2019 May 7 morning

 

    Jeremy Tatum writes:  There was a bit of activity at the Mount Tolmie reservoir at 5:00 pm yesterday (May 6) afternoon, with a California Tortoiseshell, two Pale Tiger Swallowtails and a Sara Orangetip.

   Aziza Cooper writes:  May 6, at Goldstream Heights, off Stebbings Road, there were one Grey Hairstreak and two Western Pine Elfins, as well as five Western Spring Azures.

 

   Aziza sends photographs from the May 5 Butterfly Walk at Munn  Road:

Leptostales rubromarginaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Aziza Cooper

Lomographa semiclarata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Aziza Cooper

 

Western Brown Elfin Incisalia iroides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

Pale Tiger Swallowtails Papilio eurymedon (Lep.: Papilionidae) Aziza Cooper

 

and on Mount Tolmie:

California Tortoiseshell Nymphalis californica (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Aziza Cooper

 

and from her May 6 visit to Goldstream Heights:

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

Western Pine Elfin Incisalia eryphon (Lep.: Lycaenidae) Aziza Cooper

 

   Jochen Möhr writes from  Metchosin:  Finally, I was able to catch a few pics of a Sara Orangetip – albeit only with the tele-lens.  But she was obviously going for the right stuff.  And I don’t even know what those plants are called.  Are they a variety of mustard?

   Jeremy Tatum writes:   I’m not very good at botany, but I think I’d call the plant Hedge Mustard Sisymbrium officinale.  Will a botanist out there confirm or otherwise?  The butterfly is a female, and she was probably considering laying one or two eggs there.  I don’t see any eggs in the photo, but you might go out and see if you can find the plant again.  I have usually found eggs on Arabis, Barbarea, Cardamine or Lepidium, but Sisymbrium wouldn’t surprise me.

   [Added later:  Val George confirms my plant identitification as Sisymbrium officinale!]

Sara Orangetip Anthocharis sara (Lep.: Pieridae)  Jochen Möhr

Sara Orangetip Anthocharis sara (Lep.: Pieridae)  Jochen Möhr