July 11

   Jeremy Tatum writes that last night (July 10) at 7:00 pm there were two Painted Ladies and a Red Admiral flying erratically at the top of Christmas Hill, doubtless because of the strong smell of marijuana there.

   Marie O’Shaughnessy writes: There seem to be plenty of Lorquin’s Admirals along with Cabbage Whites and Western Tiger Swallowtails, especially in the Oak Bay area, with continuing dry and hot conditions. Lovely to see so many butterflies these days.

Lorquin’s Admiral  Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

   Here is an interesting upperside-and-underside photograph of a tortricid photographed by Bryan Gates.  It needs dissection to be absolutely sure of the identification, but we are grateful to Jason Dombrowskie for identifying it (with this caution) as probably Pandemis cerasana.

Probably Pandemis cerasana (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Bryan Gates

   Here are two more moths from Metchosin, photographed by Jochen Möhr and identified by Libby Avis.

Schizura unicornis (Lep.: Notodontidae)  Jochen Möhr

Common Emerald Hemithea aestivaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Rosemary Jorna writes:  Another sighting, this time from Kemp Lake. A swallowtail butterfly was moving oddly on my neighbour’s lawn, When I looked closely it was obviously dead and this wasp was butchering it (July 10, 2018, Kemp Lake area).   It made several trips as the corpse was drifting round the yard in the wind.  This was the best shot I got in tracking it on and off for about half an hour. Then the butterfly disappeared, probably blown away as the wind picked up

Wasp and swallowtail butterfly      Rosemary Jorna

July 10 evening

   Annie Pang sends pictures of what are believed to be different individuals of the large house spider, kindly identified by Robb Bennett as Eratigena duellica.

Eratigena duellica (Ara.: Agelenidae)  Annie Pang

Eratigena duellica (Ara.: Agelenidae)  Annie Pang

Eratigena duellica (Ara.: Agelenidae)  Annie Pang

    Jeremy Tatum shows a caterpillar feeding in a variety of garden rose:

Egira crucialis (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jeremy Tatum

July 10 morning

   Nathan Fisk writes:   I had a very quick view of what I’d label as a Great Arctic at the summit of Malcolm Mountain.  It landed but for a moment before flying off again but the colouring, pattern and size point to the Arctic.  

   Rosemary Jorna writes:  I seem to have been observing some interesting behaviours lately.  These two Yellow Spotted Millipedes Harpaphe haydeniana were travelling piggyback on the rocks just above the tide line near Sombrio Point earlier yesterday.

Harpaphe haydeniana (Polydesmida:  Xystodesmidae) Rosemary Jorna

Harpaphe haydeniana (Polydesmida:  Xystodesmidae) Rosemary Jorna

Here are more moths from Metchosin, photographed by Jochen Möhr and identified by Libby Avis.

Malacosoma (probably californica)  (Lep.: Lasiocampidae)  Jochen Möhr)

Panthea virginarius (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Oligocentria pallida (Lep.: Notodontidae) Jochen Möhr

Pseudothyatira cymatophoroides (Drepanidae – Thyatirinae) Jochen Möhr

Amorbia cuneana  (Lep.:  Tortricidae) Jochen Möhr

Furcula scolopendrina (Lep.: Notodontidae)  Jochen Möhr

Spilosoma virginica (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae) Jochen Möhr

Lophocampa argentata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae) Jochen Möhr

July 9 evening

    Gordon Hart writes that he saw a California Tortoiseshell in his yard yesterday, Sunday July 8. He saw it through binoculars but could not get close enough for a photo. It was flying around California Lilac (Ceanothus).  This is exciting, since Ceanothus is the larval foodplant.  Had there been caterpillars on Gordon’s Ceanothus?   Or was the butterfly contemplating laying eggs on it?

   Annie Pang sends a picture of a spider seen on June 22.  Thanks to Rob Bennett, who writes:  It’s a theridiid, I think most likely Enoplognatha ovata.  They come in a variety of colour/patterning morphs – watch for ones with some amount of red striping on their abdomens.

Probably Enoplognatha ovata (Ara.: Theridiidae)  Annie Pang

More of Jochen Möhr’s moth photographs from Metchosin .   Thanks to Libby Avis for identification.

Mythimna or Leucania sp. (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Bellura obliqua (Lep.:  Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Panthea virginarius (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Smerinthus cerisyi (Lep.: Sphingidae)  Jochen Möhr

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Some recent authors list the West Coast form of this hawk moth under Smerinthus ophthalmica.   To change the captions on all the photographs on this site and all the Index entries would be a formidable task, against which must be asked how convincing is the split at species level?  While there may be small discernible differences between disjunct populations of the species, are these differences significant enough to bestow upon them species status, rather than subspecies?  Indeed, are our moths significantly different at the species level from the European Smerinthus ocellata?  Professor Joad might have remarked: “It all depends on what you mean by species”   – a remark very pertinent in light of the several types of “species concept” currently in vogue. For consistency within this site (and to avoid a huge amount of perhaps unnecessary work) I am retaining the name S. cerisyi here.

   We often think of a typical hawk moth as a moth with an immensely long haustellum (proboscis).  After all, did not Darwin predict the existence of a hawk moth with a very long proboscis before its actual discovery?   Interestingly, hawk moths of the tribe Smerinthini have no functional haustellum at all, and do not feed as adults.

June 9 morning

   Gordon Hart writes:  On my birthday, Thursday July 5, Anne-Marie and I drove to Cowichan Station, our first visit there. We saw 8-10 whites but they would not land. Finally, two sat long enough to confirm Margined Whites. The usual other species were present as well: Essex Skippers, Lorquin’s Admirals and Western Tiger Swallowtails . I have attached a photo of a female Common Whitetail, Plathemis lydia, and a Margined White.   [That sounds like a pretty good birthday!   Jeremy]

Common Whitetail Plathemis lydia (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Gordon Hart

Margined White Pieris marginalis (Lep.: Pieridae)  Gordon Hart

   Cheryl Hoyle sends photographs of a beetle and a snail from East Saanich, July 8.

Golden Jewel Beetle Buprestis aurulenta (Col.: Buprestidae) Cheryl Hoyle

Cepaea nemoralis (Pul.: Helicidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   More of Jochen Möhr’s moth photographs from Metchosin .   Thanks to Libby Avis for identification.

Acronicta dactylina (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Acronicta dactylina (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Properigea albimacula (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Mythimna or Leucania sp. (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Pero mizon (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr