2020 May 17 afternoon

 

   Jochen Möhr’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

 

1 Agrotis vancouverensis

1 Eupithecia cretaceata

3 Eupithecia spp.

4 Melanolophia imitata

1 Nola minna

1 Perizoma curvilinea

1 Pero sp.

2 Tyria jacobaeae

2 Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli

 

The Pero is giving us problems.  Jeremy thinks not mizon;  Libby thinks not behrensia or morrisonaria.  There are still a few to go, but our most honest guess is probably Pero honestaria.

 

Pero (probably honestaria) (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Pero (probably honestaria) (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Here are four spiders or spiderlings photographed by Mr E.  ‘Fraid we can go down only to Family level with these!

 

Jumping spider (Ara.: Salticidae)  Mr E

Crab spider (Ara.: Thomisidae)   Mr E

Tiny spiderling!  (Ara.: Theridiidae)  Mr E

Jumping spider (Ara.: Salticidae)  Mr E

   Robb Bennett sends a photograph of a Western Tiger Swallowtail chrysalis from a tree in southeast Saanich.  The butterfly emerged and is shown on May 27.

Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Robb Bennett

   Now here is a beetle photographed by Mr E.  If you compare it with his cantharid beetle shown on May 5, you may be tempted, at first glance, to think that they are the same species.  However, look more critically, and you’ll agree that they don’t have quite the same shape, and Scott Gilmore identifies it for us as Grammoptera molybdica from a quite different Family – Cerambycidae (Long-horned Beetles), and he says he has never actually seen this species himself!

Grammoptera molybdica (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Mr E

   Here’s an Adela moth photographed by Mr E.  Is it A.septentrionella  or is it A.trigrapha?  The white bars are broader in trigrapha than in septentrionella.  But are these bars broad enough?  Libby Avis settles it:  the white dot on the hindwing shows that it is Adela trigrapha.

 

Adela trigrapha (Lep.: Adelidae)

   The beetle Family Cerambycidae are called Long-horned Beetles, and the moth family Adelidae are called (at least in Britain) Long-horned Moths.  I have also seen in Saanich some Texas Longhorn Cattle – but they are not allowed on this site.

 

One more moth from Jochen, identified by Libby Avis as Plagodis pulveraria:

 

Plagodis pulveraria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr