2016 September 17

   Libby Avis sends photographs of a caterpillar found on alder at Turtle Lake, Alberni Valley, September 9.  This is the Spear Moth, also known as Argent and Sable, Rheumaptera hastata.

 Rheumaptera hastata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Libby Avis

Rheumaptera hastata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Libby Avis

2016 September 16

   Gordon Hart came across two demonstration-size caterpillars within a few minutes and a few feet of each other at his Highlands garden today.

 Cerisy’s Eyed Hawk Moth Smerinthus cerisyi (Lep.: Sphingidae)  Gordon Hart

Polyphemus Moth Antheraea polyphemus (Lep.: Saturniidae)  Gordon Hart

   There are still lots of Cabbage Whites around, and Jeremy Tatum watched one ovipositing on Cakile at Weir’s Beach today.  There’s a photograph of one of the eggs below.

Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae)  Jeremy Tatum

   The Pale Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar that Devon Parker found on Mount Sicker (see September 9 posting) pupated today.  Photograph below.

Pale Tiger Swallowtail Papilio eurymedon (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Jeremy Tatum

  Jeff Gaskin writes:  Kirsten Mills, tells me that on Tuesday September 13 she and Marie O’Shaughnessy saw a Pine White in East Sooke Park by Aylard Farm.

2016 September 14 morning

   Now is the season for woolly bear caterpillars.   Two different sorts appeared on the September 11 posting.  Ron Flower sends pictures of a third species, from Panama Flats, September 12.  These are colour varieties of the Yellow Woolly Bear Spilosoma virginica.  Keep a look-out for the Banded Woolly Bear.  October is their peak season, but a few will probably be spotted in September. Panama Flats is a good location to find them.

Spilosoma virginica (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Ron Flower

Spilosoma virginica (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Ron Flower

   Ron also photographed a male Purplish Copper on Grindelia at the sand parking lot by the pump house on Island View Beach, September 12.

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

   Jeff Gaskin tells us that yesterday, September 13, he and the Tuesday Group saw a Red Admiral in flight over the Lochside trail between Dooley and Sayward Roads.

   Rosemary Jorna sends some photographs of grasshoppers from Broom Hill.  Thanks to James Miskelly for the identifications.

Camnula pellucida (Orth.: Acrididae)  Rosemary Jorna

 Trimerotropis fontana (Orth.: Acrididae)  Rosemary Jorna

Trimerotropis fontana (Orth.: Acrididae)  Rosemary Jorna

2016 September 13

   Tonight:  At Fraser  159, UVic,  7:30 pm.  Catherine Scott will talk about her observations on Latrodectus hesperus  (Ara.: Theridiidae) at Island View Beach.  This will be of great interest to all viewers of this site.

   Rosemary Jorna sends an interesting photograph from Broom Hill.  Thanks to Jeremy Gatten for identifying the snail for us.   The tiny invertebrate next to it is of interest.  Thanks to Rob Cannings who identified it as a springtail of the Family (recognized by the globular shape) Sminthuridae.  Whether springtails regularly feed on snail slime or whether the springtail randomly encountered the snail in passing will need to be resolved by further observations, although Rosemary writes that it kept going back to make contact with the snail. Rob writes: Springtails eat many things, from fungal hyphae and spores to bacteria and components of decomposing plant and animal material of all sorts. I bet they could get lots of nutritious things from snail slime.

Northwest Hesperian Snail Vespericola columbianus (Pul.: Polygyridae)

Jeremy Tatum comments.  At one time, springtails were insects – but the taxonomists have been busy since then.  We now have an Arthropod Subphylum called Hexapoda, which includes two Classes,  Insecta and Entognatha.  Springtails (Order Collembola) are now Entognatha, no longer Insecta.  Another animal that many of us are familiar with (but we wish we weren’t), which was an insect but is now an entognath, is the Firebrat (Order Thysanura, Family Lepismatidae)  that shares our homes with us. At least I think that’s what it was last year.  Who knows what the next revision will bring?

2016 September 12

   Gordon Hart sends the results of the August Butterfly Count, as follows:  (August 2015 numbers in parentheses)

Anise Swallowtail                               1          (0)

Cabbage White                              302      (259)

Cedar Hairstreak                               0          (1)

“Ringlet”                                           32        (19)

Grey Hairstreak                                 0          (4)

Lorquin’s Admiral                              4          (5)

Mourning Cloak                                 0          (2)

Painted Lady                                       5          (6)

Pale Tiger Swallowtail                       0          (3)

Pine White                                          6          (2)

Purplish Copper                                  0          (2)

Red Admiral                                        0          (3)

West Coast Lady                                 0          (1)

Sulphur sp.                                          1          (0)

Western Tiger Swallowtail                1          (3)

Woodland Skipper                         357      (595)

Total                                                 709      (905)

Observers                                         12        (17)

Reports                                             29        (40)

Locations covered                            27

   Jeff Gaskin saw a  skipper (presumably woodland) today on Cecilia Avenue.

   More reports of interesting invertebrates received today – but they’ll have to wait until tomorrow’s posting!  Jeremy Tatum