2017 April 30

   Thomas Barbin made some interesting observations in the Highlands on April 28, of a pair of jumping spiders “not wasting any time” as Mike Yip would have delicately put it.  And the female was multitasking – eating a third jumping spider at the same time as enjoying the company of the male.  Here is a photograph of one of the spiders, kindly identified by Catherine Scott.

 Jumping spider Evarcha proszynskii (Ara.: Salticidae) Thomas Barbin

Ken Vaughan photographed a few insects in the wind today.   The first is a bee fly.  We don’t know whether it is the European Bombylius major or the native B. aureus.  If anyone can help us with this, please do get in touch.  jtatum at uvic dot ca

Bee fly Bombylius major/aureus (Dip.: Bombyliidae)  Ken Vaughan

Honey Bee Apis mellifera (Hym.: Apidae)  Ken Vaughan

Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae)   Ken Vaughan

Val George sends a photograph of the underside of a California Tortoiseshell that was near the Observatory this afternoon, April 30.  The only other butterflies were two Sara Orangetips.

California Tortoiseshell  Nymphalis californica (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Val George

2017 April 29

Callophrys versus Incisalia

Jeremy Tatum

   I have been labelling our elfins in this site under the genus Incisalia.  It has been suggested to me that Incisalia  is an “invalid” appellation, and that I should be using Callophrys instead.  I am by no means unaware of this situation, but unfortunately it is not as simple as asserting that one name is wrong and the other name is right.

  The generic, specific and English names of our elfins have been changing every few years for as long as I remember – the Brown and Moss’s Elfins even more so than the two Pine Elfins.  In particular they have long been bouncing back and forth between Incisalia  and Callophrys.  Who, for example, would imagine that the Salal Butterfly Callophrys augustinus is the same as the Western Brown Elfin Incisalia iroides?

  To those who retain the two names as separate genera, North American elfins come in two colours – green (there are none of these in Victoria) and brown. The green ones are Callophrys, and the brown ones are Incisalia.  Apparently, however, when you look at species from around the world in these genera, the distinction between green and brown elfins become much less distinct, and it looks more and more as if they should all be placed in a single genus – namely the older of the two names, Callophrys.

  So, what should I do in the Invertebrate Alert site?  Since the site started in 2010 (when the generic name used was Incisalia), we have posted 55 photographs of elfins – 10 of the Western Pine, 29 of the Western Brown, and 16 of Moss’s.   Should I go back through the site changing the labels on all 55 photographs on our Web site as well as on the original master copies, and also the Index entries?  This would be a rather large and time-consuming job – the more so when I point out that the elfins are by no means the only butterflies with a long and complicated taxonomic history.  I would be prepared to do this, provided that I were to get a firm assurance from the taxonomists that they would not change their minds yet again.  (Unlikely!)   Or should I leave the past entries as they are, but from now on use the name Callophrys?  In that case the butterflies would have different names on different dates in the Invert Alert site.

  Being a firm believer in the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, and also conscious of the amount of time I can devote to such matters, I am going to continue, at least for the time being, to use the name Incisalia.  I hope that viewers will understand that this is not because of ignorance, and that they will in any case agree with Juliet when she asked: “What’s in a name?  That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

  One last small point may be of interest to those of us who have some familiarity with British butterflies.  It will be noticed that the Green Hairstreak is structurally more similar to what we in North America call elfins than to more typical hairstreaks.  For example, it has no tails, and it has a (very) slightly recurved hindwing tornus.  It is a green butterfly, and is a Callophrys.

  And, talking of names, Annie Pang sends in photographs of the ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis, which has had so many English names attached to it that I call it the “Many-named Ladybird”.  It is also very variable in colour pattern, but it can often be recognised by the W mark on the top of the thorax, well shown in the first of Annie’s photographs below.

