2016 May 30

   Apologies for lack of action recently, but we are almost back in business.  First I caught a “bug” (not Hemiptera) and was out of action for a while.  Then at the weekend, just when I thought I’d catch up, telephone service to the Elliott Building was cut off all weekend, and with it, all access to Web, Internet, Email, Invert Alert.   Anyway, here’s a start on the backlog.  Sorry if I don’t manage to get all the exact dates and locations, but they are all local (Victoria) in the last few days.   This will be posted at about 4:00 pm, May 30.  If I have missed any contributions submitted before then, let me know!  Jeremy Tatum

  Aziza sends photographs of a butterfly, a spider and a fly.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  No doubt about the butterfly, of course. I haven’t sent the spider and the fly out to experts, but I believe I have managed to identify them myself.  I think they are right, but, if anyone thinks I’ve got them wrong, I’m sure s/he’ll let me know.

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

Phidippus johnsoni (Ara.: Salticidae)   Aziza Cooper

Eristalis tenax (Dip.: Syrphidae)  Aziza Cooper

   Annie Pang sends photos of a varied assortment of insects.

First, a syrphid fly, identified by Matthias Buck as Syritta pipiens.

   Next another fly, as yet unidentified.  [Jeremy Tatum wonders whether it might be a stratiomyid, but this is very tentative.  Might also be a syrphid.]

Unidentified fly (Dip.: Stratiomyidae? Syrphidae?)  Annie Pang

   Next, a bee.  Can someone identify it for us?

Unidentified bee.  Can anyone help?  (Hym.)  Annie Pang

   Next, a sphecid wasp.

Prionyx canadensis (Hym.: Sphecidae)  Annie Pang

And a ladybird beetle:

Harmonia axyridis (Col.: Coccinellidae)   Annie Pang

  Jeremy Tatum sends a picture of a moth from the cottonwood trees south of Blenkinsop Lake:

Enargia infumata (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jeremy Tatum

   Jeff Gaskin writes: On May 27 I did a little poking around in Layritz Park and Camosun College (Interurban Campus) and found just a few butterflies.  First of all I saw a colony of Common Ringlets (or Large Heaths) totalling 5 on the Camosun College grounds in a field right near where the paved path or trail comes to the road. Also at Camosun were a Pale Tiger Swallowtail and along the trail up to Broadcast hill were 2 Lorquin’s Admirals.

   Aziza Cooper writes:  On May 27, I visited Quick’s Bottom and Viaduct Park looking for Vancouver Island Ringlets (Large Heaths).. At Quick’s Bottom, I found 69 in the small overgrown field next to the gravel path between Markham Road and Wilkinson Road.  North of Markham Road in the Viaduct Flats area, in the field on the east side, I again found dozens of Ringlets, for a conservative total of 53. Here, the area was too big for me to cover thoroughly, so there could easily be double that number. In contrast, the field on the west side of the strip of forest had only one Ringlet. I also walked along the Layritz Park gravel trails and into the daisy patches a little, and found only one Ringlet. The Ringlets are generally near patches of daisies, and there are large areas of daisies in all the fields there. It would be interesting to walk transects for a systematic survey.

Large Heath (“Ringlet”)  Coenonympha tullia (Lep.: Nymphalidae – Satyrinae) 

Aziza Cooper

2016 May 27

   Annie Pang sends some pictures of flies from the Gorge area.

Merodon equestris (Dip.: Syrphidae)  Annie Pang

Probably Lucilia sp. (Dip.: Calliphoridae) Annie Pang
The female (separated eyes) is in front;  the male (eyes close together) is behind.

Probably Hybomitra sp. (Dip.: Tabanidae)  Annie Pang

Probably Hybomitra sp. (Dip.: Tabanidae)  Annie Pang

[Thanks to Claudia Copley for the tentative identification of this fly.  Jeremy Tatum writes: These flies have a very painful bite, and I am terrified of them.]

2015 May 25

Annie Pang sends pictures of a Two-spotted Ladybird beetle, and of a bumblebee seeking nectar in a Foxglove.

Two-spotted Ladybird Adalia bipunctata (Col.: Coccinellidae)  Annie Pang

Bombus centralis (Hym.: Apidae)   Annie Pang

  Gordon Hart sends a picture of a cicada from his Highlands garden.  Thanks to Claudia Copley for the identification as a teneral Okanagana sp.

Cicada Okanagana sp.  (Hem.: Cicadidae)   Gordon Hart

Libby Avis sends photographs of a caterpillar of Enypia packardata from Rathtrevor Park, Parksville, May 4.   We are not sure how (or if) it is possible to distinguish this caterpillar from that of E. griseata, but we assume, from its range, that it has to be packardata.

Enypia packardata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Libby Avis

Enypia packardata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Libby Avis

   Gerry and Wendy Ansell write: On Tuesday May 24, 2016, we saw three Purplish Coppers on the Indian Reserve north of Island View Beach Regional Park.

Male Purplish Copper Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Wendy Ansell

  Jeremy Tatum shows a third variation of a Large Yellow Underwing.  See also May 19 and 23.

