2024 April 17
Jeremy Tatum writes: There was a California Tortoiseshell on the Mount Tolmie reservoir at 5:00 pm today. It was a different individual from the one photographed there recently by Marie and by Aziza. This was the only butterfly reported to Invert Alert today. I visited Swan Lake today, and Lochside Drive at Blenkinsop Lake yesterday, without seeing any butterflies. It is still appropriate for observers to report any butterfly sightings, even if just singletons of common species.
2024 April 16
Our plea for sightings of Moss’s Elfin led to a quick response from Aziza Cooper, who draws our attention to an item on iNaturalist of a Moss’s Elfin at Lone Tree Hill on April 10. Rebecca Reader-Lee is the observer. The link, showing a photograph, is https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/207460416
Jeff Gaskin reports that today, April 16, at Panama Flats there was a Western Spring Azure and a Mourning Cloak.
Marie O’Shaughnessy reports three Sara Orangetips from Mount Douglas today.
Kirsten Mills writes: Today, April 16, I went to Mount Tolmie around 4-5pm. The only butterflies I saw were two Western Spring Azures.
2024 April 15 evening
Although we had a warm day yesterday, with several butterflies seen, today there has been a bitterly cold wind, and no one hes reported any. However I find that I overlooked an eletter from Gordon Hart yesterday, April 14, reporting that at his Highlands home he saw four Green Commas all at the same time in the late afternoon in a sunny patch. There were also Mourning Cloaks and Western Spring Azures.
Jeremy Tatum writes: Re Ken Vaughan’s comma butterfly reported in this morning’s Invert Alert, I’m still hoping for an expert opinion, but at the moment I am pretty much convinced that it is indeed an Oreas Comma. Quite an exciting find! Let us all keep a good look-out for this species.
2024 April 15 morning
Ian Cooper writes: Here are a few more pictures from my April 12 excursion/photoshoot at *Colquitz River Park and the #GG Trail in View Royal:
I’m curious to see what, if anything, will emerge from this suspected spider egg sac, first spotted on a broken bit of blow-down branch by the 9 km marker on the GG trail in View Royal on March 29. To improve the egg sac’s chance of survival, I relocated the broken branch to a spot a little way up the embankment, where I stuck it into the leaflitter.
#Unknown spider egg sac Ian Cooper
Below is the egg sac normally seen guarded by its mother, a Pimoa altioculata, whose pictures have appeared on this site previously. She fled from view as I tried to get a close up shot of her and her egg sac on the Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal.
#Egg sac of Pimoa altioculata (Ara.: Pimoidae) Ian Cooper
*Common Chrysalis Snail – Lauria cylindracea – (Pul.: Lauriidae) Ian Cooper
*Harvestman (Opiliones) Ian Cooper
*Unidentified theridiid (cobweb weaver) (Ara.: Theridiidae) Ian Cooper
(Could this be another Rugathodes sexpunctatus?)
# Linyphiine spider (Ara.: Linyphiidae – Linyphiinae) Ian Cooper
Ken Vaughan sends this photograph of a comma from Mount Tolmie, April 14. It is often quite difficult to identify commas from the upperside alone, so what do you think this one is? Ken suggests oreas, and Gordon Hart points out the great similarity between Ken’s butterfly and the photograph of oreas in Yip and Miskelly’s book. We therefore ask observers to keep a good look out for, and even make a special search for, any comma on Mount Tolmie, and try to get a glimpse of the underside.
Comma. Is this Polygonia oreas? (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Ken Vaughan
And, while on the subject of keeping a special lookout for particular butterflies, we need some sightings of Moss’s Elfin!
Aziza Cooper writes: On April 12 at Beacon Hill Park, I saw one Western Spring Azure and one Cabbage White. At Mount Tolmie reservoir on April 13 there were two California Tortoiseshells and one Mourning Cloak. A wasp was next to the reservoir. At Beacon Hill Park on April 14 there was one Cabbage White. The tortoiseshell below seems to be the same one that was photographed by Marie O’Shaughnessy a couple of days ago!
California Tortoiseshell Nymphalis californica (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Aziza Cooper
Vespula germanica/pensylvanica (Hym.: Vespidae) Aziza Cooper
2024 April 14 evening
This moth emerged today – reared from a caterpillar found by Ian Cooper on Snowberry. Released on Mount Tolmie.
Euceratia securella (Lep.: Ypsolophidae) Jeremy Tatum
Moths of this genus were formerly classified in the Family Plutellidae. A new species, E. intermedia, has recently been erected. I don’t know yet (writes Jeremy Tatum) how to distinguish it from securella. However, so far, intermedia has been described only from California. According to the formal description: “ dark brown markings are present on the forewing of E. securella but absent on those of E. intermedia and E. castella”. That seems to make our one securella.
Jeremy Tatum writes: Today, April 14, I saw Marie’s California Tortoiseshell still on the Mount Tolmie reservoir.
Jeff Gaskin writes: I found a Mourning Cloak behind Tillicum Mall in Cuthbert Holmes Park around 1:15 p.m. today, April 14.
Wendy Ansell writes: Today (Apr. 14) at and near to Rithet’s Bog I saw
2 Mourning Cloaks
1 Western Spring Azure