2020 March 30 afternoon

    Jochen Möhr’s haul in Metchosin last night:

 2 Acerra normalis

2 Egira crucialis

1 Anticlea vasiliata

3 Eupithecia spp. 

1 Eupithecia ravocostaliata/nevadata

10 Hydriomena manzanita

1 Lithophane innominata

1 Lithophane petulca

4 Orthosia hibisci

3 Orthosia praeses

1 Orthosia transparens

10 Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli

1 Xanthorhoe defensaria 

Anticlea vasiliata (Lep.:  Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Xanthorhoe defensaria (Lep.: Geometridae) Jochen Möhr

   The next two are examples of the hard-to-differentiate pair Eupithecia ravocostaliata/nevadata. Libby Avis and Jeremy Tatum think there may be one of each here.  The mis-costal patch is supposed to be triangular in nevadata and rectangular in ravocostaliata, and I have labelled them according to that criterion.

Eupithecia nevadata (Lep.: Geometridae) Jochen Möhr

Eupithecia ravocostaliata (Lep.: Geometridae) Jochen Möhr

Egira crucialis (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Lithophane innominata (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Lithophane petulca  (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Orthosia hibisci (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Orthosia hibisci (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Orthosia praeses (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Orthosia transparens (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Orthosia transparens (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

2020 March 30 morning

    Rosemary Jorna’s photographs of the empidid flies have generated a lot of interest.  Here are two of the comments received, plus a further note from Rosemary:

From Dr Rob Cannings:

Definitely Empididae and maybe Empis, because it has the look of one. Other genera, especially the related Rhamphomyia, also have this appearance. However, I’m not really experienced with the family at the genus and species level and so am not sure. Empis has vein R4+5 forked near the end, whereas Rhamphomyia does not. I can’t see the venation well enough to tell here.  In general, for empidids, I need a specimen in hand, a microscope and a good key!
The male is on the top. As you indicate, courtship in some genera of the family involves the male presenting the female with a “nuptial gift” as a mating stimulus. This is either a prey item previously captured and killed by the male or a prey item wrapped in a frothy or silken package. In some species there is no prey in the package. The gift probably also distracts the female from attacking the male. I think Rhamphomyia never wraps the gift, whereas some species of Empis do.
An observer usually can separate the empidid sexes if the male belongs to one of those species where the terminalia are bulky and complex (usually the case). Females usually have the terminal abdominal segments tapered and acute (used as an ovipositor). The behaviour noted above also is useful.

From Libby Avis:

He gives her the present first to keep her occupied while he gets on with it. I believe it’s a not uncommon strategy among insects. In some cases (e.g spiders) it’s a necessary ruse on the part of the male to avoid being eaten by the female.  Given that she is going to produce and lay the eggs, it also gives her extra protein. Same general principle as chocolates on Valentine’s Day……..well, maybe not exactly……. but you get the general drift.

From Rosemary Jorna:

Looking through the file of photos I took it looks as if the one on top is hanging to its mate with the back pair of legs while the  other two pairs grab on to the support. The abdomen of the lower one is consistently plumper than the top one so I too think female; she seems to be the one with the claspers, locking the male in place while she concentrates all her attention and legs on dinner.
One single fly landed with a small black & white moth as dinner.  Most flying around seem to be single and carrying prey but they are small and fast until mating  I have not observed a pair meeting yet. I wonder if they will be flying tomorrow when I am out and about.

And while on the subject of flies, here’s another one, from a quite different family, Bibionidae, from Mount Douglas Park, March 29, photographed by Mr E.  Mr E suggests Bibio xanthopus.  Although Bibio is a large genus, xanthopus is almost certainly correct.  The large eyes show that it is a male.  They are sometimes called “March Flies”, although March is usually a little bit early to see them.  They should preferably be called “Saint Mark’s Flies”.  A well-known European species is B. marci, where “marci” does not mean “of March”, but rather “of Mark”, so called because it is abundant near to Saint Mark’s Day, April 25 – which is also about right for our xanthopus.

Bibio xanthopus (Dip.: Bibionidae)  Mr E

2020 March 29

  More on Rosemary Jorna’s empidid flies.  They were evidently capturing and killing other insects – but was it dinnertime, or did they have some other purpose?  Male empidid flies have a habit of catching other insects and presenting them to their girlfriends while courting, much as we attract our girlfriends with a bunch of flowers.  Rosemary obtained this photograph near Kemp Lake today.

Maybe Empis barbatoides (Dip.:  Empididae)  Rosemary Jorna

Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:

Thanks, Libby Avis, for going the extra mile in the effort to identify these moths!  

Here is today’s crop – to the best of my abilities.  

1 Egira crucialis

5 Eupithica sp.

2 Eupithecia ravocostaliata/nevadata

7 Hydriomena manzanita

1 Melanolophia imitata

2 Orthosia hibisci

1 Orthosia praeses

6 Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli

1 Xanthorhoe defensaria 

Orthosia praeses (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Orthosia hibisci (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Orthosia hibisci (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Egira crucialis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Melanolophia imitata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Xanthorhoe defensaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

2020 March 28

      Jochen Möhr’s tally from Metchosin this morning:

1 Acerra normalis

1 Egira curialis

1 Egira simplex

10 Eupithecias, including 2 ravocostaliata/nevadata

14 Hydriomena manzanita

3 Orthosia hibisci

11 Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli

1 Feralia deceptiva

Orthosia hibisci (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Orthosia hibisci (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Orthosia praeses (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Egira probably simplex (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Egira curialis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Acerra normalis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Feralia deceptiva (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

2020 March 27

   Rosemary Jorna writes from Kemp Lake:  Yesterday  30 or more of these very small flies were flying around the Huckleberry Bush in our yard. Most of them were carrying a bundle and would alight briefly before taking flight again. They were too small, quick and against the light. At first I thought mating; but now the camera is downloaded it looks more like dinner time. 

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  This is a fly of the Family Empididae.  It would need a specialist to identify it with any certainty, although I think it is probably in the eponymous genus Empis, and there is a reasonable possibility that it is Empis barbatoides.

Maybe Empis barbatoides (Dip.: Empididae)  Rosemary Jorna

Maybe Empis barbatoides (Dip.: Empididae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Jochen Möhr’s March 27 tally from Metchosin:

1 Acerra normalis

1 Egirra crucialis (picture attached)

2 Eupithecia spp. (one picture attached)

1 Eupithecia ravocostaliata/nevadata

7 Hydriomena manzanita

6 Venusia obsoleta/ pearsalli

Eupithecia annulata/ochracea (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Egira crucialis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr