2024 July 8 morning

   It was a very hot day yesterday for the July Butterfly Walk – probably too hot even for many butterflies.  Six participants braved the heat for the Walk.  Here is what we saw:

Mount Tolmie:
Lorquin’s Admiral – 2
Western Tiger Swallowtail – 2
Pale Tiger Swallowtail – 1
Cabbage White – 2

 Swan Lake:
Lorquin’s Admiral – 7
Western Tiger Swallowtail – 5
Cabbage White – 1
Essex Skipper – 15 or more

In addition, many dragonflies were seen at Swan Lake, including a Black Saddlebags.  Following is a selection of photographs taken during the Walk.

Pale Tiger Swallowtail Pterourus eurymedon  (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Aziza Cooper

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

Essex Skippers Thymelicus lineola (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Gordon Hart

 Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Gordon Hart

Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Aziza Cooper

Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Gordon Hart

   Here is a tiny, tiny moth photographed by Ian Cooper on June 24 in Colquitz River Park.  It is almost certainly one of the smallest moths, in the Family Nepticulidae, possibly genus Stigmella.

Possibly Stigmella sp. (Lep.: Nepticulidae)  Ian Cooper

Kirsten Mills writes:     July 6^th, Jeff Gaskin and I went looking for butterflies near Mount Cokely and Mount Arrowsmith.  The butterflies we saw included the following  :   13 Clodius Parnassians, 1 Cedar Hairstreak, 1 Mourning Cloak, 1 Sulphur species possibly Western seen only by Kirsten,  Western and Pale Tiger Swallowtails,  9 Hydaspe Fritillaries, and several Essex Skippers.

At Cowichan Station,  we saw an immature male and an adult male Common Whitetail and a Western Pondhawk.  Butterflies included Western Tiger Swallowtail, Lorquin’s Admiral, Essex Skippers and Cabbage Whites.

  Male Common Whitetail Plathemis lydia  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Kirsten Mills

Clodius Parnassian  Parnassius clodius  (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Kirsten Mills

Hydaspe Fritillary  Argynnis hydaspe (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Kirsten Mills

Hydaspe Fritillary  Argynnis hydaspe (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Kirsten Mills

    This species was formerly called Speyeria hydaspe.   However, the ATC treats Speyeria merely as a subgenus of Argynnis, which is the genus used for the European large fritillaries.

2024 July 7 evening

   On July 4 evening, we posted this photograph, taken by Ian Cooper, asking if anyone knew what it was!

Larva of elaterid beetle  (Col.: Elateridae)   Ian Cooper

  Beetle expert Charlene Wood knew what it is!   It is the larva of an elaterid beetle (click beetles). Charlene writes:  It’s not in the Ampedini – they are lighter yellow and have a conical terminal segment. Some members of the former “Ctenicera group” have the characteristics of the one photographed (brown-black with bifurcated, spiny terminal segment.

Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:  This morning for the first time this year some abundance of moths.

According to Chris, the light “was covered in those white guys”.  When I got up, there were merely two Leucoma salicis left, apparently a male and a female.   There were also one Callizzia amorata and one Emmelina monodactya, both beyond the reach of the camera.  Then there was a Hemithea aestivaria.  My attempt to get a decent image with my usual camera equipment failed miserably, but my son Marcel Hartges saved the day with his I-phone. And, finally, there was another Eulithis xylina.

Leucoma salicis  (Lep.:  Erebidae – Lymantriinae)  Jochen Möhr

Leucoma salicis  (Lep.:  Erebidae – Lymantriinae)  Jochen Möhr

Eulithis xylina  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Hemithea aestivaria  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Marcel Hartges

Ian Cooper writes:  Here is a selection of photographs taken yesterday afternoon and evening (July 06) by the ^E&N Trail and the #Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal near the 9 km marker.

#Crane fly Tipula pubera  (Dip.: Tipulidae)  Ian Cooper

# Male Snipe Fly. Probably Chrysopilus sp. (Dip.: Rhagionidae)   Ian Cooper

# Large Yellow Underwing Moth – Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Ian Cooper

#Moth fly  Psychoda sp. (Dip.: Psychodidae)  Ian Cooper

# Brown Lacewing  (Neu.: Hemerobiidae)   Ian Cooper

^ Asian Lady Beetle – Harmonia axyridis (Col.: Coccinellidae)   Ian Cooper

Pictures and report on today’s Butterfly Walk in tomorrow morning’s posting!

2024 July 7 morning

   Monthly Butterfly Walk this afternoon at 1:00 pm.   Details in yesterday’s (July 7) evening posting.

Jeremy Tatum writes:  At 6:00 am this morning, I has just finished washing my hands and face and the back of my neck, and I had pulled the towel towards me to dry my face, when the moth shown below suddenly flew out from between the folds of the towel and straight into my face.

Apamea amputatrix  (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2024 July 6 evening

Butterfly Walk, Sunday July 7
Message from Gordon Hart

This is a reminder for the Nature Victoria (VNHS) Butterfly Walk on Sunday, July 7.

We will meet at the Mount Tolmie summit by the reservoir, at 1.00 p.m. You can park in the parking lot there, or in the large lot north of the summit. After a look around the summit, we will decide on a destination from there.

I think we can be fairly certain of sunny weather, so come prepared for the heat, with water to keep hydrated, sunscreen, and suitable clothing.

You can review Vancouver Island butterflies at Val George’s website : https://vancouverislandbutterflies.com/

See you on Sunday,

Gordon Hart

Ian Cooper writes:  Here are a few more recent photos from the ^E&N trail and the #Galloping Goose trail in View Royal. Most were from my July 4 photo shoot. The Enoplognatha ovata spider was photographed on July 3rd.

# Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)    Ian Cooper

^ Larva of Asian Ladybeetle  Harmonia axyridis (Col.: Coccinellidae)  Ian Cooper

^ Seven-spotted Ladybird beetle – Coccinella septempunctata (Col.: Coccinellidae)
Ian Cooper

# Ground beetle – Pterostichus sp. (Col.: Carabidae)  Ian Cooper
Thanks to Scott Gilmore for confirmation of the genus

Unidentified tortricid moth  (Lep.: Tortricidae) Ian Cooper

# Enoplognatha ovata (Ara.: Theridiidae)  Ian Cooper

The Lorquin’s Admiral shown below was photographed at Jochen Möhr’s Metchosin residence by Jochen’s son while on a visit.

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini   (Lep.: Nymphalidae)   Marcel Hartges

2024 July 6 morning

  Ian Cooper writes:  Here is a selection of photos taken late on July 4 by the ^E&N trail and by the #Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal, as dusk gave way to nightfall.

Arion rufus (Pul.: Arionidae)   Ian Cooper

I was amazed at how big this slug was when I spotted it through the vegetation by the trail. Easily the largest slug of this species I’ve seen yet!

#Mosquito – Culiseta incidens (Dip.: Culicidae)   Ian Cooper

#Blue-green Sharpshooter Hordnia atropunctata (Hem.: Coccinellidae)   Ian Cooper

^Spittle Bug – Philaenus spumarius (Hem.: Cercopidae)   Ian Cooper

^Seven-spotted Ladybird – Coccinella septempunctata (Col.: Coccinellidae)
Ian Cooper