2018 May 15 morning

 

   Aziza Cooper writes:  At Mount Tolmie yesterday at 4:45pm there were 3 Pale Tiger Swallowtails, one Mourning Cloak, one Spring Azure and one Anise Swallowtail.

 

 Jeremy Tatum writes: 1½ hours later at the same location there were four Painted Ladies, a Red Admiral, a California Tortoiseshell and a Western Tiger Swallowtail.

 

  That’s eight species!

 

   I’m told there’s a Lazuli Bunting nearby, so Mount Tolmie is well worth a visit.

 

   Rosemary Jorna sends what she describes as “a very blurry picture of a very small butterfly in the grassy corridor down to the beach at Muir Creek.  It may show enough to suggest an ID.   There was another one further down.”

 

  Well, it’s small but not so blurry that we can’t identify it as a male  Mylitta Crescent!  This is of interest – we didn’t see any of these last year.  These are the third and fourth reported already this year, so it’s good to know that they are still around.  Likewise, we didn’t have any Mourning Cloaks last year;  Aziza’s is the fourth this year.

 

Male Myltta Crescent Phyciodes mylitta (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Rosemary Jorna