2017 August 9

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I found a spider in my apartment this morning that was so huge that I couldn’t fit it all into the frame:

Eratigena atrica (Ara.: Agelenidae) Jeremy Tatum

   Aziza Cooper writes: On Monday, August 7, I found one Purplish Copper at McIntyre Reservoir along the south side rim road. Also there were Cabbage Whites and one Western Pondhawk dragonfly.

Purplish Copper Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae) Aziza Cooper

Western Pondhawk Erythemis collocata (Odo.: Libellulidae) Aziza Cooper

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I was at Swan Lake today, and I saw what I took to be a small metallic blue ichneumonid or braconid.  I had more or less decided that it was too small to be an ichneumonid and therefore it was probably a braconid when I suddenly realized that I was in entirely the wrong Order!  It was a sesiid (clearwing) moth. It was a smaller and different species from the Synanthedon bibionipennis twice recently reported on this site, but it didn’t stay for me to get a good look at it;  it darted off as they so often do.  So rarely do I see sesiids, and so exciting are they, that I take note of them even when it is just a fleeting glance at an unidentified one.

2017 August 8

   Val George photographed a puzzling moth in his Oak Bay garden on August 6.  Thanks to Libby Avis for confirming Val’s tentative identification as Cyclophora dataria.  If you enjoy playing the game “spot the difference” have a look at Ken Vaughan’s July 31 photograph of Scopula quinquelinearia – and you’ll appreciate some of the difficulties we sometimes have with identification!

Cyclophora dataria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Val George

   Jeff Gaskin writes:  This morning (August 8) the Tuesday birding group saw the following butterflies:  3 Lorquin’s Admirals, a still looking good Western Tiger Swallowtail, 18 Woodland Skippers, and 5 Cabbage Whites.

  Kurtis Herberger writes: On Sunday night (August 6) we had a special visitor stop by. I’m no beetle expert but I believe it is a male Prionus californicus.  (Thank you, Scott Gilmore for confirmation.)  Also known as California Root Borer. It was still around the next morning so we took a few pictures before watching him quickly dig down into the soil in our native plant garden. It was huge at almost 3 inches long and his antennae were just as wide. It looked so exotic and seemed like it should be living in a cloud forest in South America and not on a dry B.C island.

[Jeremy Tatum writes:  These beetles are huge – but 3 inches would probably be a world record.  Shall we settle for maybe 2.5 inches max?]

Prionus californicus (Col.: Cerambycidae) Kurtis Herperger

  There are some Baird’s Sandpipers near the Victoria Airport just now, feeding on some sort of insect larva.  Jody Wells sends some photographs, and it would be interesting to identify the larvae.  Jeremy Gatten suggests possibly leatherjackets, and Jeremy Tatum agrees, though probably neither Jeremy would bet his life savings on it.  Opinions (with reasons) welcome.

Baird’s Sandpiper Calidris bairdii (Cha.: Scolopacidae)

with possibly leatherjacket – larva of Crane Fly (Dip.: Tipulidae)

Jody Wells

Baird’s Sandpiper Calidris bairdii (Cha.: Scolopacidae)

with possibly leatherjacket – larva of Crane Fly (Dip.: Tipulidae)

Jody Wells

Baird’s Sandpiper Calidris bairdii (Cha.: Scolopacidae)

with possibly leatherjacket – larva of Crane Fly (Dip.: Tipulidae)

Jody Wells

2017 August 7 evening

   Jeff Gaskin reports a Painted Lady from Clover Point, August 4.  And today, August 7, in Beacon Hill Park, he notes:  8 Pine Whites, almost all in conifers just west of the petting zoo; at least 30 Woodland Skippers; two rather tattered Western Tiger Swallowtails; and a Cabbage White. 

   Gordon Hart photographed a robber fly on Cordova (Saanichton) Spit during the VNHS Butterfly Walk yesterday, August 6.  Rob Cannings writes:  It looks like a female Stenopogon inquinatus. However, I admit I’m not 100% certain because a relative, Scleropogon bradleyi, also flies locally at this time of year. Both, especially the former, are variable in colour, and are sometimes hard to tell apart in photos when they are atypical, like this one. The distinguishing features are almost never visible in pictures. Stenopogon inquinatus usually has a black/orange abdomen but sometimes, as here, it is grey. So I’m going for inquinatus, but I could be mistaken. In my opinion, the two genera should be lumped — as they had been for many years until recently.

Robber fly.  Probably Stenopogon inquinatus  (Dip.: Asilidae)  Gordon Hart

   Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of a chrysalis of a Red Admiral from Lochside and Lohbrunner’s.

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

   Barb McGrenere writes: This morning, Mike and I saw 2 Pine Whites high in the Douglas Firs at the top of Observatory Hill.  Sorry, no photos.  We’ve been up there many times this spring and summer and these are the first Pine Whites we have seen this year up there.  There was 1 Cabbage White near the base of Observatory Hill.

2017 August 7 morning 2

   Samantha Hatfield sends a photograph of a Woodland Skipper from Gyro Beach.

Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides (Lep.: Hesperiidae)

Samantha Hatfield

   Ken Vaughan had a good day at the Beaver Lake Retriever Ponds on August 8:

Striped Meadowhawk Sympetrum pallipes (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Ken Vaughan

Probably Spotted Spreadwing Lestes congener (Odo.: Lestidae) Ken Vaughan

Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides (Lep.: Hesperiidae) Ken Vaughan

Snipe fly Rhagio sp. (Dip.: Rhagionidae) Ken Vaughan

Ichneumon wasp Pimpla (probably rufipes or near) (Hym.: Ichneumonidae)

Ken Vaughan

Eight-spotted Skimmer Libellula forensis (Odo.: Libellulidae) Ken Vaughan

Drumming Katydid Meconema thalassinum (Orth.: Tettigoniidae) Ken Vaughan

2017 August 7 morning

   Ten butterfly enthusiasts joined the VNHS monthly Butterfly Walk on Sunday August 6.  Although butterfly activity is beginning to die down, we made a specific target for the outing, namely to try to find the Western Branded Skipper at Cordova (Saanichton) Spit.  Success!  We had good looks at three of these, which were “lifers” for several of our group.  Jeff Gaskin and Aziza Cooper kept score of the butterflies we saw, namely:

   At Mount Tolmie, before we took off:

                                  1 Lorquin’s Admiral

                                  2 Woodland Skippers

                                  1 Cabbage White

   Cordova Spit:         1 Lorquin’s Admiral

                                  3 Cabbage Whites

                              c25 Woodland Skippers

                                 3 Western Branded Skippers

                                 1 Large Heath (“Ringlet”)

   At Mount Tolmie, when we returned:

                                 1 Western Tiger Swallowtail

                                 1 West Coast Lady

Also seen at Cordova Spit was the day-flying moth Heliothis phloxiphaga

Here are some photographs of butterflies and other insects from the trip:

West Coast Lady Vanessa annabella (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Gordon Hart

Western Branded Skipper Hesperia colorado (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Aziza Cooper

Western Branded Skipper Hesperia colorado (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Aziza Cooper

Western Branded Skipper Hesperia colorado (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Aziza Cooper

Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Aziza Cooper

Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Aziza Cooper

Western Branded Skipper Hesperia colorado (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Gordon Hart

(plus unidentified fly!)

Heliothis phloxiphaga (Lep.: Noctuidae) Aziza Cooper

Sand wasp Bembix americana (Hym.: Crabronidae)  Gordon Hart

Hunting wasp Ammophila sp. (Hym.: Sphecidae)  Gordon Hart