2017 June 16

   Aziza Cooper writes:  Yesterday, June 15, I found this lovely snail at Martindale in a puddle on the road next to the central north/south ditch beside Garcia Nursery.

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I believe this is the European Cepaea nemoralis, a terrestrial snail, which probably isn’t very comfortable in the water.   Let us hope it got out soon.

Cepaea nemoralis (Pul.: Helicidae)  Aziza Cooper

   Rosemary Jorna photographed the beetle below on a maple in the Kemp Lake area on June 14.  Beetles are the largest Order in the animal kingdom, and not all of them can be easily identified.  However, Charlene Wood tells us that it is in the Family Chrysomelidae¸ and we’ll be content with that.

Leaf beetle (Col.: Chrysomelidae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Val George writes:  Butterflies today, June 16, at or near the Mount Tolmie reservoir:  1 West Coast Lady (photo), 3 Painted Ladies, 2 Red Admirals, 1 Lorquin’s Admiral, 2 Western Tiger Swallowtails.

   Jeremy Tatum  writes: That’s the first West Coast Lady reported to Invert Alert this year.  I’ve been going to Mount Tolmie most days, but I decided not to go today – just my luck!

West Coast Lady Vanessa annabella (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Val George

2017 June 15

   Jeremy Tatum writes:

   I see that the Sussex (England) butterfly site gave a link to our site on their May 27 posting.  We should therefore return the compliment and give a link to their great site:

www.sussex-butterflies.org.uk/sightings/

    Re the Monarch reported by Devon Parker (see June 14 morning posting), I made enquiries as to whether they are kept at Butterfly Gardens.  Kurtis Herperger tells me that they are not.  He agrees with me that local sightings could possibly be genuine wild butterflies, but that such sightings are always suspect because of the wedding release industry.  He also notes that school classroom releases are moving away from Painted Ladies towards Monarchs.

   A rainy day today – so no photographs.

2017 June 14 evening

  Annie Pang shows an underside of a Painted Lady from Gorge Park.

Painted Lady Vanessa cardui (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Annie Pang

Dar Churcher sends a photograph of a Cedar Hairstreak  from Colwood, June 6.

Cedar Hairstreak Mitoura rosneri (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Dar Churcher

She sends a photograph of a Large Yellow Underwing, shortly after emergence from its pupa. It is a little further on than the moth shown on David Allinson’s photograph (see June 9).  The wings on the latter photograph were still small stubs.  In Dar’s photograph, the wings have expanded, but are still limp.  They will harden and stiffen.

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Dar Churcher

   Dar also sends a photograph of a spider from her kitchen.  She correctly identified it as a gnaphosid.  Thanks to Sean McCann for taking it further – to genus Sergiolus

Sergiolus sp. (Ara.: Gnaphosidae)  Dar Churcher

Nathan Fisk sends a photograph of a Red Admiral from Fort Rodd Hill, June 13.

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Nathan Fisk

   You’d think a small crab spider would be no match for a large bumblebee.  But think again!  Another Nathan Fisk photograph from Fort Rodd Hill.  I’m not quite certain, but I think the other two insects in the photograph (mixed in with the stamens) may be thripses. I’m also not sure what the plural of thrips is.  Thripses?  Or maybe thripides? I don’t know!

Misumena vatia (Ara.: Thomisidae) with

Bombus melanopygus (Hym.: Apidae)
Nathan Fisk

   Lastly, for today, a moth from near Blenkinsop Lake, June 13.

Aseptis binotata ( Lep.: Noctuidae) Jeremy Tatum

2017 June 14

   Rare Butterfly Alert!  Monarch!  See Devon Parker’s posting below.

   Gordon Hart writes:  On the weekend we travelled to Denman Island and searched unsuccessfully for the Edith (“Taylor’s”) Checkerspot Euphydryas editha taylori. We saw only a Western Pondhawk, Erythemis collocata, female, or young male. Elsewhere on the island there were many Pale and Western Tiger Swallowtails, an Anise Swallowtail and several Red Admirals. The photo attached is of one on some garden art.
We went up to Mount Washington and Paradise Meadows Monday, June 12, but saw only a Cabbage White amidst the drifts of melting snow and early spring flowers. On the way down, we saw several swallowtails at lower elevations, and a bluet identical to the one I sent in recently. I had not read the post at that point, so I did not focus on the tail appendages.

