2024 August 17

   Aziza Cooper writes that on August 16 at 6 pm, there were two Painted Ladies at Mount Douglas summit.   And Jeremy Tatum writes that on August 17 at 5:30 pm, there were two Red Admirals chasing each other around the Mount Tolmie reservoir, and occasionally landing on one or other of the white patches on the reservoir.

Painted Lady  Vanessa cardui  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

   Jeremy Tatum writes that on August 16 there were dozens and dozens of Woodland Skippers  at Rithet’s Bog.

2024 August 16 morning

   Marie O’Shaughnessy sends reports of dragonflies and butterflies and photographs of dragonflies from Beckwith and Outerbridge Parks, August 15, and Beaver Lake Ponds, August 14.

Beckwith Park

Butterflies

1 Lorquin’s Admiral
4 Cabbage Whites

Dragonflies

1 Black Saddlebags
1 Blue-eyed Darner
3 Blue Dashers
2 Paddle-tailed Darners
1 Eight-spotted Skimmer
!  Striped Meadowhawk

Black Saddlebags Tramea lacerata  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Female Eight-spotted Skimmer Libellula forensis (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Outerbridge Park

Butterflies

21 Woodland Skippers
5 Cabbage Whites

Dragonflies

3 Paddle-tailed Darners
2 Cardinal Meadowhawks
1 Striped Meadowhawk

Striped Meadowhawk  Sympetrum pallipes  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Cardinal Meadowhawk Sympetrum illotum (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Beaver Lake Ponds

Butterflies

2 Cabbage Whites
3 Woodland Skippers

Dragonflies

8 Eight-spotted Skimmers
1 Blue-eyed Darner
2 Paddle-tailed Darners
7 Blue Dashers
1 Black Saddlebags
1 Pacific Forktail

Eight-spotted Skimmer Libellula forensis (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Female Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Male Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Pacific Forktail Ischnura cervula  (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Paddle-tailed Darners Aeshna palmata (Odo.: Aeshnidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

2024 August 15 evening

On August 14, Aziza Cooper photographed the moth below at the 13.7 km mark along the Nanaimo River Road.   Thanks to Libby Avis for identifying it as Caenurgina erechtea.

 Caenurgina erechtea  (Lep.: Erebidae – Erebinae)  Aziza Cooper

Here are a moth and two dragonflies photographed by Gordon Hart.

Paddle-tailed Darner Aeshna palmata (Odo.: Aeshnidae)  Gordon Hart

2024 August 15 morning

After a two-day drought, we have a good collection today.

      Gordon Hart photographed this splendid caterpillar in Beckwith Park yesterday (August 14):

Smerinthus  ophthalmica (Lep.: Sphingidae)   Gordon Hart

Val George writes:  These two moths were on the wall of my Oak Bay house yesterday.

Pug moth  Eupithecia sp. (Lep.: Geometridae)  Val George

Idaea dimidiata  (Lep.: Geometridae)   Val George

   Aziza Cooper writes:  Yesterday, August 14, at Cowichan Station, I saw two Margined Whites.  At Nanaimo River Road, east of Elk Trails Way, there was one Common Woodnymph. At km 12.1 at a gate for a Mosaic Forests property there were 15 or more Woodland Skippers, one Mylitta Crescent and one Sylvan Hairstreak.

Common Woodnymph  Cercyonis pegala (Lep.: Nymphalidae – Satyrinae)  Aziza Cooper

Mylitta Crescent  Phyciodes mylitta  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

Sylvan Hairstreak  Satyrium sylvinus
The ATC spells the specific name –us.

Margined White Pieris marginalis  (Lep.: Pieridae)  Aziza Cooper

2024 August 14

   There have been no submissions to Invert Alert today or yesterday.