This blog provides an informal forum for terrestrial invertebrate watchers to post recent sightings of interesting observations in the southern Vancouver Island region. Please send your sightings by email to Jeremy Tatum (tatumjb352@gmail.com). Be sure to include your name, phone number, the species name (common or scientific) of the invertebrate you saw, location, date, and number of individuals. If you have a photograph you are willing to share, please send it along. Click on the title above for an index of past sightings.The index is updated most days.

August 7 morning 1

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

 

 

August 6

2017 August 6, evening

 

   Samantha Hatfield sends photographs of a Pine White from the E&N bike trail in View Royal, and a Lorquin’s Admiral in the North Jubilee neighbourhood.   The usual orange wingtip in the latter is replaced, for some unknown reason, with white.

 

Male Pine White Neophasia menapia (Lep.: Pieridae)  Samantha Hatfield

 

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Samantha Hatfield

 

 

   Bill Katz sends photographs of two geometrid moths from Goldstream Park.  Thanks to Libby Avis for identifying the first of these for us.

 


Perizoma costiguttata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Bill Katz

 


Plemyria georgii (Lep.: Geometridae) Bill Katz

 

 

   Aziza Cooper went to Boas Road in the Spectacle Lake area on August 5 and reported:

1 Pine White

1 Lorquin’s Admiral

1 Grey Hairstreak

9 Woodland Skippers

She sends two photographs.  Grey Hairstreaks seem to like nectaring at Pearly Everlasting, which is also the larval foodplant.

 

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

 

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

 

 

   Annie Pang sends some photographs of a fearful robber fly from Gorge Park, August 1.  Thanks to Rob Cannings for confirming her identification as Laphria fernaldi.

 

Male robber fly Laphria fernaldi (Dip.: Asilidae)  Annie Pang

 

Male robber fly Laphria fernaldi (Dip.: Asilidae)  Annie Pang

 

 

Male robber fly Laphria fernaldi (Dip.: Asilidae)  Annie Pang

 

 

Male robber fly Laphria fernaldi (Dip.: Asilidae)  Annie Pang

 

More to come tomorrow….

 

 

August 5 evening

2017 August 5 evening

 

 From Gordon Hart:

 

Just a reminder for the VNHS monthly Butterfly Walk this Sunday, August 6.  We will meet at Mt Tolmie at 1 p.m. You can park at the main parking lot north of the summit, or in the lot by the reservoir where we will have an initial look for butterflies and then decide where to go from there.
Hope to see you Sunday!

 

 

   Debbie Mayzes writes from Lantzville that the moth below stayed at her house for a long time in June.     It is a Ceanothus Silk Moth Hyalophora euryalus.

 


Hyalophora euryalus (Lep.: Saturniidae)  Debbie Mayzes

August 5

August 5, morning

 

  From Gordon Hart:

 

Just a reminder for the VNHS monthly Butterfly Walk this Sunday, August 6.  We will meet at Mt Tolmie at 1 p.m. You can park at the main parking lot north of the summit, or in the lot by the reservoir where we will have an initial look for butterflies and then decide where to go from there.
Hope to see you Sunday!

 

Gordon also sends a photograph of a Pine White from the Highlands District, August 1.

 

Male Pine White Neophasia menapia (Lep.: Pieridae)  Gordon Hart

 

August 4

2017 August 4, 2017

 

Colias alert!

   Val George writes:  At the Tuesday VNHS birding walk Jeff Gaskin reminded me that it was about this time of year that Western Branded Skippers, Hesperia colorado, had been recorded at Saanichton Spit.  So this afternoon, Aug 3, I went out there to check it out and, sure enough, I found one amongst the other skippers.  It was nectaring on Gumweed  about 100 m along the path from the parking lot.  A bonus on the way out there was a sulphur butterfly about 150 m south of Michell’s Farm on Lochside Drive.  I was pretty sure it was an Orange Sulphur, Colias eurytheme, but it wouldn’t settle long enough for me to be 100 percent sure of the species.

 

Western Branded Skipper Hesperia colorado (Lep.: Hesperiidae) Val George

 

   Aziza Cooper writes: On Wednesday, Aug. 2 at Centennial Park, this Pine White was on the lawn near the picnic tables.

 

Male Pine White Neophasia menapia (Lep.: Pieridae)  Aziza Cooper

 

 

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Today (August 4) I walked from Island View Beach to Cordova (Saanichton) Spit to see if I could find the Western Branded Skippers that Val reported.  On the way from IVB to the Spit I saw a Purplish Copper, a Large Heath (“Ringlet”), several Woodland Skippers and even a rather late Essex (“European”) Skipper.  And then, when I reached the exact spot described by Val above, I came across two Western Branded Skippers obviously very much in love and  performing a prolonged nuptial display.

 

   Aziza Cooper writes:  Today, Friday, August 4, this bee was on a Chicory flower at Maber Flats.

 


Bombus melanopygus (Hym.: Apidae)  Aziza Cooper