2022 August 31 morning

     Ian Cooper recently photographed two Psyllobora lady beetles that look rather similar, but which are different species.  The two photographs make a useful comparison of the two.  Scott Gilmore writes:  The close up one is P. borealis and the other is a darker form of P. vigintimaculata. The second one can be quite variable but never has a small isolated spot near the outer edge of the elytra. 

Psyllobora borealis (Col.: Coccinellidae)  Ian Cooper

Psyllobora vigintimaculata (Col.: Coccinellidae)  Ian Cooper

2022 August 30

   Colias alert!

     Mike McGrenere writes:  I cycled out to the Martindale area in the early afternoon and stopped at McIntyre reservoir. As I walked along the west side of the reservoir, an Orange Sulphur was flying around with Cabbage Whites.

   Jochen Möhr photographed these moths at his Metchosin home last night.  Also there, but not photographed, were five Udea profondalis.

Spargania magniolata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Spargania magniolata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Xestia xanthographa (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Xestia xanthographa (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Xestia xanthographa (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Neoalcis californiaria (Lep.:  Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Ian Cooper photographed this curious creature two nights ago at Colquitz Creek Park.  We do not know for certain what it is, but we assume that it is a bug (Hemiptera) and possibly either an adult or a nymph from the large mirid genus Phytocoris.  If any viewer has an idea, please do let us know.

Unidentified bug, possibly Phytocoris sp. (Hem.: Miridae)   Ian Cooper

   Ian photographed the following spiders in the middle of the night last night.

Zygiella sp. (Ara.: Araneidae)  Ian Cooper

Philodromid spider (Ara.: Philodromidae)

Immature male in the Philodromus/Rhysodromus group of species

Ian Cooper

Male Araneus diadematus (Ara.: Araneidae)  Ian Cooper

Jody Wells sends a photograph of a Black Saddlebags from Brentwood Bay, today, August 30.

Black Saddlebags Tramea lacerata (Odo.: Libellulidae) Jody Wells

2022 August 29

    Jeremy Tatum writes:  Shortly before ecdysis (skin-change from one instar to the next) the caterpillar of a butterfly or moth typically appears “two-headed”.  The head of the “new” caterpillar is withdrawn into the thoracic area of the “old” skin.  The first (foremost) head that you can see is the now-empty head capsule of the “old” caterpillar.  Behind this you can see the head of the “new” caterpillar inside the ”old” skin.  We see in the photograph the “double-head” of an eyed hawk moth caterpillar shortly going to change from fourth instar to fifth.

Smerinthus ophthalmica (Lep.: Sphingidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Cheryl Hoyle sends photographs of two leafhoppers and a presumed leafhopper nymph from View Royal, August 28.

Blue-green Sharpshooter Hordnia atropunctata (Hem.:  Cicadellidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Rhododendron Leafhopper Graphocephala fennahi (Hem.: Cicadellidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Presumed leafhopper nymph (Hem.: Cicadellidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   Aziza Cooper sends photographs of a butterfly and a dragonfly from Swan Lake, August 28:

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

Blue-eyed Darner Rhionaeschna multicolor (Odo.: Aeshnidae)  Aziza Cooper

   Ian Cooper photographed these two spiders in the middle of the night (August 27/28) at Colquitz Creek Park.  We thank Dr Robb Bennett for confirming Ian’s accurate identifications.  Of the first, Dr Bennett writes:  This is a clubionid, a species of Clubiona. There are quite a few species in BC but I suspect this one is the introduced species Clubiona lutescens.

Clubiona (probably lutescens) (Ara.: Clubionidae)  Ian Cooper

Immature Callobius pictus (Ara.: Amaurobiidae)  Ian Cooper

Harvestman (identification uncertain) (Opiliones)  Ian Cooper

   We thank Claudia Copley for confirming Ian’s identification of the camel cricket below.

Camel cricket Pristoceuthophilus sp. (Orth.: Rhaphidophoridae)  Ian Cooper

   Just before presstime, we heard from Jeremy Gatten that he had seen a Swift Forktail yesterday by the Vancouver Island Trout Hatchery close to the Cowichan River in Duncan.  In case anyone is wondering, that’s a damselfly, Ischnura erratica.

