2018 April 22 morning

   Gordon Hart writes:  I visited Francis/King Park yesterday and saw one Sara Orangetip Anthocharis sara, and a Propertius Duskywing Erynnis propertius. There were also several Mesoleuca gratulata flying. This was in the area across the road from the Nature House. At home in the Highlands, a Green Comma flew by, but I saw no other butterflies.

Propertius Duskywing Erynnis propertius (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Gordon Hart

   Jochen Moehr sends a picture of Lithophane petulca from Metchosin.

Lithophane petulca (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

   Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of a caterpillar of the Silver-spotted Tiger Moth from Munn Road.

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

Jeremy Tatum

2018 April 21 evening

   More of Jochen’s moth photos from Metchosin.

Orthosia praeses (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jochen Moehr

Orthosia praeses (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jochen Moehr

Egira simplex  (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

Egira simplex  (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

Orthosia transparens (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

A bee fly photographed by Aziza Cooper at Trail Way, Goldstream Heights, April 19.  Keep a look out for these flies shooting their eggs into the burrows of mining bees.  And welcome back, Aziza.

Bee fly Bombylius major (Dip.: Bombyliidae) Aziza Cooper

Bee fly Bombylius major (Dip.: Bombyliidae) Aziza Cooper

   And a bee fly photographed by Gordon Hart at Prospect Lake Road.  Although there are many species of bombyliid, according to the website https://bugguide.net/node/view/14997  Bombylius major is the only Nearctic Bombylius species with the wing pattern shown by Aziza’s and Gordon’s flies.  So, although the piles are different colours in these two individuals, I shall label them both Bombylius major.  Any comments by knowledgeable dipterists would be welcome.

Bee fly Bombylius major (Dip.: Bombyliidae) Gordon Hart

   Mistakes:

        Jeremy Tatum writes:  Every now and again I make a mistake while typing out the day’s posting for Invertebrate Alert. Maybe it’s something big;  maybe it’s just a small spelling or even punctuation mistake.  My friends are so polite and don’t wish to offend me that they do not mention it.  Fear not!  Far from being offended, I will be very happy and pleased to be notified of mistakes, so that I can correct them as soon as possible.  Otherwise the mistake remains there forever on display, under my name, for all to stare at!   So please do let me know of any that you find.  jtatum at uvic dot ca    Thank you!

2018 April 21 morning

   More of Jochen’s moth photos from Metchosin.

Behrensia conchiformis (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Moehr

Behrensia conchiformis (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Moehr

Melanolophia imitata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr

Orthosia hibisci (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

   I think the caterpillar below may be Noctua pronuba, but I’m not entirely certain. (Jeremy Tatum)

Noctuid caterpillar, perhaps Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jochen Moehr

On April 18, we posted pictures of some early bees on or around some Shooting Star flowers, which we labelled Dodecatheon.  Apparently the botanical taxonomists are every bit as enthusiastic about name changes as are the zoologists, and Jeremy Gatten points out to me that Shooting Stars are now supposed to be in the genus Primula. Jeremy Gatten confesses to being a bit baffled by this – as does Jeremy Tatum – though we have to assume that the taxonomists have some good reason for it.  To my eyes, Shooting Stars bear little resemblance to the Primroses that I used to see in my youth in the hedgerows of England in spring.

2018 April 20 evening

    Jochen Moehr has been photographing lots of exciting moths in Metchosin.  Here are a few recent ones.  More to follow tomorrow!

Feralia deceptiva (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

Hydriomena manzanita (Lep.: Geometridae)    Jochen Moehr

Orthosia praeses  (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

Lithophane innominata (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jochen Moehr

Melanolophia imitata (Lep.: Geometridae)   Jochen Moehr

   Jochen had someone help in his garden, who found a number of noctuid pupae while he was digging up some thistles.  It is not easy to identify moths below Family level from their pupae, though I think there’s a fairly high probability that these are pupae of the European Large Yellow Underwing moth Noctua pronuba

Noctuid pupae    Jochen Moehr

2018 April 20 morning

Message from Gordon Hart

Hello Butterfly Counters,

This weekend marks the beginning of the 2018 Butterfly Count season. As always, the count period is from the third Saturday to the fourth Sunday –  April 21-29 this year. You can submit a count anytime over this period, and you can do more than one count, just use a separate form for each count. In the case of repeat counts, or more than one person counting an area, I will take the highest count for each species.

Please use the form at https://www.vicnhs.bc.ca/?p=33 on the Victoria Natural History Society website .

The count area is the same as the Christmas Bird Count circle (attached). For butterfly identification there are numerous internet sites, but most or all Victoria species are listed on E-Fauna. If you select by photographer, all the photos under James Miskelly’s name are of Victoria species. Here is the link: http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/efauna/photoGallery/Gallery.aspx?gr=showall&pid=175&photographer=miskelly,%20james&specrep=0

If you would like a suggestion for an area to count, please send me an email. If you can only do your backyard or your neighbourhood, that is good, too. We have had a request from the Friends of Cedar Hill park to include the park in our counts. Please let me know if you want to do this park, which includes the trails around Cedar Hill Golf Course.

In addition to the counts, a monthly butterfly walk is held on the first Sunday of each month – May 6th,  is the next walk. We start at the summit of Mount Tolmie at 1pm, and decide where to go from there. The walk will be cancelled if the weather is cool or rainy.

Thank-you for submitting your sightings and happy counting! 

Gordon Hart

Butterfly Count Coordinator

Victoria Natural History Society

Count circle map link:

http://christmasbirdcount.ca/bcvi/CBCMaps.html#VictoriaMap

And a further message from Gordon –

   On Wednesday, April 18, we finally had good looks at a Green Comma, Polygonia faunus, on our property in the Highlands. It was back again today, the 19th.
I walked along the Westsong Walkway in the Inner Harbour today, the 19th, and saw two Cabbage Whites, also my first of the year.

Green Comma Polygonia faunus  (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Gordon Hart

  Jeremy Tatum comments:   Often commas seem to be impossible to identify from upperside alone – yet there’s something about this individual that says “Green Comma” and nothing else!   A question that is in many of our minds, are we going to get any Satyr Commas (inexplicably rare in the last two years) this year?

   Looks as though Cabbage Whites are really emerging now.  Annie Pang photographed three individuals at Gorge Park.  I believe the one with big black spots is a female; the other two are males.

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

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

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

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Very little where I am at my Poplar Avenue apartment.  The only thing I have seen recently is this very, very worn moth, almost beyond identification – though not quite.  I believe it is Pheosia rimosa.

Pheosia rimosa (Lep.: Notodontidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Jochen Moehr has been having much more success out in Metchosin.  We’ll see some of his moths in subsequent Invert Alerts, probably starting this evening!