2024 June 27

   Val George sends a photograph of a Green Pug from the wall of his Oak Bay house this morning, June 27.

Green Pug  Pasiphila rectangulata  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Val George

Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:  Yesterday (June 26) finally, after another great hiatus – a moth.  A Cinnabar Moth Tyria jacbaeae.

Cinnabar Moth Tyria jacobaeae  (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Jochen Möhr

2024 June 26 evening

Marie O’Shaughnessy visited Mount Tolmie at 5:30 pm yesterday, June 25.  She saw:

1 Cabbage  White
2 Western Tiger Swallowtails
1 Lorquin’s Admiral
2 Red Admirals
2 Painted Ladies

Red Admiral  Vanessa atalanta  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)   Marie O’Shaughnessy

Here are more miscellaneous invertebrates from Ian Cooper.
* = Colquitz River Park in Saanich
# = Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal 9 km marker

#Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)    Ian Cooper

*Very small unidentified fly (Diptera)   Ian Cooper
I see these often in Colquitz River Park. They look like miniature houseflies,
but with proportionally larger iridescent wings.

#Springtail  Orchesella cincta (Coll.: Orchesellidae)   Ian Cooper

#Crane fly – possibly Tipula paludosa (Dip.: Tipulidae)
Possibly recently emerged from its pupal state

Plant bug (Hem: Miridae)   Ian Cooper

2024 June 26

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Owing to some procedural error in my posting of yesterday’s photographs, some of the photographs did not appear as sharp as they should have done.  I have removed them from yesterday’s posting, and I’ll make another attempt here.  ‘Pologies to all.

Aziza Cooper wrote: At the field north of Stelly’s Cross Road and West Saanich Rd. there were 17+ Essex Skippers. Further north near the cemetery along W. Saanich Rd. there were two Field Crescents.

Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola  (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Aziza Cooper

Field Crescent Phyciodes pulchella  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

Ian Cooper photographed the fly shown below.  We have not been able to identify it with certainty. Jeremy Tatum suggested Psilidae, but we cannot find a good fit.  If any viewer can help with this identification, please do let us know.

Unknown fly  (Diptera)   Ian Cooper

Unknown fly  (Diptera)   Ian Cooper

2024 June 25

   Marie O’Shaughnessy photographed this young Blue Dasher at Outerbridge Park,  June 23:

Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Marie saw these between 4 and 5 pm at Government House on June 24:

4 Western Tiger Swallowtails
2 Cabbage Whites
6 Essex Skippers
1 Lorquin’s Admiral
1 Blue-eyed Darner.

 She photographed one of the Western Tiger Swallowtails:

Western Tiger Swallowtail  Pterourus rutulus  (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Here are a few results of recent overnight photo shoots by Ian Cooper:

Hedya nubiferana  (Lep.: Tortricidae)   Ian Cooper

Protolophus niger (Opiliones:  Protolophidae)   Ian Cooper

Mosquito  (Dip.: Culicidae)  Ian Cooper

We don’t know what this is, but we presume it is an immature stage (nymph) of some bug:

Presumed nymph of a bug (Hemiptera)  Ian Cooper

Enoplognatha ovata (Ara.: Theridiidae)   Ian Cooper

An Enoplognatha ovata (Ara.: Theridiidae) has captured a Strawberry Root Weevil Otiorhynchus ovatus (Col.: Curculionidae).   Ian Cooper

Enoplognatha ovata variant with distinctive red ‘candy stripe’ markings (Ara.: Theridiidae)
Ian Cooper

Seven-spotted Ladybird – Coccinella septempunctata (Col.: Coccinellidae)   Ian Cooper

Jeremy Tatum writes:  At 5:30 this afternoon (June 25) there were two Painted Ladies and one Red Admiral at the top of Christmas Hill.

Aziza Cooper writes:  Today, June 25, at Layritz Park there were two Western Tiger Swallowtails, one Cabbage White and two Lorquin’s Admirals. At Viaduct Flats there was one Essex Skipper.

Butterflies still missing this year:    Clodius Parnassian,    Margined White,    Purplish Copper,    Grey Hairstreak,    Mylitta Crescent.

2024 June 24

Invertebrates spotted by Ian Cooper at Colquitz River Park before dawn, June 23 2024

Woodlouse Hunter Spider – Dysdera crocata  (Ara.: Dysderidae)   Ian Cooper

Dicyphus discrepans (Hem.: Miridae)   Ian Cooper

 Strawberry Root Weevil – Otiorhynchus ovatus (Col.: Curculionidae)
Ian Cooper

Nut Leaf Weevil, Strophosoma melanogrammum (Col.: Curculionidae)   Ian Cooper

Jumping Bristletail  Pedetontus saltator. (Microcoryphia – Machilidae)   Ian Cooper

  Male Snipe Fly. Probably Chrysopilus sp. (Dip.: Rhagionidae)    Ian Cooper

   Marie O’Shaughnessy writes:  Outerbridge Park tour Sunday June 23rd 2024, for butterflies and dragonflies.  Butterflies were:
1 Western Tiger Swallowtail
2 Cabbage Whites

  Dragonflies were:
1 male Cardinal Meadowhawk.

Four-spotted Skimmer  Libellula quadrimaculata   (Odo.: Libellulidae)   Marie O’Shaughnessy

Sympetrum  sp. (Odo.: Libellulidae)   Marie O’Shaugnessy

Marie also photographed this exuvia.  Dr Rob Cannings rises to the challenge and writes:
The exuvia is definitely an aeshnid by its form. The view doesn’t show the characteristics required for a foolproof identification, but it has the short labium of a Rhionaeschna (and it just looks like one to me – hard to describe why). Because we are at the height of the appearance of R. multicolor and R. californica, emergence is probably mostly over, my guess is that this is a Blue-eyed Darner exuvia. The fact that this species is the most common darner around here in the summer just adds to the high probability. And the local Aeshna species have hardly begun emergence yet.

Probably Blue-eyed Darner Rhionaeschna multicolor (Odo.: Aeshnidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Marie photographed this Painted Lady at Mount Tolmie:

Painted Lady  Vanessa cardui  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Jeremy Tatum shows a small moth reared on blackberry from a caterpillar found at Swan Lake.  Thanks to Dr Jason Dombrowskie, who writes:  I’m 95% sure that is a female Archips rosana.

 Probably Archips rosana  (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Jeremy Tatum