2023 August 12

   Marie O’Shaughnessy writes that there were two Painted Ladies and a Red Admiral on the top of Mount Tolmie at 5:30 on August 10 – and Jeremy Tatum found the same three at the same time on August 11.  And on August 12, at 5:00 pm, Aziza Cooper saw two Painted Ladies still there.

Ron Flower writes:  At Island View Beach back field we saw 2 Ringlets and 1 Lorquin’s  Admiral. Then at McIntyre Reservoir we saw 2 maybe 3 Purplish Coppers on the east side of reservoir. August 11.

Aziza Cooper photographed one of the Purplish Coppers, as well as an interesting moth, which Libby Avis kindly identified as  Loxostege munroeales – a crambid described as recently as 2005.

Male Purplish Copper Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)
Aziza Cooper

Male Purplish Copper Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)
Aziza Cooper

Loxostege munroealis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Aziza Cooper

Gordon Hart sends a photograph of a pair of Tule Bluets at McIntyre Reservoir, August 11.

Tule Bluets Enallagma carunculatum (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)  Gordon Hart

Val George sends photographs of moths (ready identified for me!) from his Oak Bay house, August 12.

Small Magpie Moth  Anania hortulata (Lep.: Crambidae)
Val George

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

Marie O’Shaughnessy photographed the dragonfly below at McIntyre Reservoir, August 11.  From the dorsal photograph alone, Dr Rob Cannings wrote:  Some other angles would have been nice (face, side of thorax), but it’s a pretty photo. I think it’s an Aeshna umbrosa (a blue occidentalis form) mainly because the tenth segment is all dark (no spots). The blue abdominal spots are large for the average umbrosa, though, so I had to think a lot about it. Anyway, in my experience, these spots can be almost as big in the “occidentalis” form, as they are in other species — in general, these spots in umbrosa are smaller than in others.

Shadow Darner Aeshna umbrosa (Odo.: Aeshnidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Marie promptly obliged and provided the additional photographs below, which enabled Dr Cannings to write:  Yes, these photos confirm that this is a female Aeshna umbrosa. The pale blue-green face with a light brown line across it and the lateral thoracic stripe — narrow, straight and outlined in dark colour. Lovely photos showing oviposition.

We thank Dr Cannings for the trouble he took to make this tricky determination.

Shadow Darner Aeshna umbrosa (Odo.: Aeshnidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Shadow Darner Aeshna umbrosa (Odo.: Aeshnidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Shadow Darner Aeshna umbrosa (Odo.: Aeshnidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy