2018 May 5 evening

MAY BUTTERFLY WALK

 Jeremy Tatum writes:  My sincere apologies to all who were inconvenienced by the mistakes in this morning’s posting.  First, it gave the date as May 6, and then it said that the May Butterfly Walk was today.  I do apologize for this.  I was having computer problems and I got everything mixed up while I was struggling.

 Anyway the May Butterfly Walk is on Sunday May 6.  Meet at top of Mount Tolmie, 1:00 pm.

   Today, Jeff  Gaskin saw two Western Brown Elfins on Gorge Road, and this evening at about 6:30 pm Jeff  Gaskin and Kirsten Mills saw two California Tortoiseshells and a Propertius Duskywing on or near the Mount Tolmie reservoir.

  Jeremy Tatum reports many Western Spring Azures , a few Sara Orangetips, and a Western Brown Elfin on the Panhandler Trail off Munn Road. 

   Gordon Hart writes:  Today we had 20+ Western Spring Azures, a few Cabbage Whites, a couple of Green Commas, and the first Western Brown Elfin of the year for our yard in the Highlands.

  Val George saw three Anise Swallowtails on Mount Douglas today.  Here is a photograph of one:

Anise Swallowtail Papilio zelicaon (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Val George

2018 May 5 morning

   Reminder:  Monthly Butterfly Walk, top of Mount Tolmie, tomorrow, 1:00 pm.  All welcome.

   A Western Brown Elfin from Mill Hill photographed by Nathan Fisk:

Western Brown Elfin Incisalia iroides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Nathan Fisk

   And two moths from Rithet’s Bog, photographed by Jeremy Tatum:

Euceratia castella (Lep.: Plutellidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Peppered Moth Biston betularia (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

2018 May 4 evening

   Jeremy Tatum writes:

   Only one observation reported this evening – namely that a Red Admiral was again on the Mount Tolmie reservoir, at about 6:30 pm.  No California Tortoiseshell seen there this evening.

   No further observations this evening, but a nomenclatural problem has arisen.  Viewers will have noticed that on this site I list the elfins in the genus Incisalia.  From time to time, someone will point out to me that the genus “should be” Callophrys and that Incisalia is “invalid”.  I am well aware of the Callophrys/Incisalia problem, and the reasons for it, and there are reasons why I have been using the genus name Incisalia.

  However, an enormous new complication has arisen.  Over the years, the Cedar Hairstreak has undergone numerous changes in its scientific and its English names.  I had hoped that it had finally settled down to Mitoura rosneri.  Apparently some taxonomists now declare that it is Callophrys gryneus. This I cannot understand at all  –  I cannot see that the Cedar Hairstreak belongs in Callophrys or in Incisalia at all.  Until the “new” name gets general acceptance I shall continue on this site to list it as Mitoura rosneri.  The pronunciation of Mitoura, by the way, is Myto Yura. It means Thread Tail. Perhaps we shall see some during the Butterfly Walk on Sunday. See you all there.

2018 May 4 morning

   Annie Pang reports seeing another Cedar Hairstreak (a different individual from the one shown yesterday) at Gorge Park this morning.

   Nathan Fisk found this bug in Mill Hill Regional Park on May 3.  Thanks to Thomas Barbin for identifying it as a stilt bug of the Family Berytidae.  Thomas points out that it bears a close resemblance to the species Neoneides muticus.  However, Berytidae is a large family of somewhat similar insects, and it seems safest to leave this one at Family level.

Stilt bug (Hem.: Berytidae)  Nathan Fisk

2018 May 3 evening

   Message from Gordon Hart – May Butterfly Walk

Hello Butterfly Watchers,

Our second walk of the year will be this Sunday, May 6. We meet at the top of Mount Tolmie, by the reservoir, at 1.00 p.m. You can park in the parking lot there, or in the large lot north of the summit. After a look around the summit, and depending on the weather, we will decide on a destination from there. 

See you on Sunday,

Gordon Hart

Victoria Natural History Society

Jeremy Tatum adds:  As Gordon points out, as usual we decide on a destination when we meet on Mount Tolmie – so give it a moment’s thought, and if you have any suggestions, don’t be shy about sharing them when we meet!

Western Spring Azures Celastrina echo (Lep.:  Lycaenidae)  Gordon Hart

   Apparently we don’t have to go out into the wilderness to see butterflies.  This morning’s posting showed a Western Brown Elfin near the Royal Jubilee Hospital.  Now Annie Pang comes up with an unexpectedly early Cedar Hairstreak in Gorge Park yesterday, May 2.  A “lifer” for Annie!

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

   Jeremy Tatum writes that at 6:15 pm this evening (May 3) there were two California Tortoiseshells and a Red Admiral on the Mount Tolmie reservoir.  So now is the time to look for hilltopping nymphalids there in the late afternoons and early evenings.  The action has started.

   Jochen Moehr had a good night two nights ago with his moth trap in Metchosin.   He and Jeremy Tatum are exceedingly grateful to Libby Avis for the identifications – this saves us a huge amount of work.  Jeremy writes:  No one seems to know how to distinguish reliably from photographs between Venusia obsoleta and V. pearsalli so I have written both species names under the photographs.  Egira simplex/crucialis is another difficult pair, though Libby and I both lean towards simplex in Jochen’s photograph below. Libby said she wasn’t 100 percent certain about Apamea cinefacta, though I think she’s almost certainly right, and that’s how I’m going to label it!

Egira simplex (or just possibly crucialis, though we don’t think so) (Lep.: Noctuidae) 

Jochen Moehr

Apamea cinefacta (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

Egira rubrica (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

Egira perlubens (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

Perizoma curvilinea (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr

Perizoma curvilinea (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr

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

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

Xanthorhoe defensaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr

Perizoma curvilinea (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr