2020 May 19 evening

   Mark Wynja writes from Parksville:  On May 26, 2019, I saw a Dreamy Duskywing land along the side of the logging road to Rhododendron Lake. After a very brief observation (no photo), it flew away and was not seen again. This road is reached on the weekends via the NW Bay Logging Road.  I looked for this species numerous times last year and again this year. Then late yesterday (May 18th) I found at least two individuals and was able finally to get photos.

Dreamy Duskywing Erynnis icelus (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Mark Wynja

Dreamy Duskywing Erynnis icelus (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Mark Wynja

   Mark’s next photograph (writes Jeremy Tatum) shows that, like the Propertius Duskywing, many of the pale spots on the wings of these skippers are translucent.  (Photographers of  Propertius Duskywing – see if you can get a photo like this, from underneath, showing the translucent spots,)  The exact distribution of these translucent spots helps in the identification of several Erynnis species.  Here there are none in the basal half to two-thirds of each wing.  This is the first report of Erynnis icelus in this Invertebrate Alert site.  Although at first glance it looks somewhat similar to E. propertius, it is a much smaller butterfly.

Dreamy Duskywing Erynnis icelus (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Mark Wynja

   Judy Spearing writes:  I Just found four of these caterpillars by my large Red Elderberry shrub. Any
idea of what these moths are? One fell out of the elderberry and landed on me while I was taking photos.

Jeremy Tatum replies:  It is the caterpillar of the Elder Moth Zotheca tranquilla.

Elder Moth Zotheca tranquilla (Lep.: Noctuidae)

Judy Spearing

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Here is a cocoon of a plutellid moth, on an oak leaf from Christmas Hill.  We don’t (yet) know the species.

Plutellid cocoon (Lep.: Plutellidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Jeremy Tatum writes: I visited the Silvery Blue colony at the Colwood cut-off from the Trans-Canada Highway this afternoon.  Almost every lupin head bore several  (even a dozen or more) ova.  I saw about half-a-dozen adult butterflies.

Egg of Silvery Blue Glaucopsyche lygdamus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2020 May 19 morning

    Gordon Hart sends a photograph of a Green Pug, which he reared from caterpillar in the Highlands.

Green Pug Pasiphila rectangulata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Gordon Hart

   Mike Yip writes from Nanoose:  Two Painted Ladies and a steady stream of Pale Swallowtails and Western Spring Azures in my garden prompted me to trade in the rake and shovel for the camera. While I was at it, I decided to visit Cross Road knowing it was time for the Western Tailed Blues and Western Pine Elfins, and they were both in the exact same locations as in past years.

Pale Tiger Swallowtail  Papilio eurymedon (Lep.: Papilionidae)   Mik Yip

Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Mike Yip

Western Tailed Blue Everes amyntula (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Mike Yip

Western Tailed Blue Everes amyntula (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Mike Yip

Western Spring Azure Celastrina echo (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Mike Yip

Western Spring Azure Celastrina echo (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Mike Yip

Western Pine Elfin Incisalia eryphon (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Mike Yip

Painted Lady Vanessa cardui (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Mike Yip

   Peter Boon writes:  With the warm sunshine I went to Cross Road in Nanoose hoping for Western Tailed Blues and lo and behold I found some – at least two males and a female ovipositing on a vetch sp. There were also around 6 Western Spring Azures and 1 maybe 2 Western Pine Elfins.

Western Tailed Blue Everes eryphon  (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Peter Boon

Western Pine Elfin Incisalia eryphon (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Peter Boon

   Jochen Möhr’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

2 Eupithecia cretaceata

1 Eupithecia sp.

1 Egira rubrica

1 Melanolophia imitata

7 Tyria jacobaeae

3 Venusia obsoleta /pearsalli

also on the wall in previous afternoon:

2 Adela septentrionella 

1 Endrosis sarcitrella

Adela septentrionella (Lep.: Adelidae)  Jochen Möhr

Endrosis sarcitrella (Lep.: Oecophoridae)  Jochen Möhr

2020 May 18 evening

   Jochen Möhr’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

1 Apamea cinefacta 

1 Melanolophia imitata

1 Orthosia transparens

1 Perizoma curvilinea 

1 Pero sp.

8 Tyria jacobaeae

1 Udea profundalis

Udea profundalis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Jochen Möhr

Apamea cinefacta (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Pero sp. (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Rosemary Jona writes:  We hiked across Mount Bluff above Camp Barnard today  There were a few butterflies but only one stayed long enough to photograph.   On the Bluff we saw a Mourning Cloak. 3 Western Spring Azures and 1 Western Pine Elfin.  Walking back through Camp Barnard  there were 5 Western Spring Azures.   [Actually I think it was Rosemary who was walking back –  J.]

