2016 May 7

   Yesterday we posted a picture of the caterpillar of the moth Coryphista meadii.  Coincidentally, today Rebecca Reader-Lee sends photos of two adults of the same species from the North Highlands.  They both seem to satisfy Jeremy Gatten’s criteria (see April 21) for identifying them.

Barberry Geometer Coryphista meadii (Lep.: Geometridae)  Rebecca Reader-Lee

Barberry Geometer Coryphista meadii (Lep.: Geometridae)  Rebecca Reader-Lee

   She also sends a photograph of another geometrid moth – Xanthorhoe defensaria

Xanthorhoe defensaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Rebecca Reader-Lee

and a American Lappet Moth:

American Lappet Moth Phyllodesma americana (Lep.: Lasiocampidae) 

Rebecca Reader-Lee

   Annie Pang sends a photograph of Autographa californica, taken today.

 Autographa californica (Lep.: Noctuidae) Annie Pang

   Val George writes:  This afternoon, May 7, there was a very fresh West Coast Lady on the reservoir at Mount Tolmie.

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

2016 May 6

   Jeremy Tatum shows two geometrid caterpillars.  The Barberry Geometer from one of the eggs depicted on April 21, from Mahonia near Munn Road.  The Common Emerald on dogwood on the Lochside Trail near Blenkinsop Lake yesterday.

Barberry Geometer Coryphista meadii (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

Common Emerald Hemithea aestivaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Kem Luther sends a photograph of a large caterpillar photographed by Janet Renouf in Matchosin.

 Catocala aholibah (Lep.: Erebidae – Catocalinae)

Janet Renouf

   Here’s one from Mike Yip, May 2, which I’m afraid that I missed in the pile.  Sorry, Mike!  He wrote that although the lupines were only 10 percent in bloom (probably a bit more advanced by now), Silvery Blues were common.  Here is a pair photographed by Mike at the Horn Lake exit.

 Silvery Blues Glaucopsyche lygdamus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)   Mike Yip

 Jeff Gaskin writes:  Today, May 6, I was out on the Lochside trail north of Blenkinsop Lake and I found a Red Admiral. On the bicycling pathway connecting Lochside Drive to Blenkinsop Road, which is south of Blenkinsop Lake, was one Pale Tiger Swallowtail.   Another Pale Tiger Swallowtail was on Mount Tolmie, and my first of year Western Tiger Swallowtail was along Richmond Avenue near Bay Street.

    Val George writes: The hot weather this afternoon, May 6, brought out a bonanza of butterflies at and near the summit of Mount Tolmie:  3 Pale Swallowtails, 1 Western Tiger Swallowtail, 2 Painted Ladies, 2 California Tortoiseshells, 1 Red Admiral, 1 Propertius Duskywing (photo attached), and 1 Cabbage White.

Propertius Duskywing Erynnis propertius (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Val George

   Jeremy Tatum found a spider in his Saanich apartment, and photographed it before putting it out!  Robb Bennett, who kindly identified it, writes:  Philodromus dispar, a male.  Another introduced species here; the males are easily identified by their highly contrasting dark dorsal surfaces and light coloured sides and legs.

Philodromus dispar (Ara.: Philodromidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Annie Pang sends a picture of a fearsome male robber fly, kindly identified for us by Rob Cannings as Laphria sp., either L. fernaldi or, more likely, Rob writes, L. asturina, “given the extensive dark hairs on the front of the thorax”

 Laphria (probably asturina) (Dip.: Asilidae)  Annie Pang

2016 May 5

    Aziza Cooper writes

   On Sunday, May 1, about a dozen butterfliers, led by Gordon Hart, gathered at Mount Tolmie for the monthly butterfly walk. The weather was perfect: warm and sunny. We visited four sites and saw a total of 12 species.

Mount Tolmie:

Anise Swallowtail

Pale Swallowtail

Western Tiger Swallowtail

Propertius Duskywing

Spring Azure

Cabbage White

Lupin patch next to Sooke Road at Highway 1 overpass:

Silvery Blue – 6 or more

Red Admiral (flyby)

Munn Road powerlines:

Brown Elfin (including an egg on a Gaultheria calyx)

Gordon Hart’s home, Blue Valley Road:

Green Comma

Cedar Hairstreak

Mount Tolmie, 4pm:

Painted Lady

The Silvery Blues gave a wonderful show, with a female on a lupin and two males perched or flying around her. We saw the tiny white eggs on the lupin heads.