2022 August 28

    Correction:  We had incorrectly labelled a dragonfly on the evening posting for August 24.  The label has now been corrected.  See that posting for the discovery by Mike Yip of the second-ever sighting of a Cherry-faced Meadowhawk on Vancouver Island

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  This micro was on the wall of my Saanich apartment building this morning – identified by Libby Avis as a member of the difficult crambid Subfamily Scopariinae – a group that probably needs a lot of work to sort out the various genera and species.

Micro moth (Lep.: Crambidae  – Scopariinae)  Jeremy Tatum

Jochen Möhr photographed this Dargida procinctus in Metchosin on August 22.  The photograph somehow got lost in the big bunch of photographs received by Invert Alert in the last few days!

Girdler Moth  Dargida procinctus  (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Jochen has four more moth photographs from Metchosin today:

Neoalcis californiaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Neoalcis californiaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Udea profundalis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Jochen Möhr

The fourth is an underside view – always a challenge to identify.   Jochen hazards a “wild guess” at Noctua pronuba.   Jeremy Tatum  writes:  I’d say it is better than a wild guess, but a very good guess indeed.  The shape is just right for N.pronuba.  I don’t know that this shape uniquely identifies it, but it is certainly characteristic, and I am happy to label it as a “probable”!

Probably Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Ian Cooper photographed this spider on rough conifer bark in Colquitz Creek Park at 4:00 am, August 28.  Dr Robb Bennett writes:  I think that’s one of the long-jawed orbweavers (Tetragnathidae) that don’t have long jaws – we have 3 species (2 native, 1 introduced)  of Metellina .   Most likely M. curtisi. But could be M. segmentata or the introduced M. mimetoides.

Zygiella sp. (Ara.: Araneidae)  Ian Cooper

Zygiella sp. (Ara.: Araneidae)   Ian Cooper

   Jeemy Tatum writes:  At 5:00 pm today, Sunday August 28, two Red Admirals were on the Mount Tolmie reservoir.  One was very worn – possibly the same one reported by Jeff Gaskin on August 21.  In spite of being worn, both butterflies flew very strongly, chasing each other round and round as though it were spring.

More tomorrow…

2022 August 27

    Cheryl Hoyle seems to have discovered an effective moth attractant – ripe figs!  Here are some moths from View Royal, August 20.

Catocala aholibah  (Lep.: Erebidae – Erebinae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  ‘Fraid we can’t be sure what the two noctuid moths are – but they do serve to show how huge the Catocala is.   Catocalas  can be difficult to determine to species, but I’m pretty sure this is aholibah.  Here’s another one:

Catocala aholibah  (Lep.: Erebidae – Erebinae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Xestia xanthographa (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Libby Avis writes, of the next one:  It is a Homorthodes for sure – either communis or fractura. Hard to tell apart. I think more likely communis which is the more common, but maybe best to leave it at genus.

Homorthodes communis/fractura (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Homorthodes communis/fractura (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

We received two ant photographs on consecutive days.  It is well to remember that not all ants by any means are Formica  – they are scattered through many genera.  Of the two below, one, a wood ant eyeing the ripe fig, is Formica;  the other, a carpenter ant, isn’t.

Wood ant Formica sp. (Hym.:  Formicidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Western Black Carpenter Ant  Camponotus modoc (Hym.: Formicidae)  Ian Cooper

   Here are a few more of Ian Cooper’s photographs, taken locally after dark in the last 30 days.

Thanks to Dr Robb Bennett for identifying the cybaeid spider.

Cybaeus (possibly signifer) (Ara.: Cybaeidae)  Ian Cooper

Enoplognatha ovata (Ara.: Theridiidae)  Ian Cooper

Jumping bristletail Pedetontus (possibly saltator) (Microcoryphia:  Machilidae)

  Ian Cooper

Unidentified but probably an ichneumonid wasp (Hym.: Ichneumonidae)  Ian Cooper

Crane fly (Dip.: Tipulidae)  Ian Cooper

Crane fly (Dip.: Tipulidae) Ian Cooper