2019 June 13 morning

   Val George writes:  Yesterday morning, June 12, I did a very short walk in Uplands Park during which I saw three Sheep Moths Hemileuca eglanterina.  I also found this pupa of a White Satin Moth Leucoma salicis.  The other pupa is a Cabbage White, which was on my kale in my Oak Bay garden.  In the last few days I’ve seen several adult Cabbage Whites that have just emerged from their pupae.

Sheep Moth Hemileuca eglanterina (Lep.: Saturniidae)  Val George

White Satin Moth Leucoma salicis (Lep.: Erebidae – Lymantriinae)  Val George

Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae)  Val George

 Rosemary Jorna writes:  In our yard (Kemp Lake area), but far away, a Lorquin’s Admiral.

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:  This morning there were just two Tortricidia testacea and one very pale Hydriomena of which I attach a picture.   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Yes, I agree, it’s a highflyer (Hydriomena sp.), but it’s quite a worn specimen, and it would be a brave person to identify it.  If it were February, I’d guess at H. nubilofasciata, but I don’t know if any would last until June, even though this one is worn.  Otherwise H. irata, californiata, expurgata… all look like possibilities.  Let’s just leave it as Hydriomena sp.

Hydriomena sp. (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

2019 June 12 morning

         Jochen Möhr’s moths in Metchosin this morning:

Tortricidia testacea                                                                  1

Tortricidia testacea (Lep.: Limacodidae)  Jochen Möhr

   Rosemary Jorna writes from the Kenp Lake area:  This beauty showed up in the garden, June 11, while I was trying to photograph the elusive Western Tiger Swallowtail that keeps drifting in to our yard. There is a healthy population of Western Tiger Swallowtails on Mount Emperor in the Sooke Hills – no great number in any one place but we met them steadily along the way. All of them reluctant to pose for a photo.

   Rob Cannings writes, of the beauty photographed by Rosemary:  Looks like a young male Cordulia schurtleffii. That outward flare of the cerci is characteristic of  C. shurtleffii, as is the clubbed abdomen. The eyes will get brilliant green as the individual matures.

Cordulia shurtleffii (Odo.: Corduliidae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Ron Flower writes:  On June 11 we went to the Goldsteam River where we found 6 Purplish Coppers, 1 Western Spring Azure, 3 Western Tiger Swallowtails and 4 Pale Tiger Swallowtails.   The beetle was on my driveway in Royal Oak.

Male Purplish Copper Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Ron Flower

Polyphylla crinita (Col.: Scarabaeidae)  Ron Flower

   Peter Boon writes from Nanaimo:  A couple of reports from yesterday.  In my light trap this morning were the following moths:

Agrotis vancouverensis-Vancouver Dart                  6

Biston betularia – Peppered Moth                             1            

Leucania oregona –  Oregon Wainscot                      1

Paonis excaecata – Blinded Sphinx                             1

Hyles gallii – Bedstraw Hawk Moth                           1

Lophocampa maculata – Spotted Tiger Moth          1

Noctua pronuba – Large Yellow Underwing              2

Tetracis cervinaria                                                          3

On a trip to Paradise Meadows today with my class there were 8+ commas.  I didn’t have time to chase and specifically identify them, but will be back up there soon for a dedicated lep session. 3+ Mourning Cloaks and 3 Western Spring Azures.

Paonias excaecatus (Lep.: Sphingidae)  Peter Boon

Paonias excaecatus (Lep.: Sphingidae)  Peter Boon

Hyles gallii (Lep.: Sphingidae) Peter Boon

2019 June 11 evening

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I went to the small field just south of the Tsartlip Cemetary on West Saanich Road halfway between Stelly’s Cross Road and Mount Newton Cross Road, from where Tim Zurowski  reported large numbers of Field Crescents this morning.  It’s a tiny field smothered with huge numbers of Ox-eye Daisies.  Although I saw no notices, it is presumably private property belonging to the Tsartlip First Nation, and in any case it wouldn’t be a good idea to tramp all over the field.  I stood just at the entrance and I could see lots of the butterflies at close quarters.  I didn’t attempt to count them, but I’d have no difficulty at all in believing 100 or so.

