2022 July 20 afternoon

    Bryan Gates sends photographs of a moth from his Oak Bay yard and a caterpillar from View Royal.

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae) Bryan Gates

Silver-spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa argentata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)

  Bryan Gates

2022 July 20 morning

    Kirsten Mills writes:  On July 19, Jeff Gaskin and I went to Gowland Todd Provincial Park. We saw California Tortoiseshell and a Green Comma and several dragonflies.

Paddle-tailed Darner Aeshna palmata (Odo.: Aeshnidae)  Kirsten Mills

Eight-spotted Skimmer Libellula forensis Odo.: Libellulidae)  Kirsten Mills

Eight-spotted Skimmer Libellula forensis Odo.: Libellulidae)  Kirsten Mills

Satyr  Comma Polygonia satyrus (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Kirsten Mills

Cheryl  Hoyle sends two photographs taken at McKenzie Bight, July 19:

Arion rufus (Pul.:  Arionidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of a small nondescript green caterpillar found at Lochside Drive north of Blenkinsop Lake.  It could be any of hundreds of species – impossible to identify.   But wait! Only three pairs of midabdominal prolegs, and feeding on Stinging Nettle.  Y’all know that this has to be Hypena  sp.

[Added later:  The adult moth emerged on August 4 and was found to be H. humuli.]

Hypena humuli. (Lep.: Erebidae – Hypeninae)  Jeremy Tatum

2022 July 18

    Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:  Since July 17 we have had three to five Malacosoma californicum here every day – mostly females. But today, there was obviously a male. [See, among other things, its elaborate antennae.]

Malacosoma californicum (Lep.: Lasiocampidae)  Jochen Möhr

   Jeff Gaskin writes:  I had some good butterflies at both Swan Lake and Blenkinsop Lake today, July 18.  At Swan Lake I had 18 European (Essex) Skippers, 13 Lorquin’s Admirals, 4 Western Tiger Swallowtails and just one Cabbage White.

   At Blenkinsop Lake I found a Red Admiral and one and maybe two Satyr Commas.  Also were included 16 Cabbage Whites, 5 Western Tiger Swallowtails, and 4 Lorquin’s Admirals.

2022 July 17

    Ren Ferguson sends a photograph from Salt Spring Island, July 3, of a pair of Common Emerald moths (a European species well established here) in copula.

Common Emeralds Hemithea aestivaria (Lep.: Geometridae)   Ren Ferguson

John McClarnon sends a photograph of an eyed hawk moth resting on a cement wall in the Highlands this morning.

Smerinthus ophthalmica (Lep.: Sphingidae) John McClarnon

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  The little geometrid moth Idaea dimidiata seems to be quite numerous just now.  There were four of them at the back door of my Saanich apartment building this morning.  Here’s one of them:

Idaea dimidiata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

  Jeremy continues:  This fine animal was in my bath this morning:  It belongs to the Order Zygentoma (formerly Thysanura), or Three-pronged Bristletails.   They are currently in the Class Insecta, though this could change.The Order includes “The” Silverfish Lepisma saccharina, which likes cool places, and “The” Firebrat Thermobia domestica, which likes warm places.  This one is a different but related species, sometimes called the Grey Silverfish or the Grey Firebrat.  Let’s settle here for the scientific name Ctenolepisma longicaudata. 

Ctenolepisma longicaudata (Zyg.: Lepismatidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2022 July 15

 July Butterfly Count

Message from Gordon Hart

 Hello Butterfly Counters,

The July count period starts Saturday July 16 until Sunday July 24. This is an informal census of butterfly numbers and species in Greater Victoria. The area is defined by the Christmas Bird Count circle, extending from Victoria to Brentwood Bay and Island View Road in Central Saanich, and west to Happy Valley and Triangle Mountain, and Langford Lake and Goldstream areas.

You can submit a count any time over the count period, just use a separate form for each count and location. In the case of repeat or duplicate counts, I will use the higher numbers. To submit counts, please use the form from the VNHS website at

https://www.vicnhs.bc.ca/?p=33

If you have difficulty with the form, just send me an email with the information.

Thank-you for submitting your sightings and good luck with your count.

Gordon

Gordon Hart,

Butterfly Count Coordinator,

Victoria Natural History Society

  Kirsten Grove-White sends a photograph of one of our native emerald moths, Nemoria unitaria from the Swan Lake Nature House today:

Nemoria unitaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Kirsten Grove-White

   [Jeremy Tatum writes:  I had initially mislabelled the above moth as N. darwiniata, and I am grateful to Libby Avis for the correction.  Libby writes:  No red markings on the body and the lower line on the hindwing starts to curve upward just before it reaches the body, whereas in darwiniata the line goes straight across to the body.]

Jochen Möhr writes from his property in Metchosin:  It looks as though the tent caterpillars – of which I counted at one time 19 colonies in the vegetation around this house – are finally ecloding.  This morning, there were five of them on the floor of the deck under the black light.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  I believe that all three of the moths below are females.

Malacosoma californicum (Lep.:  Lasiocampidae)  Jochen Möhr

Malacosoma californicum (Lep.:  Lasiocampidae)  Jochen Möhr

Jeremy Tatum sends photographs of two very young caterpillars.  The first one is from Mahonia at Swan Lake; the second from Urtica at Blenkinsop Lake.

Rusty Tussock or Vapourer Moth  Orgyia antiqua (Lep.: Erebidae – Lymantriinae)

  Jeremy Tatum

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Jeremy Tatum