2019 July 31 morning

   Kirsten Mills writes:  Jeff Gaskin and I went to Mount Washington on July 29th, where we saw several butterflies. Here is the list: Cabbage White, Purplish Copper, Anna’s Blue, Boisduval’s Blue, Milbert’s Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, Hydaspe Fritillary, 8 Great Arctic, and 2 Common Branded Skippers. Here are several photos.

Boisduval’s Blue Icaricia icarioides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Kirsten Mills

Great Arctic Oeneis nevada (Lep.: Nymphalidae – Satyrinae)  Kirsten Mills

Anna’s Blue Lycaeides anna (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Kirsten MIlls

Anna’s Blue Lycaeides anna (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Kirsten Mills

   Here’s another hymenopteran that we can’t identify.   If anyone can help, even to Family, please let us know.  Photographed by Cheryl Hoyle at Ida Anne Lake.

Unknown hymenopteran   Cheryl Hoyle

   Here are five damsel/dragonflies photographed by Cheryl Hoyle at Ida Anne Lake, July 29, and kindly identified by Dr Rob Cannings.

Young male Northern or Boreal Bluet Enallagma annexum or boreale (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)

 Cheryl Hoyle

Pacific Forktail  Ischnura cervula (Odo.: Coenagrionidae) Cheryl Hoyle

Mature female Western Forktail Ischnura perparva (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Female Tule Bluet Enallagma carunculatum (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

More to come as we identify them (if we can!)…

2019 Jul 30

Jochen Möhr’s moths in Metchosin this morning:

1 Biston betularia

1 Diachyris variabilis

1 Hesperumia sulphuraria

2 Homorthodes hanhami

1 Lacinipolia strigicollis

8 Lophocampa argentata

3 Panthea virginarius

1 Schizura ipomoeae

No pictures taken.

   Dave Holden reports a Sheep Moth Hemileuca eglanterina on Mount Tolmie yesterday.

  Jeremy Tatum photographed a spider outside his Saanich apartment:

Scotophaeus blackwalli (Ara.: Gnaphosidae)   Jeremy Tatum

   A miscellany of creatures from Cheryl Hoyle, which we shall post gradually as we either identify them or give up!

Unknown hymenopteran    Cheryl Hoyle

Xestoleptura crassipes (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Dolichovespula maculata (Hym.: Vespidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Dolichovespula maculata (Hym.: Vespidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

2019 July 29 afternoon

   We start this posting with two difficult ones.  First, a rather plain brown butterfly somewhat past its Best Before date, photographed by Gordon Hart in his Highlands garden.  We believe it is is a very late Western Brown Elfin  Incisalia (or Callophrys if we want this year’s label!) iroides.

Western Brown Elfin Incisalia iroides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Gordon Hart

   Next, a beetle on the outside of a window of a double-decker bus, photographed from the inside by Samantha Hatfield. I didn’t think we’d be able to identify it, but thanks to Dave Holden who spotted it a a Banded Alder Borer.

Banded Alder Borer Rosario funebris (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Samantha Hatfield

   I’d like to say: Now for some easier ones – but I don’t know what we’d do without the invaluable help of Libby Avis to identify many of the moths appearing on this site.  Here is Jochen Möhr’s list for this morning, followed by a couple of photographs:

1 Amorbia cuneanum

1 Biston betularia

1 Callizzia amorata

1 Dichagyris variabilis

1 Drepanulatrix sp.

1 Eulithis xylina

2 Hesperumia latipennis

2 Hesperumia sulphuraria

1 Iridopsis emasculatum

1 Lacinipolia strigicollis

11 Lophocampa argentata

3 Nemoria darwiniata

3 Panthea virginarius

8 Perizoma curvilinea

1 Pero mizon

1 Pyrausta perrubralis

1 Schizura ipomoeae

1 Sicya crocearia

1 Ypsolopha canariella

Lacinipolia pensilis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Dichagyris variabilis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

   Here’s another moth photographed recently by Jochen in Metchosin.  It is a beautiful moth, with text-book illustration of what are meant by the reniform, orbicular and claviform stigmata! In spite of that, it has not proved easy to identify!   We are grateful to Dr Lars Crabro for these comments:  It’s a slightly odd one. I suspect that it’s Euxoa rockburnei with reduced black scaling in the cell. Compare: http://pnwmoths.biol.wwu.edu/browse/family-noctuidae/subfamily-noctuinae/tribe-noctuini/euxoa/euxoa-rockburnei/

Euxoa (maybe rockburnei) (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

2019 July 29 morning

  Here’s a recent photograph from Jochen Möhr in Metchosin.  It is Iridopsis, of which there are two similar species, I. larvaria and I. emasculatum.  I think it depends a bit on how “wiggly” the cross lines are. On the whole I believe Jochen’s is more likely Iridopsis emasculatum.

Iridopsis (probably emasculatum) (Lep,: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Two soldier beetles photographed by Cheryl Hoyle, July 27th on Colquitz River Trail:

Rhagonycha fulva (Col.: Cantharidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   Samantha Hatfield sends a nice miscellany from her mint garden.  When she mentioned her “mint” garden I correctly guessed, before looking at the photograph, that one of them would be the colourful little moth Pyrausta californicalis, whose caterpillar feeds on mint.

Pyrausta californicalis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Samantha Hatfield

  I believe the eggs shown below are those of a pentatomid bug.

Bug eggs (Hem.:  Pentatomidae)  Samantha Hatfield

European Paper Wasp Polistes dominula (Hym.: Vespidae)  Samantha Hatfield

Jochen Möhr has been seeing a lot of Silver-spotted Tiger Moths Lophocampa argentata in Metchosin recently.  He obtained a series of interesting photographs illustrating the range of variation.

2019 July 28 evening

Jochen Möhr’s moths in Metchosin this morning:

1 Clemensia umbrata

2 Dichagyris variabilis

3 Eulithis xylina

5 Hesperumia latipennis 

1 Hesperumia sulphuraria

2 Homorthodes hanhami

2 Lacinipolia pensilis

10 Lophocampa argentata

1 Nemoria darwiniata

2 Perizoma curvilinea

1 Pero mizon

2 Panthea virginarius

1 Pyrausta perrubralis

2 Schizura ipomoeae

1 Stenoporpia excelsaria

Dichagyris variabilis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Dichagyris variabilis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Hesperumia sulphuraria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Nemoria darwiniata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Pero mizon (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Schizura ipomoeae (Lep.: Notodontidae)  Jochen Möhr

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  This afternoon, July 28, I saw a Grey Hairstreak nectaring on Pearly Everlasting along Goldstream Heights Road.  That was the only butterfly I saw in that area.  Later, Bill Savale pointed out to me a Mylitta Crescent along the railway line just north of Malahat Station.  This evening, at 6:30 pm, there was a West Coast Lady and a Painted Lady on the Mount Tolmie reservoir, and three more Painted Ladies near the Jeffery Pine.

   More tomorrow morning…