2019 August 14

 

Invertebrate Alert

 

    Jeremy Tatum writes:  I *think* that the computer problems that have recently struck this site affect only pictures and not text.   Apparently, malware can be embedded in a picture, so the UVic security system has a filter that scans pictures for malware and it flags a picture if it thinks it has detected some.  Unfortunately it has twice flagged a false positive, and the effect was not only to prevent me from sending a posting, but it played havoc with my computer, in particular preventing me from accessing any site associated with the VNHS.

 

  However, assuming that the glitch does not affect text, let us try to continue with Invertebrate Alert for the time being, but with text only.  We do very much need a forum not only for exhibiting photographs, but also for disseminating genuine “alerts”, for example if any sulphurs or American Ladies were to turn up.  I’ll also continue to need viewers to report their routine sightings, so that I can write up a Butterfly Report for the year, which I have been doing on January 1 each year for the last few years.   One thing we need is “last sightings” for the year.  For example, are there any swallowtails or Lorquin’s Admirals still flying around?

 

  If at some later time we find a solution for the malware problem, we might be able to resume the posting of photographs, though I don’t know when or if that might be.  At present I am not actively searching for a solution, since I have already done everything I can think of.

 

   BTW, this site is not intended as an identification service.  However, most times when I have been sent a picture of an unidentified animal, I have attempted to identify it, often sending it to a specialist in the group.  So, if you get a good photograph of a creature that you do not know, please do send it to me (jtatum at uvic dot ca).  It may be that I know what it is or can easily find out.  I shan’t post the picture (unless we have solved the computer problem) or send it to an expert, but it could be that it is an easy one.

 

  There were about six Painted Ladies at the top of Mount Tolmie at 6:00 pm, August 14, either on the reservoir, or near the Jeffery Pine.  I am convinced that, when they rest on the reservoir, they have a decided preference for sitting on one of the pale patches there.