  Aziza Cooper drew my attention to a huge collection of superb photographs of local moths obtained by Tim Zurowski at  https://timzurowski.smugmug.com/Galleries/Insects/Moths/   This will be a wonderful reference for us.   I had no idea of their exisence before.

   This evening, I found the curious structure below on Reed Canary Grass at Rithet’s Bog.  As you can see, it has a caterpillar inside!  I am not sure of its identity, but for the moment, and until I get an adult moth from it, I’m labelling as probably Psyche casta. If it turns out to be a female, she’ll be wingless and she won’t emerge from her house, so I’ll never know for sure!

Probably Psyche casta (Lep.: Psychidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Aziza Cooper writes: Today, June 11, at Royal Roads University I found my first-of-year Essex Skipper. There were 3 Pale and 4 Western Tiger Swallowtails, two Cabbage Whites and one Lorquin’s Admiral.

Jeremy Tatum comments:  This is just the sort of Essex Skipper photograph we want.  It shows that the underside of the tip of the antenna is black, thus distinguishing it from the Small Skipper (not yet recorded, I believe, from North America), for which the underside of the tip of the antenna is orange.

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

   More tomorrow morning…

2019 June 11 morning

   Tim Zurowski writes:  I went out today and decided to try the field just south of the First Nations graveyard.  The Field Crescents are abundant at that location. Pretty much every step I took flushed one or two. They are all over that field. Really nice to see that they are doing well. Sure wish there was a way to save one of these locations for them. Anyway, I wouldn’t hazard to guess a number, but it would easily be 100+. Got hundreds of images to go through, but here’s one that I processed when I got home.

Field Crescent Phyciodes pratensis (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Tim Zurowski

   After that, I drove to Mount Tolmie and got Anise, Western Tiger and Pale Tiger Swallowtails, Lorquin’s Admiral, Purplish Copper, Cabbage White, a small blue one that I did not get a good enough look to suggest an ID, but looks like the Western Spring Azure, and a small brown one [Cedar Hairstreak?  – Jeremy] that I have never seen before. Possibly a moth though.

   Aziza Cooper writes:  Yesterday, June 10, I found one Cedar Hairstreak along Memorial Crescent next to Ross Bay Cemetery. Also in the cemetery were one each of Pale and Western Tiger Swallowtails, and Cabbage White.

         Jochen Möhr’s moths in Metchosin this morning:

Homorthodes hanhami (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Plagodis phlogosaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Stenoporpia excelsaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Apamea sordens (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jochen Möhr

Pale Tiger Swallowtail Papilio eurymedon (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Jochen Möhr

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I am interested in seeing to what extent the shape of the “comma” mark on the underside of our comma species can help with the identification of the species.  Here is a not very good photograph of a male Satyr Comma from Goldstream Park, though it does show the comma mark fairly well.

Male Satyr Comma Polygonia satyrus (Lep.: Nymphalidae)

Jeremy Tatum

   Here is geometrid moth from Playfair Park, Saanich:

Sicya crocearia (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

     Annie Pang sends photographs of her first Lorquin’s Admiral of the year, from Gorge Park:

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Annie Pang

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Annie Pang

   Sharon Godkin sends photographs of a White Satin Moth caterpillar.  She remarks:  
Note how neatly it has trimmed the tissue along the vein.

White Satin Moth Leucoma salicis (Lep.: Erebidae – Lymantriinae) Sharon Godkin

White Satin Moth Leucoma salicis (Lep.: Erebidae – Lymantriinae) Sharon Godkin

2019 June 10

   Jeremy Tatum sends photographs of two moths that ecloded today.

Herpetogramma thestealis (Lep.: Crambidae) Jeremy Tatum

Common Emerald Hemithea aestivaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

  I saw a Painted Lady at Royal Roads University yesterday, and another four on top of Mount Tolmie at 6:30 pm.