2018 June 29

   Val George writes:  Yesterday, June 28, this Small Magpie Moth  Anania hortulata was settled on my backyard fence in Oak Bay.

Small Magpie Moth Anania hortulata (Lep.: Crambidae)  Val George

       Jeremy Tatum comments:  This is yet another species that has suffered name changes. For many years this was Eurrhypara hortulata in the family Pyralidae.  Now its family and genus  have both changed.  The frequent name changes affect more and more organisms – some might even say “most” of them.  It needs to be understood that many of these name changes are based not so much on new “discoveries” but on what an author means by the very concept of “species”.   There is no unique definition of “species” and it is difficult to estimate how many variations in the concept have been proposed over the years.    The two best-known such concepts are the Biological Species Concept and the Phylogenetic  Species Concept.  The former is what many of us grew up with.   The more modern phylogenetic concept relies heavily (some might say too heavily) upon genetic DNA “bar-coding” and places less (some might say no) weight upon the external appearance of the organism.  Those of us who lack the necessary training in biology are hardly in a position to judge which is the “best” system, and what is the “correct” name for an organism.   It is fair to point out, however, that the frequent (in some cases almost annual) name changes do make difficulties for poor souls such as those who run a web site such as this one  – and especially who have to maintain its index  –  and have to decide what to call a particular animal.  This particular moth has been listed only a few times on this site and is listed in the index under Anania hortulata.  There is more difficulty with organisms that have appeared dozens of times over the years on this site and which have suffered name changes during these years.   It is not practicable to change the index entries and picture captions in such cases.  When searching for an insect in the index, it is perhaps best to search under the species name alone, omitting the genus, for the species may have been placed in different genera by different authors.    

   A further minor complication is that English names are not always helpful either.  For example, this moth, the Small Magpie Moth, is not remotely related to the geometrid  Magpie Moth.

   Here is a beetle that I saw walking across some furniture in my Saanich living room today just when I was sitting down in an armchair hoping to relax:

Xestoleptura crassipes (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2018 June 28

    Ann Nightingale sends a photograph of larvae of the Mountain Ash Sawfly, which are DEfoliating her Mountain Ash.  This is a European species, long established as an invader in eastern North America, and a recent invader in the west.

Mountain Ash Sawfly Pristiphora geniculata (Hym.: Tenthredinidae)  Ann NIghtingale

   Marie O’Shaughnessy sends photographs of three butterflies from Mount Tolmie, June 26.

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

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

Pale Tiger Swallowtail Papilio eurymedon (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

   Annie Pang sends a photograph of a Cabbage White  from Gorge Park.

Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae) Annie Pang

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Last night, June 27, I visited Cairn Hill in Highrock Park, Esquimalt, at 6:15 pm to see if there were any hilltopping nymphalids there.  There was just one – a Painted Lady.  However, it was rather windy at the time, and I think that that hill would be a good place to check more often for hilltoppers in less windy evenings.

2018 June 27

   In case anyone is looking for the June 26 Invert Alert – there wasn’t one!

   Aziza Cooper writes:  On June 23 I saw one Red Admiral at Mount Tolmie. There were also four Painted Ladies, one Western Tiger Swallowtail and one Lorquin’s Admiral.

   Today, June 26, some bees were on the foreshore near Bowker Creek mouth. What would they be after?  [Any suggestions, anyone – or can anyone identify the bees?]

   Have you noticed how aggressive Lorquin’s Admirals are? They almost always swoop close to any person that passes them. I once had one swoop past my car!   [Jeremy Tatum –Yes, what with Lorquin’s Admirals and Northwestern Crows, Victoria is a pretty dangerous place!]

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

Bees on the seashore     Aziza Cooper

   Kirsten Mills writes:   Jeff Gaskin and I went to Kinsol Trestle around 1:45 pm on June 26. We saw this hairstreak which was very worn.   We think it’s a cedar but just want to double check.  [Jeremy Tatum writes:   Yes, I’ll go along with Cedar Hairstreak – but we’d welcome comments from other butterfly-ers.]  Later we went to Cowichan Station and saw two Margined Whites and dozens of dragonflies.  Here are some photographs.

Probably Cedar Hairstreak Mitoura rosneri (Lep.: Lycaenidae)   Kirsten Mills

Probably Cedar Hairstreak Mitoura rosneri (Lep.: Lycaenidae) plus a thrips (Thysanoptera)

Kirsten Mills

Margined White Pieris marginalis (Lep.: Pieridae)  Kirsten Mills

Common Whitetail Plathemis lydia (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Kirsten Mills

   Gordon Hart writes from the Highlands:  We saw one European (Essex) Skipper today along with a Dun Skipper on lavender plants.  We also had one Cedar Hairstreak, two Cabbage Whites, some Western Tiger Swallowtails, and many Lorquin’s Admirals. There were six on one bush feeding on sweet sticky aphid excretions .

Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Gordon Hart

Dun Skipper Euphyes vestris (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Gordon Hart

2018 June 25

   Jochen Möhr sends a photograph of a mystery object from Taylor Beach.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  I believe that this is a shelter inside of which is a caterpillar of a tiny micro moth in the Family Coleophoridae.

   Jeremy continues:  Yesterday I did some grocery shopping.  When I got home I emptied my purchases on the kitchen table, and then I noticed a moth at the bottom of the shopping bag.  Goodness knows how it got there.  It is rather worn, and all I managed was a rather blurry photograph before it flew away.  In spite of the blurry photograph of a worn moth, I believe I can identify it as Apamea amputatrix.

Coleophorid larval shelter (Lep.: Coleophoridae)   Jochen Möhr

Apamea amputatrix (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2018 June 24

   Val George writes:  Yesterday afternoon, June 23, there were many dragonflies frequenting the water edges at Swan Lake.  As well as the usual darners, there were several dozen Blue Dashers Pachydiplax longipennis, at least a dozen Cardinal Meadowhawks Sympetrum illotum, two

 8-spotted Skimmers Libellula forensis, and several Pacific Forktails Ischnura cervula. A few photos are attached.

Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Val George

Cardinal Meadowhawk Sympetrum illotum (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Val George

Eight-spotted Skimmer Libellula forensis (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Val George

   Jeremy Tatum sends photographs of a bug and the cocoon of a moth:

Rough Stink Bug Brochymena affinis (Hem.: Pentatomidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Behrensia conchiformis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Jeremy Tatum  writes:   Bill Savale and I went to the railway line north of Cowichan Station today, and we saw several Margined Whites.  Some had a small grey spot in the middle of the forewing upperside.  I believe these are females. Some were completely white with no maculation at all; these, I believe, are males.  None had the veins on the underside of the hindwings emphasized.  I believe the veins are emphasized with dark scales in the earlier generation in the year.   We saw no blues, doubtless because it was cloudy.  I would be very interested if any observers went to that area looking for blues, and to confirm (or otherwise!) that they are Western Tailed Blues.

  Yesterday evening there were Painted Ladies and a Red Admiral at the top of Mount Tolmie.  These two species have been seen hill-topping in the evenings in recent days on the tops of Christmas Hill and Mount Douglas.  Would some observer like to check out Highrock Hill in Esquimalt to see if there any hill-toppers there in the late afternoon or evening?