2020 May 16 morning

 

   From Gordon Hart:

 

Hello Butterfly Watchers,
The May count period starts Saturday May 16 until Sunday May 24. This is an informal census of butterfly numbers and species in Greater Victoria. The area is defined by the Christmas Bird Count circle, extending from Victoria to Brentwood Bay and Island View Road in Central Saanich, and west to Happy Valley and Triangle Mountain, and Langford Lake and Goldstream areas.
You can submit a count any time over the count period, just use a separate form for each count and location. In the case of repeat or duplicate counts, I will use the higher numbers. To submit counts, please use the form from the VNHS website at: https://www.vicnhs.bc.ca/?p=33
If you have difficulty with the form, just send me an email with the information.
Thank-you for submitting your sightings and good luck with your count.
-Gordon

Gordon Hart,
Butterfly Count Coordinator,
Victoria Natural History Society

 

 

   Rosemary Jorna sends photographs of a selection of insects from her garden near Kemp Lake:

 

Boreal or Northern Bluet Enallagma boreale/annexum (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)

Rosemary Jorna

Mayfly Callibaetis ferrugineus (Eph.: Baetidae) Rosemary Jorna

   The aphids were all over one of Rosemary’s hellebores, every leaf coated like that.  We don’t know the species, though as a wild guess it might possibly in the genus Acyrthosiphon.  We would welcome help from anyone who might be familiar with aphidids.

 

Possibly Acyrthosiphon? (Hem.: Aphididae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Peter Boon’s moths from Nanaimo yesterday morning:

 

Tetracis cervinaria- two forms –3

Smerinthus cerisyi – 1

Autographa californica – 1

Feralia comstocki – 1

Agrotis vancouverensis – 3

Xanthorhoe? – 1

 

plus a Mourning Cloak seen at Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo yesterday afternoon.

 

Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Peter Boon

Agrotis vancouverensis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Peter Boon

Autographa californica (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Peter Boon

Feralia comstocki (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Peter Boon

Smerinthus ophthalmica (Lep.: Sphingidae)  Peter Boon

 

 

Smerinthus ophthalmica (Lep.: Sphingidae)  Peter Boon

Tetracis cervinaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Peter Boon

Tetracis cervinaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Peter Boon

Xanthorhoe defensaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Peter Boon

   Jochen Möhr’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

 

1 Egira rubrica

1 Eupithecia cretaceata

3 Eupithecia spp.

5 Melanolophia imitata

1 Perizoma curvilinea

12 Tyria jacobaeae

5 Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli  

 

Egira rubrica (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr