2015 September 13

Cheryl Hoyle sends photographs of two caterpillars from Metchosin.  The first is a Tiger Swallowtail – I cannot tell which species.  Shortly before pupation these caterpillars turn brown and wander around away from their foodplant, looking for somewhere to pupate.   It looks as though this one has already found a place to pupate, and it has already spun its silken girdle. The second is a noctuid of the group known as dagger moths, because of a dagger-like mark on the wings of the adult moths.

Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus/eurymedon (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Acronicta dactylina (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

  She also sends a photograph of a plusiine moth Autographa californica from View Royal.  On September we pointed out that most plusiine caterpillars can be recognized by their reduced number of prolegs.  Likewise, many of the adult plusiines have a distinguishing feature – a y-like mark in the middle of the forewing.

 Autographa californica (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   And a spider:

Araneus trifolium (Ara.: Araneidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   The butterfly season isn’t quite over yet.  Jeremy Tatum saw a Cabbage White laying eggs on Cakile (Sea Rocket) at Weir’s Beach, September 13.

Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae)  Jeremy Tatum

   I saw my first Banded Woolly Bear of the season at Metchosin Lagoon today.  October is the peak season for these caterpillars, and we should be seeing more of them in the next few weeks.  In case anyone is tempted to try rearing one of them to adult moth, I would point out that this species is one of the more difficult lepidopterous caterpillars to rear, and I would not advise trying it if you have never reared caterpillars before.

2015 September 12

 There are still quite a lot of Cabbage Whites around, and Jeff Gaskin saw a Woodland Skipper in the community garden in Gorge Park on September 11.

Here is a moth from a caterpillar which Jeremy Tatum found and reared on Snowberry in the spring.  The moth emerged a few days ago, and Jeremy is grateful to Libby Avis for identifying it as Dryotype opina.   This moth has appeared just once before on this site – Bill Katz’s photograph on 2013 October 7 – and I see that Libby identified that one for us, too.  Perhaps next time we will recognize it! 

Dryotype opina (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2015 September 10

Viewers will have noticed that there have been no new postings for several days, and may have wondered if we are still running the site. Yes, very much we are!   Unfortunately we have had some technical difficulties with the computer, which we are trying to solve, though we are not out of the woods yet.  Anyway, we are still very eager to read about and see your recent sightings, so please continue to send them in – though there may be a delay before we get them posted, until we know just what the computers are doing to us.

Cheryl Hoyle found two interesting caterpillars at Pedder Bay on September 8.  One of them is the notodontid Nadata gibbosa, sometimes known as the Rough Prominent.  Its caterpillar usually feeds on oak, but Cheryl’s caterpillar is on Rosa, and the one shown on August 13 was on Amelanchier, although it readily took to oak leaves when they were offered.  Cheryl’s second is a nice-looking caterpillar, unfortunately unknown to me. (Jeremy T.)

Rough Prominent Nadata gibbosa (Lep.: Notodontidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Unknown caterpillar (Lepidoptera)  Cheryl Hoyle

   Val George sends a photo of a Spotted Tiger Moth caterpillar from Rithet’s Bog, September 9.  Although this caterpillar has appeared several times on this site, please continue to send them in – Ken Strothcamp in Oregon is doing a major study on the colour variations of this caterpillar.

Spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa maculata

(Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)

Val George

  Val also sends, from Rithet’s Bog, a photograph of a Striped Meadowhawk.  You can even see those vital thoracic stripes!

Striped Meadowhawk Sympetrum pallipes (Odo.: Libellulidae) Val George

   Jody Wells sends a photograph of a Yellow Woolly Bear (Virginia Ermine Moth or Virginia Tiger Moth) from Saanichton Spit, September 10.

Yellow Woolly Bear Spilosoma virginica (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Jody Wells

   Val George has found another of the plusiine caterpillars that have been munching on his kale, and he got a close-up photo.  Jeremy Tatum reared it to adulthood (see September 29), and it turned out to be Autographa californica.  And in case you are wondering what a plusiine is, Plusiinae is a subfamily of Noctuidae, in which most of the caterpillars are characterised by having only two pairs instead of the usual four pairs of mid-abdominal prolegs.

Autographa californica (Lep.: Noctuidae – Plusiinae)  Val George

2015 September 08

   Scott Gilmore writes:  I found an interesting click beetle on a Douglas Fir trunk at a local park while my kids were playing. It is new to me. A species of Selatosomus. Not sure a species level identification is even possible until there has been a revision of the group as this colour pattern appears common across species in this group.

Selatosomus sp. (Col.: Elateridae)

Scott Gilmore

      Jeremy Tatum writes: We have accumulated a few micro moth images over the past few weeks, and we are grateful to Eric LaGasa for identifications.  The first three were on the wall of my Saanich apartment.

Euzophera sp.: (Lep.: Pyralidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Maybe   Argyrotaenia franciscana (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Probably Eudonia sp. (Lep.: Crambidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Next one photographed by Rosemary Jorna of Kemp Lake.

Diploschizia impigritella (Lep.: Gyphipterigidae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Jeremy Tatum reared the next one from a caterpillar on Cornus stolonifera.

Olethreutes punctata (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Jeremy Tatum

and the next one from Arbutus menziesii.

Gelechia panella (Lep.: Gelechiidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Gelechia panella (Lep.: Gelechiidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   One September 3, Aziza Cooper photographed the moth below at Panama Flats.  Thanks to Libby Avis for identifying it as Nomophila nearctica.  Jeremy Tatum writes: On September 4 I cited Plutella xylostella as possibly the most widely-distributed butterfly in the world. Well apparently Nomophila nearctica has at least as good a claim on that title.

Lucerne Moth Nomophila nearctica (Lep.: Crambidae)  Aziza Cooper

2015 September 6

   Val George writes:  Despite my best efforts to remove the caterpillars of the Diamondback Moth manually (I don’t use pesticides, herbicides, nuclear bombs, etc.) from my kale, at least one obviously got by me because this morning I saw and photographed the attached adult:

Diamondback Moth Plutella xylostella (Lep.: Plutellidae)  Val George

   Rosemary Jorna writes:  This good sized spider was on a gravel road near Kemp Lake, September 5.   Thanks to Robb Bennett for identifying it as a male of our coastal burrowing mygalomorph Androdiaetus pacificus.

Androdiaetus pacificus (Ara.: Androdiaetidae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Devon Parker writes:  I went up to Mount Brenton today in Chemainus and found 1 Pine White, 1 fresh Mourning Cloak and two caterpillars of the Spotted Tiger Moth near Holyoak Lake.

   Jeremy Tatum comments:  See yet again how butterflies seem to like nectaring at Pearly Everlasting.

Pine White Neophasia menapia (Lep.: Pieridae)  Devon Parker

Spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa maculata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Devon Parker

   And another Spotted Tiger Moth, from Victoria, sent by Ben van Drimmelen.

Spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa maculata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae

Ben van Drimmelen

   And another beautiful spider, sent by Annie Pang.  I consulted Robb Bennett and Annie consulted Robin Leech – and both came up with the same answer!  – a male Eratigena (formerly Tegenaria) atrica.  Thanks to both of them!

Male Giant House Spider Eratigena atrica (Ara.: Agelenidae)  Annie Pang

   Annie Pang asks someone please to identify this bee (Gorge Park, September 6).  Yes, indeed, we do need someone badly who can identify Hymenoptera for us.  Can someone help?

Bee (Hymenoptera)  Annie Pang