 Harmonia axyridis (Col.: Coccinellidae)   Annie Pang

Harmonia axyridis (Col.: Coccinellidae)   Annie Pang

2017 April 28

   Thomas Barbin took the photographs below of a robber fly in the Highlands District on April 24.  We are grateful to Rob Cannings for identifying it as a female Nicocles canadensis.  Rob notes that Saanich is the type locality.  That is, the individual specimen from which the species was originally formally described was taken in Saanich.  If in doubt as to the identity of a robber fly that looks like this one, that Saanich type specimen is the original definitive specimen with which other specimens must ultimately be compared.  Those of us who live in Saanich can now take pride in our famous municipality.  Perhaps this fly should replace the introduced and all-but-disappeared pheasant on the Saanich coat-of-arms, and the Saanich Latin motto Populo serviendo could be replaced with Nicocles canadensis.

Robber fly Nicocles canadensis (Dip.: Asilidae)  Thomas Barbin

 Robber fly Nicocles canadensis (Dip.: Asilidae)  Thomas Barbin

   Annie Pang sends a picture of a Two-spotted Ladybird from Gorge Park, April 24.

 Two-spotted Ladybird Adalia bipunctata (Col.: Coccinellidae)  Annie Pang

   Jeremy Tatum writes: I have just spent two hours in the Pike Lake Substation area of Munn Road, determined to spot Epirrhoe plebeculata ovipositing – but I didn’t see a single moth.  And as for butterflies, in  two hours I saw one Sara Orangetip and one Western Spring Azure.  This continuing lack of butterflies is astonishing.

  On a more positive note, a message has just come in from Mike Yip of Nanoose Bay, who writes:  Western Pine Elfins are finally flying on Cross Road, and they aren’t wasting any time. (Neither are the bee flies.) Also seen was one Western Brown Elfin and several fly-by probable Western Spring Azures.

Western Pine Elfins Incisalia eryphon (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Mike Yip

 Bee flies Bombylius major (Dip.: Bombyliidae)  Mike Yip

   And in case any of you are wondering what Epirrhoe plebeculata is – the one I keep saying I am wanting to see ovipositing – Mike conveniently sends a photograph:

Epirrhoe plebeculata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Mike Yip

2017 April 27 evening

   Two more Thomas Barbin photographs:

Nothochrysa californica (Neu: Chrysopidae) Thomas Barbin

       Thomas tells us that Wayne Maddison says the jumping spider below is either Pelegrina aeneola or Metaphidippus mania, but it is hard to tell since it is a juvenile.

Jumping spider (Ara.: Salticidae)  Thomas Barbin

Ian Cruickshank sends a photograph of a hover fly and an ant from Green Point, Long Beach, Pacific Rim National Park, April 26. Fly identified by Jeff Skevington; ant by Rob Higgins.

 Sericomyia sp. (Dip.: Syrphidae)  Ian Cruickshank

Formica sp.  (fusca group) (Hym.: Formicidae)  Ian Cruickshank

Ian also sends a photograph of a Western Brown Elfin from Wickanninish Dunes, April 24.

Western Brown Elfin Incisalia iroides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Ian Cruickshank

2017 April 27 morning

   Here are some recent photographs from Thomas Barbin, taken in the Highlands in the last ten days or so.

 Ichneumon wasp (Hym.: Ichneumonidae – Anomaloninae)  Thomas Barbin

Ichneumon wasp (Hym.: Ichneumonidae – Anomaloninae)  Thomas Barbin

Western Brown Elfin Incisalia iroides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Thomas Barbin

 Carpenter Ant Camponotus vicinus (Hym.: Formicidae) Thomas Barbin

Myopa sp. (Dip.: Conopidae)  Thomas Barbin

 Myopa sp. (Dip.: Conopidae)  Thomas Barbin

Cuckoo bee (Hym.: Apidae – Nomadinae) Thomas Barbin

Cuckoo bee (Hym.: Apidae – Nomadinae) Thomas Barbin

San Francisco Lacewing Nothochrysa californica (Neu.: Chrysopidae)

Thomas Barbin

 Sawfly (Hymenoptera – Symphyta)  Thomas Barbin