2020 April 23

St George’s Day

   Mr E sends a photograph of a Yellow-bordered TaIldropper Slug from Saanich (rather a large area!) yesterday:

Prophysaon foliolatum (Pul.: Arionidae)  Mr E

   And a non-biting midge, Family Chironomidae,  possibly genus Chironomus.  Although we cannot be absolutely certain of the genus, we can at least be certain of the sex.  The males have large feathery antennae;  this one is a female.

Non-biting midge (Dip.: Chironomidae)  Mr E

Non-biting midge (Dip.: Chironomidae)  Mr E

   And a young spiderling.  Dr Bennett writes:  A juvenile theridiid, a species of broad-sense “Theridion” which includes a number of genera more-or-less recently split off from Theridion.

Spiderling  (Ara.: Theridiidae)  Mr E

   Jochen Möhr’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

2 Egira rubrica

1 Egira simplex/crucialis

1 Feralia comstocki

4 Hydriomena manzanita 

4 Melanolophia imitata

1 Orthosia revicta

1 Orthosia praeses

1 Orthosia transparens

4 Venusia obsoleta /pearsalli 

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  On April 21 and 22 we showed clear unambiguous examples from Jochen of Egira crucialis  and E. simplex.  It seemed that the problem was solved.  Now Jochen comes up with the moth below.  Libby Avis and I are in complete agreement – we don’t know which of the two it is!

Egira crucialis/simplex (Lep. Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Egira rubrica (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

  Thanks to Libby for spotting the ID of the next one – I was on the point of posting it as something else!  Jeremy Tatum.

Orthosia revicta (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Orthosia praeses (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Orthosia transparens (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Feralia comstocki (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Here is a caterpillar of a Winter Moth.  It came in on a leaf that was intended for someone else, but I thought I might as well photograph it before putting it out again on Mount Tolmie.  At this time of year it is difficult to find foodplants that do not already have one or more Winter Moth caterpillars per twig.

Winter Moth Operophtera brumata (Lep.: Geometridae) Jeremy Tatum

2020 April 22

   Mr E sends photographs of some miscellaneous creatures from around Elk Lake.

Not identified at press time. Suggestions, anyone?  Believed to be an aphidid.   Mr E

   For the spider below, Mr E tentatively identified it correctly as Callobius sp., so we are glad to have Robb Bennett’s confirmation.  Dr Bennett writes:  One of our two local common woodland amaurobiids – Callobius severus.  Very slight possibility it’s Callobius pictus but I think severus is correct. They are one of several spider species that I commonly find in my firewood pile.  And their tangly matted webs are often a feature of old Douglas-fir bark.

Callobius severus (Ara.: Amaurobiidae)  Mr E

     Mr E also suggested Epuraea for the beetle below, so we are delighted to have confirmation of this from Scott Gilmore.

Epuraea sp. (Col.: Nitidulidae)  Mr E

Not identified at press time. Believed to be a nymph of a bug. Suggestions, anyone?

Jochen Möhr’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

2 Egira simplex

1 Egira rubrica

1 Eupithecia sp.

1 Eupithecia graefii

1 Feralia comstocki

4 Hydriomena manzanita 

1 Melanolophia imitata

2 Orthosia transparens

2 Perizoma curvilinea

1 Phyllodesma americana

1 Tyria jacobaeae

5 Venusia obsoleta /pearsalli

Yesterday, writes Jeremy Tatum, we mentioned the difficulty that we often have in separating Egira crucialis from E. simplex, and we showed a picture of what I said was an ideal E. crucialis.  Today, Jochen provides us with two pictures of what I what describe as truly ideal Egira simplex. 

Egira simplex (Lep. Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Egira simplex (Lep. Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

American Lappet Moth Phyllodesma americana  (Lep.: Lasiocampidae)  Jochen Möhr

Cinnabar Moth Tyria jacobaeae (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Jochen Möhr

2020 April 21

   Val George writes:  Yesterday, April 20, I conducted my April butterfly count for Mount Douglas and the surrounding area.  The result was:  10 Cabbage Whites, 10 Western Spring Azures, 3 California Tortoiseshells, 2 Sara Orangetips, 2 Grey Hairstreaks. 

Jeremy Tatum writes:  I saw just one California Tortoiseshell on the Mount Tolmie reservoir at 6:00 pm yesterday.  But at UVic I saw a Pacific Sideband also known as Faithful Snail, which some might say is just as beautiful in its own modest way.

