2020 March 17 evening

   Kalene Lillico photographed this Satyr Comma butterfly at Swan Lake Nature House yesterday.  We leave it to viewers to decide if it is the same individual as – or a different one from –  the one that Kirsten Mills photographed there on the same date.

Satyr Comma Polygonia satyrus (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Kalene Lillico

   Jochen Möhr has been seeing a large variety of moths – macros and micros – at his house in Metchosin in the last few days.  Here is a selection of a few of them.  As often, we are grateful to Libby Avis for her help with identifications.

Hydriomena manzanita (Lep.: Geometridae) Jochen Möhr

Lithophane pertorrida (Lep.:  Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Lithophane pertorrida (Lep.:  Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Lithophane innominata (Lep.:  Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli (Lep.: Geometridae) Jochen Möhr

Triphosa haesitata (Lep.: Geometridae) Jochen Möhr

2020 March 17 morning

   Kirsten Mills writes:  Jeff Gaskin and I were at Swan Lake yesterday, March 16, at around 2pm. We had a Mourning Cloak fly by. Then we had a Satyr Comma land near the nature house. Here are some Comma photos. We couldn’t photograph the Mourning Cloak.

Satyr Comma  Polygonia satyrus (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Kirsten Mills

Satyr Comma  Polygonia satyrus (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Kirsten Mills

   Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of a Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli from UVic’s Elliott Building this morning:

Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli   (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Jochen Möhr sends a picture of a cerambycid beetle from Metchosin, identified by Libby Avis as Plectrura spinicauda.

Plectrura spinicauda (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Jochen Möhr

2020 March 13 morning

   Mr E writes from Saanich, March 12, that this Spotted Tree Borer Synaphaeta guexi “flew onto my shirt inside the house while I was cooking”.

Spotted Tree Borer Synaphaeta guexi (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Mr E

Spotted Tree Borer Synaphaeta guexi (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Mr E

   Jochen Möhr sends a photograph of Orthosia pulchella from Metchosin, March 12.

Orthosia pulchella (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Orthosia pulchella (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

2020 March 12 morning

    Butterflies!!

   Les Peterson sends a photograph of a Satyr Comma  from Swan Lake Nature House, and Kirsten Mills sends a photograph of a California Tortoiseshell from Mount Tolmie, both March 11.

Satyr Comma Polygonia satyrus (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Les Peterson

California Tortoiseshell Nymphalis californica (Lep.: Nymphalidae

Kirsten Mills

2020 March 11

  Gordon Hart sends a photograph of an Oak Winter Highflier Hydriomena nubilofasciata  from outside the Swan Lake Nature House, March 10.

Oak Winter Highflier Hydriomena nubilofasciata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Gordon Hart

   Jochen Möhr found a nice little snail on his deck in Metchosin.  Thanks to Claudia Copley for identifying it as a Pacific Sideband (once known as the Faithful Snail) Monadenia fidelis.

Pacific Sideband Monadenia fidelis (Pul.: Bradybaenidae)   Jochen Möhr

Pacific Sideband Monadenia fidelis (Pul.: Bradybaenidae)   Jochen Möhr