Western Spring Azure  Celastrina echo (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Rosemary Jorna

Honey Bee Apis mellifera (Hym.: Apidae)  Rosemary Jorna

Pacific Sideband Snail Monadenia fidelis (Pul.: Bradybaenidae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Jeff Gaskin writes:  Kirsten Mills and I had a good day butterflying along the railroad tracks at Cowichan station.  We saw a total of  7  species there:  2 Cabbage Whites,  3 Margined Whites,  26 Western Spring Azures,  2 Sara Orangetips,  2 Pale Tiger Swallowtails, 1 Painted Lady, and 1 Mylitta Crescent.  We also both had our first Western Tiger Swallowtail of the year at Cowichan Bay.

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  About 6 Painted Ladies on the reservoir or near the Jeffery Pine on Mount Tolmie, at 6 pm this evening.

2020 May 18 morning

   Here is a female mining bee from Mr E, identified for us by Lincoln Best:

Female mining bee Andrena sp. (Hym.: Andrenidae)  Mr E

   We didn’t manage to identify Rosemary Jorna’s aphids on May 14 morning, but Rosemary hopes that this Ladybird beetle will find them.  It has quattuordecim spots, so that should help.

Calvia quatuordecimguttata (Col.: Coccinellidae) Rosemary Jorna

2020 May 17 afternoon

   Jochen Möhr’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

1 Agrotis vancouverensis

1 Eupithecia cretaceata

3 Eupithecia spp.

4 Melanolophia imitata

1 Nola minna

1 Perizoma curvilinea

1 Pero sp.

2 Tyria jacobaeae

2 Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli

The Pero is giving us problems.  Jeremy thinks not mizon;  Libby thinks not behrensia or morrisonaria.  There are still a few to go, but our most honest guess is probably Pero honestaria.

Pero (probably honestaria) (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Pero (probably honestaria) (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Here are four spiders or spiderlings photographed by Mr E.  ‘Fraid we can go down only to Family level with these!

Jumping spider (Ara.: Salticidae)  Mr E

Crab spider (Ara.: Thomisidae)   Mr E

Tiny spiderling!  (Ara.: Theridiidae)  Mr E

Jumping spider (Ara.: Salticidae)  Mr E

   Robb Bennett sends a photograph of a Western Tiger Swallowtail chrysalis from a tree in southeast Saanich.  The butterfly emerged and is shown on May 27.

Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Robb Bennett

   Now here is a beetle photographed by Mr E.  If you compare it with his cantharid beetle shown on May 5, you may be tempted, at first glance, to think that they are the same species.  However, look more critically, and you’ll agree that they don’t have quite the same shape, and Scott Gilmore identifies it for us as Grammoptera molybdica from a quite different Family – Cerambycidae (Long-horned Beetles), and he says he has never actually seen this species himself!

Grammoptera molybdica (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Mr E

   Here’s an Adela moth photographed by Mr E.  Is it A.septentrionella  or is it A.trigrapha?  The white bars are broader in trigrapha than in septentrionella.  But are these bars broad enough?  Libby Avis settles it:  the white dot on the hindwing shows that it is Adela trigrapha.

Adela trigrapha (Lep.: Adelidae)

   The beetle Family Cerambycidae are called Long-horned Beetles, and the moth family Adelidae are called (at least in Britain) Long-horned Moths.  I have also seen in Saanich some Texas Longhorn Cattle – but they are not allowed on this site.

One more moth from Jochen, identified by Libby Avis as Plagodis pulveraria:

Plagodis pulveraria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr