2020 March 27

   Rosemary Jorna writes from Kemp Lake:  Yesterday  30 or more of these very small flies were flying around the Huckleberry Bush in our yard. Most of them were carrying a bundle and would alight briefly before taking flight again. They were too small, quick and against the light. At first I thought mating; but now the camera is downloaded it looks more like dinner time. 

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  This is a fly of the Family Empididae.  It would need a specialist to identify it with any certainty, although I think it is probably in the eponymous genus Empis, and there is a reasonable possibility that it is Empis barbatoides.

Maybe Empis barbatoides (Dip.: Empididae)  Rosemary Jorna

Maybe Empis barbatoides (Dip.: Empididae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Jochen Möhr’s March 27 tally from Metchosin:

1 Acerra normalis

1 Egirra crucialis (picture attached)

2 Eupithecia spp. (one picture attached)

1 Eupithecia ravocostaliata/nevadata

7 Hydriomena manzanita

6 Venusia obsoleta/ pearsalli

Eupithecia annulata/ochracea (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Egira crucialis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

2020 March 26

   Jochen Möhr’s March 25 tally from Metchosin:

No noctuids, but 5 Venusias

Other than those, there were 

3 Eupithecias (probably annulata)

1 E. ravocostaliata/nevadata

1 Hydriomena manzanita

   Here are pictures of two of Jochen’s Venusias.  

Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Jochen also photographed a micro  – we don’t yet know what it is!

Unidentified micro moth (Lep.)  Jochen Möhr

   Today, Jochen writes:

2 Eupthecica ravocostaliata/nevadata

5 Hydriomena manzanita

1 Orthosia hibisci

6 Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli

No pictures taken.

   Gerry and Wendy Ansell saw their first butterfly of the year yesterday – a Cabbage White

by Saanichton Bay.    The few nymphalids that have been reported this year are species that spend the winter in the adult state.  Gerry and Wendy’s butterfly is the first report of a butterfly this year that spent the winter as a chrysalis.  Jeremy Tatum writes that he hasn’t yet seen a butterfly of either sort.

  Jeremy writes:  Today I had my first moth of the year emerge after having been reared as a caterpillar last year – always an exciting event.  Shown below.

Behrensia conchiformis (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jeremy Tatum

2020 March 24

   Jochen Möhr’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

1 Egira curialis

2 Eupithecia sp. (annulata?)

1 E. ravocostaliata/nevadata

3 Hydriomena manzanita

3 Orthosia hibisci (pictures of two of them attached)

4 Venusia obsoleta /pearsalli

Egira curialis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Orthosia hibisci (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Orthosia hibisci (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

   Jeremy Tatum writes: Yesterday, March 23, I found a rather unusually coloured and marked moth pupa at Munn Road.  I’ll be very interested to know what the moth is when it emerges –  I don’t think it’s any moth that I’m familiar with.

Moth pupa   Jeremy Tatum

Moth pupa   Jeremy Tatum

2020 March 22

  Jeremy Tatum writes: This moth was at my Saanich apartment building this morning.

Probably Egira curialis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Gordon Hart photographed this mining bee in the Highlands area yesterday.

Mining Bee  Andrena (Hym.: Andrenidae)  Gordon Hart

2020 March 21 evening

   Gordon Hart writes:   We got home from a walk in the early afternoon, March 20, and a Satyr Comma was on the Heather.  And  I finally photographed a California Tortoiseshell on some Pieris.   [Jeremy Tatum remarks:  In case anyone is wondering, Gordon is referring to a common garden shrub (Ericaceae) which bears the genus name Pieris – not closely related to the Cabbage White butterfly, which is also Pieris!]

Jeff Gaskin writes:  March 20, Kirsten Mills and I found no fewer than 3 California Tortoiseshells by the concrete reservoir on Mount Tolmie, and there may even have been 4 there.

Ron Flower writes:  today Saturday 21st. we went to the Goldstream River around noon and saw 4 individual commas. I think Satyr but not sure.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  I’m not sure either!   I’ll label them just comma for the moment, but I’ll try and be more definite tomorrow (March 22).  Ron continues:  We also saw two Mourning Cloaks there.

Added on March 22:  Gordon Hart writes, concerning the commas: They are rather hard to tell, but I think they are satyrus. Green Commas are smaller and darker overall, so often a bit easier to distinguish in life. Even though the light spots are on the dark marginal band, they are usually darker and more distinct in P. faunus.

Comma Polygonia (probably satyrus).  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Ron Flower

Comma Polygonia (probably satyrus)  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Ron Flower

Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Ron Flower

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Today I went to Swan Lake, Blenkinsop Lake and Mount Tolmie, and I still haven’t seen my first butterfly of the year!