Anise Swallowtail Papilio zelicaon (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Gordon Hart

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Gordon Hart

Western Pondhawk Erythemis collocata (Odo.: Libellulidae) Gordon Hart

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  In case anyone is wondering about the name I am using for the rare checkerspot.  No one seems to know who Edith was, or if there ever was such a person, just as no one seems to know who the Sara of Anthocharis sara was, if anyone. Therefore I don’t call them “Edith’s” Checkerspot or “Sara’s” Orangetip, but just the Edith Checkerspot and the Sara Orangetip, just as we call Speyeria hydaspe the Hydaspe Fritillary.   The Denman Island population of the Edith Checkerspot is regarded as a distinct subspecies, Euphydryas editha taylori, named after an identifiable Rev. Taylor, so it is indeed “Taylor’s”.  Consistent with way subspecies names are used in ornithology, the checkerspot of Denman Island would be the Edith (“Taylor’s”) Checkerspot Euphydryas editha taylori.

   And talking of dragonflies, Jeremy continues, while looking for the Margined White butterfly at Cowichan Station on June 12, I saw several Common Whitetails Plathemis lydia there.

  Devon Parker writes:  On June 5 I had a Painted Lady at Royal Bay.

On June 11 I had a very worn Cedar Hairstreak near Royal Bay Secondary School.

On June 12 I had 20 Field Crescents at Eddy’s Storage. Apparently someone has found another population behind Zanzibar Restaurant on Stelly’s Cross Road. [Indeed someone has!  See Ron Flower’s June 13 posting.]

Also on June 12 I had my first Monarch at the McTavish Interchange.   [Jeremy says:  Wow!!!!!   For the record, Monarchs are exceedingly rare here, although often wrongly reported.  In case some viewers, today or in the future, are inclined to doubt, it should be clarified here that the observer is a highly-skilled observer (who re-discovered the Johnson’s Hairstreak on Vancouver Island) and the sighting is firm.  Provenance of Monarchs, however, is always a problem, since they are available commercially for release at weddings, etc., although there is no reason why this long-distance migrant should not occasionally make its own way here.]

On June 13 I had 15 Large Heaths at Island View Beach.  [Jeremy Tatum says thank you!   Others call them “Ringlets” – but Devon knows my eccentricities!] I attach an interesting aberration of a grey specimen from there. I also got 7 Purplish Coppers (2 females and 5 males) around the Black Knotweed. [A lifer for you, Devon?]

Grey variety of Large Heath (“Ringlet”) Coenonympha tullia

 (Lep.: Nymphalidae – Satyrinae)

Devon Parker

Female Purplish Copper Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

Male Purplish Copper Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I believe the Field Crescent below is a female.

Field Crescent Phyciodes pratensis (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Devon Parker

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Many more to come – but they must wait!

2017 June 13

   Jeremy Gatten writes: I am not sure if Sphinx perelegans has bigger flight years on occasion, but it’s interesting seeing multiple reports locally.  I have been wanting to see one of these for a while now and I know their host plant is Orange Honeysuckle.  I have been looking at patches of Orange Honeysuckle and thinking "I should go out at night and check this spot".  Of course I never do, but now I don’t need to!  On my wall this morning was an impressive Elegant Sphinx waiting for me!

Sphinx perelegans (Lep.: Sphingidae)  Jeremy Gatten

   Occasionally it’s a bit difficult to be sure whether a tiger swallowtail is a Pale or a Western, but there is no doubt about this one photographed by Aziza Cooper on Mock Orange in Brentwood Bay, June 12. It is a no-questions Pale Tiger Swallowtail.

Pale Tiger Swallowtail Papilio eurymedon (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Aziza Cooper

   Ron Flower writes:  We went out to Eddy’s again today to try and get both sexes of Field Crescent, of which there were many to choose from.  My camera was set to a wrong focal point.  Too bad – so no pics today!  What was good, though, is that we checked out a field behind the Zanzibar Restaurant on the corner of West Saanich and Stelly’s Cross Road and immediately found more Field Crescents. All the same flowers also were there.