2024 May 24

Heather Trondsen sent this photograph of a moth pupa that she found in her Sooke garden under a bunch of maple leaves.  It is difficult to identify a moth from its pupa, but Jeremy Tatum makes a wild guess at possibly the hawk moth Smerinthus ophthalmica.  If it is, the foodplant was unlikely to be maple – they usually feed on willow.  We shall see, in due course, what it turns out to be.

Possibly Smerinthus ophthalmica? (Lep.: Sphingidae)   Heather Trondsen

Jeremy Tatum found the caterpillar of the moth below on Cornus stolonifera along the Lochside Trail between Blenkinsop Lake and Lohbrunners last September. The caterpillar is shown on the posting for 2023 September 12.  The adult moth emerged today, May 24, and was released near where the caterpillar was found.

Female Hypena bijugalis  (Lep.: Erebidae – Hypeninae)     Jeremy Tatum