2019 August 5 afternoon

    Thanks to Scott Gilmore and Libby Avis for pointing out my misidentification of the moth seen in yesterday’s Butterfly Walk.  See this morning posting, where I now have the correct label.  Apologies to viewers and especially to the photographers.  It is not a footman moth, but a scape moth – same family, subfamily and tribe, but different subtribe!

   Jochen Möhr’s moths in Metchosin this morning:

2 Campaea perlata

1 Clemensia umbrata

1 Dasychira grisefacta

2 Drepanulatrix sp.

2 Enypia packardata 

1 Hesperumia sulphuraria

1 Lacinipolia strigicollis 

6 Lophocampa argentata

2 Nemoria darwiniata

1 Neoalcis californiaria 

2 Oligia divesta

3 Panthaea virginarius

3 Perizoma curvilinea

3 Pero mizon

1 Schizura (ipomoeae?)

Thank you, as ever, to Libby Avis for the identifications.

Enypia packardata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Oligia divesta (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Lacinipolia pensilis (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

Sabulodes aegrotata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Evergestis funalis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Jochen Möhr

  If this morning’s posting was rated PG (the coppers!), this afternoon’s posting is decidedly rated  X.  If you are of a nervous disposition don’t look at the next photograph, one of several insects and spiders photographed by Sean McCann at Island View Beach yesterday.  The robber fly was Identified almost simultaneously by Sean and by Rob Cannings.  The rest by Sean.

Robber fly Stenopogon bradleyi (Dip.: Asilidae)  Sean McCann

Robber fly Stenopogon bradleyi (Dip.: Asilidae)  Sean McCann

Wolf spider Pardosa distincta (Ara.: Lycosidae)  Sean McCann

Wolf spider Pardosa distincta (Ara.: Lycosidae)  Sean McCann

Ants Tapinoma sessile (Hym.: Formicidae)  Sean McCann

Western Black Widow Latrodectus hesperus (Ara.: Theridiidae)  Sean McCann

Western Black Widow Latrodectus hesperus (Ara.: Theridiidae)  Sean McCann

That’s all I can manage today!…

2019 August 5 morning

   Sorry there was no August 4 posting – not enough hours in the day to get everything done!

  In the meantime we have made some good progress in the identification of an unknown fly and an unknown beetle in the August 2 afternoon posting (quod vide).

   August 4, Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:  When my dog woke me up at 6 am, there were the proverbial  “oodles” of moths – 5 Lophocampa argentata , 3 Panthea virginarius, 4 Perizoma curvilinea, and many many others including probably two dozen micros of several kinds.  But at that time it was dark and I was still tired.  When I got up at 8, everybody was gone.  Just a Nemoria darwiniata and a Campaea perlata were still there, the latter sometimes fluttering about.  Very unusual, because often they kept sitting there all day.

 Then I observed something, which might provide an explanation: A wasp had grabbed the C. perlata and was butchering it while it was still very much alive.  First it took the wings on one side off, then on the other, then it carried the body off.  There was a lot of struggling and movement, so my attempts at documenting it were not very successful.  But I attach one picture that I have.

Vespula pensylvanica (Hym.: Vespidae)  Jochen Möhr

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Jody Wells photographed this fly sucking mud at Tod Creek Flats on August 3.  I didn’t take long to identify it because I knew immediately that it was a tabanid.  I am literally quite terrified of tabanids and I felt that fear the instant that I saw the photograph.  After that, because of its distinctive colour, it didn’t take long to track it down.

Tabanus punctifer (Dip.: Tabanidae) Jody Wells

Aziza Cooper writes:

On Sunday, August 4, nine people went to Mount Tolmie and Island View Beach for the monthly VNHS Butterfly Walk. We found nine species of butterflies. Two were seen only on Mount Tolmie.

Painted Lady – 4

Vancouver Island Ringlet – 18

Purplish Copper – 6

Lorquin’s Admiral – 2

Anise Swallowtail – 1 (at Mount Tolmie)

Western Tiger Swallowtail – 1 (at Mount Tolmie)

Cabbage White – 10

Essex Skipper – 1

Woodland Skipper – 1

Here are some of the butterflies seen:

Anise Swallowtail Papilio zelicaon (Lep.: Papilionidae) Aziza Cooper

Painted Lady Vanessa cardui Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

Ringlet Coenonympha tullia (Lep.: Nymphalidae – Satyrinae) Aziza Cooper

Purplish Coppers Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

Purplish Coppers Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Gordon Hart

   Also seen during the walk was an interesting Yellow-collared Scape moth of the tribe Lithosiini.

Cisseps fulvicollis (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae – Lithosiini)  Gordon Hart

   And we found this caterpillar of Heliothis phnloxiphaga on Gumweed.