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Jeff Gaskin writes: “Today, May 25, I looked for butterflies on the Galloping Goose trail from Sooke Road at Glen Lake Road to the Colwood exit of the Island Highway. My results are the following:  Cabbage White 25, Western Tiger Swallowtail  6,  Lorquin’s Admiral  2,  Pale Tiger Swallowtail  1,  and Western Spring Azure  1. 

2016 May 24

    Here are some photographs of Boisduval’s Blue from Devon Parker’s trip to the clear cuts west of Spectacle Lake on May 19.  Also a Western Spring Azure from there, and two that we can’t be 100 percent sure of, but which may be Silvery Blues.   The first photograph is of a fairly battered individual, and it appears to have the marks of a bird’s bill on its wings, especially the right hindwing, and near the tornus of the right forewing.

Boisduval’s Blue Icaricia icarioides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

Boisduval’s Blue Icaricia icarioides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

Boisduval’s Blue Icaricia icarioides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

 Boisduval’s Blue Icaricia icarioides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

Western Spring Azure Celastrina echo (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

Maybe Silvery Blue ? Glaucopsyche lygdamus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

Maybe Silvery Blue ? Glaucopsyche lygdamus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

    While near Spectacle Lake on May 22, Devon photographed the moth below:

Hemaris thetis  (Lep.: Sphingidae)   Devon Parker

   Libby Avis sends some photographs from a hike to Cous Estuary in the Alberni Valley, Saturday May 21^st.

 Buprestis aurulenta (Col.: Buprestidae)   Libby Avis

Chrysolina quadrigemina/hyperici (Col.: Chrysomelidae)  Libby Avis

Libby writes:  Both are European species released here to control St John’s Wort.  Hard to tell apart without dissection, although Bug Guide says quadrigemina seems to be more common. We saw large numbers of them all clustered on the host plant.

Leptarctia californiae (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Libby Avis

   Annie Pang sends a photograph of a male Philodromus dispar from Victoria, May 21.

Philodromus dispar (Ara.: Philodromidae) Annie Pang.

   During the two-Parker two-Jeremy expedition on May 14 to find the Johnson’s Hairstreak in the Jordan River area, we came across a handsome noctuid caterpillar on an

alder leaf. Jeremy Gatten soon after identified it as Eurois sp., and further reference to David Wagner’s book on owlet caterpillars revealed that it was almost certainly Eurois astricta.  While it initially continued to feed on alder, it very soon turned its attention to Hardhack which I had brought in for somebody else.  Here is a picture of the caterpillar.

Eurois astricta (Lep.: Noctuidae)    Jeremy Tatum

2016 May 23

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Sorry I didn’t manage an Invert Alert yesterday – I was curled up comfortably in bed all day.  Nice to do once in a while.  Although it’s morning now, this will probably be the only Invert Alert I’ll post today, but keep the observations and photos coming in.  I think I have caught up as of Monday morning, but, if you think that I may have missed any of your photographs, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Rosemary Jorna took a photograph of a syrphid fly at Whiffin Spit on May 18.  We thank Jeff Skevington who tells us that, although it cannot be identified for certain at species level from the photograph, it is female of the genus Syrphus.

Syrphus sp. (Dip.: Syrphidae)   Rosemary Jorna

Nick Doe sends a photograph of a Mesoleuca gratulata from Gabriola Island, May 22, which I think is a slightly late date for this species.

Mesoleuca gratulata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Nick Doe

Jeremy Tatum sends another photograph of a Large Yellow Underwing.  You can compare this one with the one posted on May 19 to see just how variable this European species is.

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jeremy Tatum

Annie Pang reports her first sightings for the year – and very early ones at that – of Lorquin’s Admiral at Gorge Park. May 20.

 Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Annie Pang

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Annie Pang

   And Marie O’Shaughnessy found one on Mount Tomie on May 22.  Seems that Lorquin’s Admirals are back in season – a little early.

On May 7, Gordon Hart found a strange-looking beetle.  Thanks to Scott Gilmore for identifying it as Neoclytus conjunctus.

 Neoclytus conjunctus (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Gordon Hart

Scott Gilmore sends pics of three nice beetles form Upper Lantzville, May 21.

Cardiophorus sp. (Col.: Elateridae) Scott Gilmore

Buprestis aurulenta (Col.: Buprestidae) Scott Gilmore

Three-banded Lady Beetle Coccinella trifasciata (Col.: Coccinellidae)

Scott Gilmore

Rosemary Jorna sends a photograph of a Cinnabar Moth, seen on Gillespie Road, May 21.

Cinnabar Moth Tyria jacobaeae (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae) Rosemary Jorna

Devon Parker sends reports of some butterflies seen on May 21 and 22:

May 21

Hill with Radio Tower east of Mallard Lake, Tofino

1 Anise Swallowtail

3 Western Pale Swallowtail

1 Western Pine Elfin

1 Western Brown Elfin ovipositing on Kinickinnick

May 22

Clearcut North of Spectacle Lake, Malahat

1 Common Ringlet (aka Large Heath Coenonympha tullia)

2 Mylitta Crescent

3 Persius Duskywing

1 Western Pale Swallowtail ovipositing on Alder and Oceanspray

2 Western Brown Elfin

2 Two-Banded Grizzled Skipper

1 Cedar Hairstreak

15+ Boisduval’s Blue (blackmorei subspecies)

10+ Western Spring Azure