2019 June 24 morning

   We start this morning with two dragonflies – a Common Whitetail from Gorge Park, June 22, and a Western Pondhawk from Beaver Lake, June 23.

Common Whitetail Plathemis lydia (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Annie Pang

Western Pondhawk Erythemis collocata (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   Now we go to three moths, from three Families, not Noctuidae or Geometridae!   Nadata gibbosa from Metchosin,  Lophocampa argentata and  Malacosoma californicum from Saanich, all June 23.

Rough Prominent Nadata gibbosa (Lep.: Notodontidae)  Jochen Möhr

Silver-spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa argentata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae) Jeremy Tatum

   Lastly, a gigantic (three inches) insect found on Mount Cokely by Mike Yip, June 22.   You’d think an insect of this size would be easy to identify, but there are several similar species, and we even had to resort to looking at he details of the wing venation to be sure.  Mike correctly identified it as a species of fishfly¸ and Jeremy Tatum then starting looking into a couple of wrong genera.  We are grateful to Claudia Copley for putting us on to Dysmicohermes disjunctus.

Fishfly Dysmicohermes disjunctus (Meg.: Corydalidae) MikeYip

Fishfly Dysmicohermes disjunctus (Meg.: Corydalidae) MikeYip

Fishfly Dysmicohermes disjunctus (Meg.: Corydalidae) MikeYip

2019 June 23

   Mike Yip saw 15 species of butterfly on Mount Cokely yesterday, including these two little beauties:

Arctic (also known as Chequered) Skipper Carterocephalus palaemon (Lep.: Hesperiidae)

Mike Yip

Mariposa Copper Lycaena mariposa (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Mike Yip

   Jeremy Tatum reports that he saw the recently deserted nests of about a dozen Painted Lady caterpillars along Millstream Road yesterday.   Single caterpillars of the Painted Lady make an easily-recognizable silk nest soiled with frass on thistles; when they are ready to pupate, they wander off.  That’s what I mean by “recently deserted nests” – the caterpillars were presumably OK and have now pupated somewhere.

   Gordon Hart saw a Grey Hairstreak, missing one tail, in his Highlands garden yesterday,  and one each of Pale Tiger Swallowtail, Lorquin’s Admiral, Western Tiger Swallowtail , and Cabbage White.

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Gordon Hart

   Val George sends a photo of a Chalk-fronted Corporal  Ladona julia  taken at Durrance Lake yesterday, June 22.

Chalk-fronted Corporal Ladona julia (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Val George

      Jochen Möhr’s moths in Metchosin this morning:

Lacinipolia strigicollis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Macaria adonis (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

2019 June 22 evening

   Jeff Gaskin writes:  This morning, June 22, I found a very fresh, brand new looking California Tortoiseshell on Summit Hill. It was seen near the Highview Street entrance. Also on Summit Hill this morning were 8 Cabbage Whites, 6 Lorquin’s Admirals, and 1 Western Tiger Swallowtail.

  Jochen Möhr sends photographs of four moths from his Metchosin property, June 22.

Sympistis semicollaris (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

This species was previously called Oncocnemis semicollaris.

Hydriomena californiata/marinata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Enypia packardata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Enypia sp. (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

2019 June 22 morning

  West Coast alert.

   Val George writes:   Yesterday morning, June 21, I saw a West Coast Lady on a trail a block from my house in Oak Bay (48.424271/-123.309455).  It settled on the ground a few metres from me;  it looked very fresh.

   Jeremy Tatum suggests:  Time for daily late afternoon visits to Mount Tolmie, Mount Douglas, Christmas Hill, etc.???

2019 June 21

   Jeremy Tatum reports that, at 6:30 pm yesterday evening, he saw an Anise Swallowtail at the entrance to the reservoir on Mount Tolmie.  This evening, June 21, there were about six Painted Ladies and a Lorquin’s Admiral on the top of Mount Tolmie, but I didn’t see the Anise Swallowtail.

      Marie Shaughnessy writes that she saw and photographed a Common Emerald Moth (a European invader!) on the grass on Linden Street on June 18.  She writes that she hasn’t seen a green moth before.

Common Emerald Hemithea aestivaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

   Butterflies, moths and dragonflies have been well-represented recently, so I hinted (writes Jeremy Tatum) to Scott Gilmore that we would welcome some beetles, and Scott promptly obliged!  Scott writes:  Here are a couple of beetles from Lantzville to fill the void. This first is Uloma longula from the family Tenebrionidae. It occasionally turns up at lights and I found this one on the night of June 12 at my house.  The second one is from the genus Heteroceris (family Heteroceridae, the Varigated Mud-loving Beetles) which I found on the edge of a local pond on June 16.

Uloma longula (Col.: Tenebrionidae)  Scott Gilmore

Heterocerus sp. (Col.: Heteroceridae)

Scott Gilmore

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Today, June 21, at Royal Roads University, I saw about half-a-dozen each of caterpillars of Satyr Comma and Painted Lady.  The Painted Lady caterpillars were on Onopordum, that gigantic “Cotton Thistle”.  The commas were, as usual, on Stinging Nettle.

Satyr Comma Polygonia satyrus (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Here is a caterpillar of Egira crucialis, a noctuid woodling moth whose adult is seen in early spring.  I have found this caterpillar on several plants, e.g. Salmonberry, Salal, Hardhack, Alder, but there is no doubt what it really likes to eat – the flowers of Ocean Spray.  This one is eating some with a fervour that is a joy to watch.

Egira crucialis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum