2017 August 6, evening

   Samantha Hatfield sends photographs of a Pine White from the E&N bike trail in View Royal, and a Lorquin’s Admiral in the North Jubilee neighbourhood.   The usual orange wingtip in the latter is replaced, for some unknown reason, with white.

Male Pine White Neophasia menapia (Lep.: Pieridae)  Samantha Hatfield

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Samantha Hatfield

   Bill Katz sends photographs of two geometrid moths from Goldstream Park.  Thanks to Libby Avis for identifying the first of these for us.

Perizoma costiguttata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Bill Katz

Plemyria georgii (Lep.: Geometridae) Bill Katz

   Aziza Cooper went to Boas Road in the Spectacle Lake area on August 5 and reported:

1 Pine White

1 Lorquin’s Admiral

1 Grey Hairstreak

9 Woodland Skippers

She sends two photographs.  Grey Hairstreaks seem to like nectaring at Pearly Everlasting, which is also the larval foodplant.

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides (Lep.: Hesperiidae) Aziza Cooper

   Annie Pang sends some photographs of a fearful robber fly from Gorge Park, August 1.  Thanks to Rob Cannings for confirming her identification as Laphria fernaldi.

Male robber fly Laphria fernaldi (Dip.: Asilidae)  Annie Pang

Male robber fly Laphria fernaldi (Dip.: Asilidae)  Annie Pang

Male robber fly Laphria fernaldi (Dip.: Asilidae)  Annie Pang

Male robber fly Laphria fernaldi (Dip.: Asilidae)  Annie Pang

More to come tomorrow….

2017 August 5 evening

 From Gordon Hart:

Just a reminder for the VNHS monthly Butterfly Walk this Sunday, August 6.  We will meet at Mt Tolmie at 1 p.m. You can park at the main parking lot north of the summit, or in the lot by the reservoir where we will have an initial look for butterflies and then decide where to go from there.
Hope to see you Sunday!

   Debbie Mayzes writes from Lantzville that the moth below stayed at her house for a long time in June.     It is a Ceanothus Silk Moth Hyalophora euryalus.

Hyalophora euryalus (Lep.: Saturniidae)  Debbie Mayzes

August 5, morning

  From Gordon Hart:

Just a reminder for the VNHS monthly Butterfly Walk this Sunday, August 6.  We will meet at Mt Tolmie at 1 p.m. You can park at the main parking lot north of the summit, or in the lot by the reservoir where we will have an initial look for butterflies and then decide where to go from there.
Hope to see you Sunday!

Gordon also sends a photograph of a Pine White from the Highlands District, August 1.

Male Pine White Neophasia menapia (Lep.: Pieridae)  Gordon Hart

2017 August 4, 2017

Colias alert!

   Val George writes:  At the Tuesday VNHS birding walk Jeff Gaskin reminded me that it was about this time of year that Western Branded Skippers, Hesperia colorado, had been recorded at Saanichton Spit.  So this afternoon, Aug 3, I went out there to check it out and, sure enough, I found one amongst the other skippers.  It was nectaring on Gumweed  about 100 m along the path from the parking lot.  A bonus on the way out there was a sulphur butterfly about 150 m south of Michell’s Farm on Lochside Drive.  I was pretty sure it was an Orange Sulphur, Colias eurytheme, but it wouldn’t settle long enough for me to be 100 percent sure of the species.

Western Branded Skipper Hesperia colorado (Lep.: Hesperiidae) Val George

   Aziza Cooper writes: On Wednesday, Aug. 2 at Centennial Park, this Pine White was on the lawn near the picnic tables.

Male Pine White Neophasia menapia (Lep.: Pieridae)  Aziza Cooper

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Today (August 4) I walked from Island View Beach to Cordova (Saanichton) Spit to see if I could find the Western Branded Skippers that Val reported.  On the way from IVB to the Spit I saw a Purplish Copper, a Large Heath (“Ringlet”), several Woodland Skippers and even a rather late Essex (“European”) Skipper.  And then, when I reached the exact spot described by Val above, I came across two Western Branded Skippers obviously very much in love and  performing a prolonged nuptial display.

   Aziza Cooper writes:  Today, Friday, August 4, this bee was on a Chicory flower at Maber Flats.

Bombus melanopygus (Hym.: Apidae)  Aziza Cooper

2017 August 3

   Aziza Cooper photographed a spider at East Sooke Park on July 29, and we are indebted to Robb Bennett for identifying it for us:

Male Evarcha proszynski (Ara.: Salticidae) Aziza Cooper

   Scott Gilmore photographed a robber fly at Upper Lantzville on August 2, and we are indebted to Rob Cannings for identifying it for us.  Rob writes: This is a common Cordilleran asilid of mid and late summer.  It ranges across southern BC and south to California and Arizona.  Nice shot!

Robber fly Neomochtherus willistoni (Dip.: Asilidae)  Scott Gilmore

   Jeremy Tatum found the caterpillar below on crab apple on Lochside Drive north of Blenkinsop Lake on August 3.  It is a male Vapourer Moth, also known as the Rusty Tussock. There were several adult male Vapourer Moths flying in the same area.

Vapourer Moth Orgyia antiqua (Lep.: Erebidae – Lymantriinae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Also in that area were several Red Admiral caterpillars (but no Satyr Commas) on the stinging nettles.  The nettles were all very heavily covered in dust, and I am not sure whether the caterpillars will survive.  If anyone knows of a really nice nettle patch, where the nettles are in really good condition and not covered in dust, one could conduct a rescue operation and transfer the caterpillars to better surroundings.  Let me know.

  Jeremy writes: on August 1 I saw an adult Red Admiral at Witty Beach.  At 6:00 pm on August 2 there were still a few Painted Ladies and a West Coast Lady on the Mount Tolmie reservoir.  They were so worn as to be almost unrecognizable – but were still able to fly strongly and chase each other around.  Today, August 3, I saw my first Pine White of the year, on Lohbrunner Road.