Pacific Sideband Monadenia fidelis (Pul.: Bradybaenidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Libby Avis writes:  I got a Ufeus satyricus at the light here in Port Alberni April 19th. First time we’ve seen one here. I don’t think there are many reports of it on the island. You posted one from Jeremy Gatten three years ago.  [See Invert Alert for 2017 March 13.]

Ufeus satyricus (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Libby Avis

   Jochen Möhr’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

2 Behrensia conchiformis 

1 Egira crucialis

1 Egira curialis

1 Egira rubrica

2 Feralia comstocki

4 Hydriomena manzanita 

2 Melanolophia imitata 

1 Orthosia praeses 

1 Orthosia transparens

1 Perizoma curvilinea

1 Tyria jacobaeae

5 Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli 

Egira crucialis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

   [Jeremy Tatum remarks:  Followers of this site will have noticed that we have a lot of difficulty separating E. simplex and E. crucialis.  This one, to me at any rate, is a rare case where I think we can be as sure as sure that this is indeed an ideal C. crucialis.]

Egira curialis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Egira rubrica (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Behrensia conchiformis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Orthosia praeses (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Feralia comstocki (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Feralia comstocki (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

2020 April 20 afternoon

   Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:

   We have very regular visits of Sara Orangetips from about 11 am to 5 pm.  Yesterday, I watched continuously from 3:45 to 4:45, and in that hour counted 18 Sara Orangetips which gives an average interval of a bit over three minutes between sightings.  In reality the interval between sightings was more like five to twenty minutes, but repeatedly, I saw two or three simultaneously.  Some females hovered at length among the grasses and I think they were ovipositing. [The eggs are laid on Arabis glabra and other related brassicaceous plants (not cabbage!).  Jeremy Tatum]  I saw about 1 Western Spring Azure for every three orangetips, and only one single Cabbage White and one Comma all day. 

   But walking through the meadow, I got close to one Western Spring Azure and one Moss’s Elfin.

Western Spring Azure Celastrina echo (Lep.: Lycaenidae) Jochen Möhr

Moss’s Elfin Incisalia mossii (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Jochen Möhr

   Jochen continues:  Today, I watched from my deck from 10:45 to 11:45 AM.  In that hour, I had 19 sightings of Orangetips,with up to three simultaneously appearing.  I also saw two Western Spring Azures  and one white, presumably a Cabbage White, which engaged in a dance with one of the orangetips, both rising high above the tree tops.

   Jochen’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

1 Anticlea vasiliata

1 Behrensia conchiformis

4 Cladara limitaria 

1 Eupithecia graefii

1 Feralia comstocki

5 Hydriomena manzanita

4 Melanolophia imitata

1 Perizoma curvilinea

1 Schreckensteinia festaliella

1 Unidentified pyralid

2 Xanthorhoe defensaria

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  Schreckensteinia festaliella is quite a mouthful for a tiny moth scarcely larger than a House Fly.  The Family name, Schreckensteiniidae, is probably not familiar to everyone.  The caterpillar feeds on Salmonberry and Raspberry, so, if you grow Raspberries, you might see one occasionally.  You might even have eaten one.

Schreckensteinia festaliella (Lep.: Schreckensteiniidae)  Jochen Möhr

Feralia comstocki (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Behrensia conchiformis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Eupithecia graefii (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Xanthorhoe defensaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Johcen Möhr

2020 April 20 morning

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Here in suburban Saanich I don’t have quite the variety of moths than Jochen has in rural Metchosin, but my apartment is not totally devoid of moths.  Here, for example this morning, is the Common Clothes Moth Tineola bisselliella, from my bedroom.

Tineola bisselliella (Lep.: Tineidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Rosemary Jorna writes from the Kemp Lake area:  I saw butterflies out in the Otter Point area yesterday. A Cabbage White in our yard , a Mourning Cloak  and a Western Spring Azure  near Young Lake and three Western Spring Azures dancing on the hillside below a friend’s deck. All of them were too far away or too fast to photograph,  but it is a joy to see some butterflies out here at last.
 I did get this photo of a cuckoo bee or nomad bee in my sister’s yard on Kemp Lake Road:

Nomada sp.  (Hym.:  Apidae)  Rosemary Jorna