,49.078415,-123.985376,British Columbia
13	Brown Elfin	2019-04-04 Uptown,48.455271,-123.375358,British Columbia
14	Western Pine Elfin	2019-04-25 Fairwinds Golf Club,49.277541,-124.125836,British Columbia
15	Juniper Hairstreak	2019-05-15 Panhandle trail,48.489305,-123.450386,British Columbia
16	Moss’ Elfin	2019-04-20 Panhandle trail,48.489305,-123.450386,British Columbia
17	Gray Hairstreak	2019-04-20 Alberni Valley,49.256522,-124.804999,British Columbia
18	Western Tailed-Blue	2019-06-16 Pass Main and Mt Cokely Rd,49.237931,-124.614562,British Columbia
19	Echo Azure	2019-04-20 Panhandle trail,48.489305,-123.450386,British Columbia
20	Silvery Blue	2019-05-26 Koksilah Rd,48.729968,-123.642361,British Columbia
21	Anna Blue	2019-07-21 Mount Washington, Comox-Strathcona C, BC, Canada,49.753056,-125.296389,British Columbia
22	Boisduval’s Blue	2019-07-29 Mount Washington Skiing Alpine Resort, Comox-Strathcona C, BC, Canada,49.741283,-125.303249,British Columbia
23	West Coast Lady	2019-07-27 Mt Tolmie Water Reservoir,48.454581,-123.320932,British Columbia
24	Red Admiral	2019-07-14 Christmas Hill, Saanich, BC, Canada,48.473889,-123.373889,British Columbia
25	Painted Lady	2019-06-30 Christmas Hill, Saanich, BC, Canada,48.473889,-123.373889,British Columbia
26	American Lady	2019-05-17 Panama Flats,48.473929,-123.401071,British Columbia
27	Milbert’s Tortoiseshell	2019-05-07 Shawinigan Lake Rd,48.561496,-123.570361,British Columbia
28	Mourning Cloak	2019-03-30 3837 Blue Valley Road, Victoria, BC, Canada,48.510773,-123.468641,British Columbia
29	California Tortoiseshell	2019-03-20 Nanaimo River Road,49.096393,-124.135482,British Columbia
30	Green Comma	2019-03-19 Metchosin, BC, Canada,48.382005,-123.537850,British Columbia
31	Hoary Comma	2019-05-08 Eagle Chair Mt Washington,49.747289,-125.306073,British Columbia
32	Oreas Anglewing	2019-03-29 Little Mountain, Little Mountain Road, Parksville, BC, Canada,49.295005,-124.325327,British Columbia
33	Satyr Comma	2019-04-20 Goldstream Provincial Park, Langford, BC, Canada,48.479987,-123.547843,British Columbia
34	Mylitta Crescent	2019-05-07 Stebbings Road, Cowichan Valley B, BC, Canada,48.553145,-123.602796,British Columbia
35	Field Crescent	2019-06-01 Eddy’s storage, 1064 Stellys Cross Road, Brentwood Bay, BC, Canada,48.579903,-123.455157,British Columbia
36	Common Ringlet	2019-06-18 Quick’s Bottom Park, Markham Street, Victoria, BC, Canada,48.496888,-123.402003,British Columbia
37	Great Arctic	2019-07-22 Mount Washington Skiing Alpine Resort, Comox-Strathcona C, BC, Canada,49.741283,-125.303249,British Columbia
38	Common Wood-Nymph	2019-07-25 Mount Tuam, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada,48.727061,-123.484503,British Columbia
39	Pacific Fritillary	2019-07-22 Mount Washington Skiing Alpine Resort, Comox-Strathcona C, BC, Canada,49.741283,-125.303249,British Columbia
40	Hydaspe Fritillary	2019-07-22 Mount Washington Skiing Alpine Resort, Comox-Strathcona C, BC, Canada,49.741283,-125.303249,British Columbia
41	Zerene Fritillary	2019-07-25 Mount Tuam, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada,48.727061,-123.484503,British Columbia
42	Lorquin’s Admiral	2019-06-11 Royal Roads University, Sooke Road, Victoria, BC, Canada,48.435073,-123.473504,British Columbia
43	Arctic Skipper	2019-06-22 Mount Cokely, Nanaimo C, BC, Canada,49.239444,-124.586667,British Columbia
44	Silver-spotted Skipper	2019-06-10 Cortes Island, British Columbia, Canada,50.116728,-124.948928,British Columbia
45	Persius Duskywing	2019-07-24 Little Jim Lake to Cream Lake,49.485797,-125.541983,British Columbia
46	Propertius Duskywing	2019-05-31 Mt Tolmie summit,48.457057,-123.325677,British Columbia
47	Dun Skipper	2019-07-01 Rhododendron Lake,49.190629,-124.296609,British Columbia
48	Common Branded Skipper	2019-07-29 Mount Washington Skiing Alpine Resort, Comox-Strathcona C, BC, Canada,49.741283,-125.303249,British Columbia
49	Woodland Skipper	2019-07-25 Mount Tuam, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada,48.727061,-123.484503,British Columbia
50	Grizzled Skipper	2019-05-11 Sundew Place, Nanoose Bay,49.253704,-124.200745,British Columbia
51	Two-banded Checkered-Skipper	2019-05-07 Stebbings Road, Cowichan Valley B, BC, Canada,48.553145,-123.602796,British Columbia
52	European Skipper	2019-06-04 Saanich, BC, Canada,48.459263,-123.376722,British Columbia

 

There is room for some minor tweaking.  For example, it is perhaps a little stretch to include Cortes Island (Silver-spotted Skipper) as part of Vancouver Island.  And it is difficult to know to which species the name “Grizzled Skipper” (50) refers to, because this name, without any additional adjective, can be applied to several species, including the only one known to occur regularly on Vancouver Island, namely the Two-banded Checkered or Grizzled Skipper. On the other hand, the “splitters” might like to add an additional species to the list by splitting the Branded Skipper into Common and Western Branded Skippers, both forms (whether they be species or subspecies) occur on Vancouver Island. In any case, 52 species, plus or minus one or two, is a very exciting total, and much more that I would have guessed.

 

Are there any more that might be added?  Well, no one reported the recently re-discovered Johnson’s Hairstreak this year, nor the Phoebus (aka Rocky Mountain) Parnassian, nor the Arctic Blue, which was found a couple of years ago on a VNHS trip to Mount Washington.   So more than 52 is a year is in principle possible – but not very easy!

 

Sonia notes that there are some differences in the English names used in Invertebrate Alert and eButterfly, the most obvious of which are as follows:

 

Western spring azure ——Echo azure on eButterfly

Sara orangetip———Pacific orangetip on eButterfly

Western brown elfin——Brown elfin on eButterfly

Cedar hairstreak——Juniper hairstreak on eButterfly

Essex skipper——European skipper on eButterfly

Western meadow fritillary—–Pacific fritillary on eButterfly

Pale tiger swallowtail——Pale swallowtail on eButterfly

 

I’m not quite sure what to do about this, though I expect I shall continue to use the names we have been using.  Bear in mind that every book uses a different set of names, so that the eButterfly names are no more standard than any others.

 

Jeremy Tatum continues –  Here are a couple of caterpillars and a moth:

 

Euplexia benesimilis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Orgyia antiqua (Lep.: Erebidae – Lymantriinae)  Jeremy Tatum

Neoalcis californiaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum