2021 August 20

 Message from Gordon Hart:

 Hello, Butterfly Counters,

The August count period starts Saturday, August 21 until Sunday, August 29. This is an informal census of butterfly numbers and species in Greater Victoria. The area is defined by the Christmas Bird Count circle, extending from Victoria to Brentwood Bay and Island View Road in Central Saanich, and west to Happy Valley and Triangle Mountain, and Langford Lake and Goldstream areas.

You can submit a count any time over the count period, just use a separate form for each count and location. In the case of repeat or duplicate counts, I will use the higher numbers. To submit counts, please use the form from the VNHS website at https://www.vicnhs.bc.ca/?p=33 .

If you have difficulty with the form, just send me an email with the information.   hartgordon19 at gmail dot com

Thank-you for submitting your sightings and good luck with your count.

Gordon Hart,

Butterfly Count Coordinator,

Victoria Natural History Society

Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:

On Wednesday August 18:   1 Pine White and 2 Woodland Skippers

on Thursday August 19:       3 Pine Whites and 2 Woodland Skippers

and at the light:

on Wednesday 1 Noctua pronuba

and today 1 Elophila icciusalis

Jeremy Tatum writes:  Elophila icciusalis is a most interesting moth – its caterpillar lives underwater and feeds on pondweeds.    It looks like a problem to pronounce.  I’d pronounce the icci part something like ick-see.

Elophila icciusalis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Jochen Möhr

Elophila icciusalis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Jochen Möhr

Aziza Cooper sends photographs of two grasshoppers from Panama Flats, August 19.

Melanoplus (probably bivittatus) (Orth.: Acrididae)  Aziza Cooper

Melanoplus (probably bivittatus) (Orth.: Acrididae)  Aziza Cooper

Jody Wells sends a picture of a moth from Brentwood Bay, August 18:

Sabulodes aegrotata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jody Wells

and two photographs of a most fearsome-looking robber fly from Englishman River Estuary – Parksville Aug 17,  kindly identified for us by Dr Rob Cannings as Scleropogon bradleyi.

Scleropogon bradleyi (Dip.: Asilidae)  Jody Wells

Scleropogon bradleyi (Dip.: Asilidae)  Jody Wells

    Jeremy Tatum writes:  This is the time of year when we start to see several species of “woolly bear” caterpillars.  This one, from Swan Lake, is a penultimate instar of Hyphantria cunea, the “Fall Webworm”.  The caterpillars form huge silken webs, often in alder or willow trees.  It is amazing how these caterpillars, with their masses of long hairs, can walk around in these silken webs.  The head is downward in his photograph.

Hyphantria cunea (Lep.:  Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Jeremy Tatum

2021 August 19

    Ron Flower writes:  Today August 19th, we went up to Cowichan Station again.  In front of the station house we found a Mylitta Crescent and half a dozen Cabbage Whites.  We then went to Kinsol Trestle and we found many Woodland Skippers and half way along the road back to Cowichan Station we found another Mylitta Crescent. We also saw two Lorquin’s Admirals.  Also yesterday, the 18th, at Panama Flats on the trail left of the tin shed just before the big bend, there were hundreds of Woodland Skippers on thistles.

Mylitta Crescent  Phyciodes mylitta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Ron Flower

Mylitta Crescent  Phyciodes mylitta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Ron Flower

2021 August 18

    Aziza Cooper sends a photograph of Neoalcis californiaria from the Nature House at Swan Lake, August 18.  The species can be a little variable.  Compare this one with Jochen Möhr’s of August 15.

Neoalcis californiaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Aziza Cooper

2021 August 17

    Jochen Möhr sends a picture of a highflyer  (Hydriomena sp) from Metchosin.  That’s a large genus and they can be hard to identify.  Libby Avis suggests possibly a July Highflyer H. furcata.  I don’t know if they fly particularly high!

Hydriomena (probably furcata) (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Bruce Whittington sends a photograph of a summer brood Margined White – probably a male – from Ladysmith, August 9.

Margined White Pieris marginalis (Lep.: Pieridae)  Bruce Whittington

2021 August 15

   Jochen Möhr sends a picture of Neoalcis californiaria from Metchosin.  He mentions that he has seen three Woodland Skippers, but no Pine Whites today.

Neoalcis californiaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Jeff Gaskin writes:  I saw some Vancouver Island Ringlets this afternoon, August15.  There were 7 at Viaduct flats by Markham Road and 7 on Camosun College lands by Markham Road also.