2023 June 7 morning

    Swallowtail butterflies and Lorquin’s Admirals are in full swing just now.   Jochen Möhr counted seven swallowtails simultaneously on June 6 at the intersection of Metchosin and Lagoon Roads. He shows photographs of two individual Pale Tiger Swallowtails.

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

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

   Jeremy Tatum reports that on the evening of July 6 there were still a Red Admiral and a Pacific Coast Lady on the Mount Tolmie reservoir, still flying strongly, although beginning to look a little beyond their Best Before date.

Judy Smith found a cluster of Ladybird Beetle eggs of a leaf of one of her tomato plants in Victoria.  I think, writes Jeremy Tatum, that these are probably the introduced Asiatic Harmonia axyridis, because I believe the eggs of most of our native ladybirds are rather more elongated than these are.

Ladybird eggs, probably Harmonia axyridis (Col.: Coccinellidae)
Jeremy Tatum

   Aziza Cooper sends photographs of a Lorquin’s Admiral and a Blue Dasher from Swan Lake, June 4.

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini  (Lep.:  Nymphalidae)
Aziza Cooper

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

2023 June 6 evening

    Here are some photographs by Marie O’Shaughnessy on June 5 of butterflies on Mount Tolmie and dragon/damselflies (“odonates”) at Swan Lake.

Anise Swallowtail  Papilio zelicaon  (Lep.: Papilionidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Anise Swallowtail  Papilio zelicaon  (Lep.: Papilionidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Pale Tiger Swallowtail Papilio eurymedon  (Lep.: Papilionidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Tule Bluets  Enallagma carunculatum (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Paddletail Darner Aeshna palmata  (Odo.: Aeshnidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis  (Odo.: Libellulidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Blue Dashers Pachydiplax longipennis  (Odo.: Libellulidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Left:   Malacosoma disstria (Lep.: Lasiocampidae)
Right: Pachydiplax longipennis  (Odo.: Libellulidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Jeremy Tatum writes:  Mount Tolmie this evening, 5:45 pm,  one each of Western Spring Azure, Pacific Coast Lady, Red Admiral, Lorquin’s Admiral and a few Western Tiger Swallowtails.

Jeff Gaskin writes:   Today, June 6, there was a Common Whitetail in Cuthbert Holmes Park.  Also, here today were an Eight-spotted Skimmer and several Blue-eyed Darners.   Butterflies were the usual 5 or 6 Lorquin’s Admirals, some Western Tiger Swallowtails and a few Cabbage Whites.

2023 June 6 morning

    Some good news from Ron Flower:  On June 5 we stopped into the small native graveyard on West Saanich Road and happily found at least three Field Crescents.

Female Field Crescent Phyciodes pratensis (Lep.: Nymphalidae)
Ron Flower

Male Field Crescent Phyciodes pratensis (Lep.: Nymphalidae)
Ron Flower

Not so good news is that we seem to have lost the Colwood turn-off colony of Silvery Blues.  There are few Lupins there now, and, in several visits this year and last, there have been no sightings of adults or ova.    Perhaps someone might check the Koksilah Road colony soon.

We are approaching the end of the Western Spring Azure season.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  I saw one yesterday at Swan Lake.  Let us know if any further ones are seen.

More nice pics later today…

2023 June 5 evening

    Here are some more photographs (not of butterflies!) from yesterday’s Butterfly Walk.

 Sand Wasp Bembix (probably americana) (Hym.: Crabronidae)
Gordon Hart

Tule Bluet Enallagma carunculatum  (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)
Gordon Hart

Cardinal Meadowhawk Sympetrum illotum (Odo.: Libellulidae)
Gordon Hart

Cardinal Meadowhawk Sympetrum illotum (Odo.: Libellulidae)
Gordon Hart

Eight-spotted Skimmer Libellula forensis (Odo.: Libellulidae)
Gordon Hart

2023 June 5 morning

    We open this morning’s posting with the successful identification by Dr Rob Cannings and Bill Savale of what we regard as rather obscure organisms, which we initially thought no one could possibly identify!  First is a Pacific Forktail damselfly bearing some small objects on its underside, photographed by Gordon Hart  in the Highlands on June 4.  Dr Cannings writes:

These are the sessile larvae of aquatic mites (adults are free-living in the water) in the genus Arrenurus. They are common on the adults of many Odonata species. See  Hydrachnidia – Wikipedia  and 300.pdf (indiabiodiversity.org)

This mite genus also attacks other insects with aquatic stages in their life cycles, such as mosquitoes, chironomids, aquatic Hemiptera, and so on.

Arrenurus sp. (Acari:  Hydrachnidia)
on Ischnura cervula (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)
Gordon Hart

The other obscure organism was some galls found on the leaves of Sasaktoonberry Amelanchier alnifolia by Aziza Cooper.  These were identified by Billl Savale as galls formed by the gall midge Blaesodiplosis sp.

Galls on Amelanchier formed by Blaesodiplosis sp.
(Dip.: Cecidomyidae)
Aziza Cooper

Yesterday, June 4, the Victoria NHS held its Monthly Butterfly Walk led by Gordon Hart.  Aziza Cooper reports:

Seven people found a total of nine species:

On Mt Tolmie reservoir, 1 pm:
Western Tiger Swallowtail – 1
Pale Tiger Swallowtail -3
Anise Swallowtail – 1
Lorquin’s Admiral – 1
Cabbage White – 1

At Mcintyre Reservoir:
Cabbage White – 4

At Island View Beach:
Common (Vancouver Island) Ringlet – 2
Pale Tiger Swallowtail – 1
Lorquin’s Admiral – 2

At Mt. Tolmie at 4 pm:
Red Admiral – 1
West Coast Lady – 1
Painted Lady – 2
Western Tiger Swallowtail – 2
Cabbage White – 3

   Here are a few photographs obtained during the Walk.  We may be able to post a few more later.

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)
Aziza Cooper

West Coast Lady Vanessa annabella (Lep.: Nymphalidae)
Aziza Cooper

Tule Bluet Enallagma carunculatum (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)
Aziza Cooper

Eight-spotted Skimmer Libellula forensis (Odo.: Libellulidae)
Aziza Cooper

Cardinal Meadowhawk  Sympetrum illotum  (Odo.: Libellulidae) Aziza Cooper