Heliothis phloxiphaga (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Val George

   While on the Butterfly Walk at Island View Beach we missed seeing entomologist Sean McCann, who was also there, and who has sent us a bunch of photographs.  We’ll put these up on the next posting – probably this afternoon or evening!

   One more for this posting – an interesting observation from Annie Pang, who writes: I was looking for Pine Whites at Esquimalt Gorge Park on August 4 with my camera
buddy when I had this very banged up Cedar Hairstreak land on the
Goldenrod nearby briefly.  I only had time for a few shots before it
vanished.  I’m very confused about seeing it at all as I’d thought it was an
early spring butterfly.  Does it have two flights here??

Jeremy Tatum writes:  Well, does it?   It certainly seemed to have two flights in 2015.  See the 2015 Butterfly Report, posted on 2016 January 26 (currently on page 192, though this, of course, increases with time).  I haven’t looked up Reports for other years (task for someone?), though I don’t think there are many other August sightings other than 2015. Is Annie’s “banged-up” butterfly a second generation, or a survivor from a spring generation?

Cedar Hairstreak Mitoura rosneri (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Annie Pang

2019 August 3

   Jeff Gaskin writes:   Today, August 3, in Esquimalt Gorge Park I found five species of butterflies in the park.  This park is always pretty good in late July and a part of August, particularly around the flower beds.  I found the following species  :  4 Cabbage Whites, 2 Lorquin’s Admirals, 1 Painted Lady, 1 Pine White, and 14 Woodland Skippers.

Yesterday, August 2, Kirsten Mills told me she saw a Milbert’s Tortoiseshell along Westshore Parkway in Langford.

2019 August 3 morning

Hello Butterfly Watchers,
This is a reminder for the August butterfly walk on Sunday, August 4, at 1 p.m . We meet near the Mount Tolmie summit by the reservoir parking lot. After a look around the summit area, we will decide on a destination from there.  Suggestions welcome.
See you on Sunday,
Gordon Hart

   Gordon also writes: I walked a portion of the Panhandle Trail yesterday (Friday, August 2) and found about 10 Woodland Skippers and 7 Pine Whites.  Most of the skippers were on a patch of a small purple flowered mint species. I think it is an introduced plant. Further along was a patch of goldenrod with many Pine Whites and a few skippers.  I have attached a couple of photographs. We have had the same species at home this week, and one Painted Lady. We found a Large Yellow Underwing  Noctua pronuba, last evening.

  Jody Wells sends in three photographs.  The moth below was photographed at Brentwood Bay, August 1.

Herpetogramma thestealis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Jody Wells

   The beetle below was photographed at Sproat Lake, July 29.

Soldier beetle (Col.: Cantharidae) Jody Wells

   The dragonfly below was kindly identified by Dr Rob Cannings.

Variegated Meadowhawk Sympetrum corruptum (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Jody Wells

Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Gordon Hart

Pine White Neophasia menapia (Lep.: Pieridae)  Gordon Hart

   Jochen Möhr’s moths in Metchosin this morning:

2 Callizzia amorata

2 Campaea perlata

1 Coryphista meadii

2 Drepanulatrix sp. 

1 Eulithis xylina

1 Hesperumia latipennis

1 Homorthodes hanhami

1 Iridopsis (emasculatum?)

2 Lacinipolia strigicollis

2 Lophocampa argentata

2 Nemoria darwiniata

1 Oligia divesta (pic attached)

1 Panthea virginarius

3 Perizoma curvilinea

Oligia divesta (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

2019 August 2

   Some more of Cheryl Hoyle’s recent photographs.  The first one has been identified for us by Claudia Copley:

Drumming Katydid Meconema thalassinum (Orth.: Tettigoniidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

  The next is an interesting fly, identified by Cheryl as probably a Cereal Fly Geomyza tripunctata. This is a European species, which first turned up in Ontario in the 1990s, several have been found in British Columbia since 2010, and probably the first one recorded on Vancouver Island was photographed in Nanaimo in 2014 by Scott Gilmore.  Scott suggests put it down as not a certain identification, though it certainly does look like one.  I’ll label it as “probable”, just in case there’s a look-alike that we haven’t thought of, though I think it’s pretty close to a “certain”.

Probable Cereal Fly Geomyza tripunctata (Dip.: Opomyzidae) Cheryl Hoyle

   Next is an interesting beetle.  Although the photograph gives no indication of its size, Charlene Wood suggests that it is a Mealworm Beetle Tenebrio molitor.  However, Cheryl, who is familiar with mealworm beetles, says that it is significantly larger than a mealworm beetle.  Charlene points out that mealworm beetles are variable in  size, varying from 13 to 17 mm.So I think for the time being I think I’ll have to label this another “probable”, though again pretty close to “certain”.

Probable Mealworm Beetle Tenebrio molitor (Col.: Tenebrionidae ) Cheryl Hoyle