To which Jeremy Tatum adds one more species – though unfortunately a deceased one.  One or two of us saw, near the Silvery Blue location, an ant dragging a dead Moss’s Elfin along the sidewalk.

   Annie Pang sends a photograph, taken yesterday, of a potter wasp.  Thanks to Matthias Buck for the identification.

 Potter wasp Ancistrocerus sp.  (Hym.: Vespidae)  Annie Pang

   Rosemary Jorna sends a picture of a bee [which I believe is a Honey Bee – Jeremy] from Scafe Hill, May 5.

Honey Bee Apis mellifera (Hym.: Apidae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Jody Wells sends a picture of a Pale Tiger Swallowtail.

Pale Tiger Swallowtail Papilio eurymedon (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Jody Wells

   Jeremy Tatum writes: I saw two Red Admirals and a Western Tiger Swallowtail (only my second this year) along the Lochside Trail north of Blenkinsop Lake today.  I also met Mike and Barbara McGrenere, who said that they had just seen two Mourning Cloaks along the same trail.   But still no Satyr Comma.  As Enrico Fermi said, in a different context:  Where are they?

   And now, three interesting beetles. Enoclerus eximius  found by Nathan Fisk on the maples ‎backing Esquimalt Lagoon.

   Enoclerus eximius (Col.: Cleridae)  Nathan Fisk

   And two found by Libby Avis.  Of the first, Libby writes:  Anisosticta bitriangularis, the Marsh Lady Beetle. A very small ladybird – only about 3-4mm. We have never seen this before, but found several in a wet meadow. Taken on May 1^st in the Alberni Valley.

Anisosticta bitriangularis (Col.: Coccinellidae)  Libby Avis

And for this one, Libby writes:  Ribbed Pine Borer,  Rhagium inquisitor. Found on newly felled Douglas Fir also in the Alberni Valley on May 1^st. Have seen this before in the interior, but this is the first one for us on the island.

Rhagium inquisitor (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Libby Avis

2016 May 4

   Rosemary Jorna sends photographs of a beetle (from Witty’s Lagoon) and a spider (from near Kemp Lake)- but we’ll have to be content for the time being to naming just their Families. We can’t always name them all!

Long-horned beetle (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Rosemary Jorna

Male jumping spider (Ara.: Salticidae)  Rosemary Jorna

Harvestman Phalangium opilio (Opil: Phalangiidae) Anne Pang

   Jeremy Tatum sends pictures of two moths.  The first is an Indian Meal Moth, found in his Saanich apartment building yesterday.

Indian Meal Moth Plodia interpunctella (Lep.: Pyralidae)

Jeremy Tatum

   The second is a lifer for him. Reared from a caterpillar found on Garry Oak on Christmas Hill last August.  The adult moth emerged yesterday and was released on Christmas Hill.  Thanks to Libby Avis for identifying it as Digrammia muscariata.

Digrammia muscariata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

2016 May 3

   Jeremy Tatum writes:   The longer I edit this site, the more amazed I am at the enormous diversity of invertebrates we have in our area, the huge variety of creatures that users manage to photograph, and the tremendous quality of the photographs.  Thanks and congratulations to all contributors are in order, and thanks to the several experts who have helped us with identifications.

   Annie Pang sends a photograph of a damselfly:

Damselfly Enallagma sp. (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)  Annie Pang

Val George sends a picture of a Green Comma from Gordon and Anne-Marie Hart’s Highlands house during the May 1 butterfly walk.  He writes that it shows the identifying features on both the dorsal and ventral sides.

  Green Comma Polygonia faunus (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Val George

He also sends the top of a lupine flower seen at the Colwood turnoff during the butterfly walk.  The sharp-eyed will see on it two eggs of the Silvery Blue butterfly.

Silvery Blue eggs Glaucopsyche lygdamus

(Lep.: Lycaenidae)

Val George

Aziza Cooper sends some photographs of commas from Mount Cokely and from Taylor Road.  Commas are difficult but I believe these are Green Commas.

Green Comma Polygonia faunus (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Aziza Cooper

Green Comma Polygonia faunus (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Aziza Cooper

Green Comma Polygonia faunus (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Aziza Cooper

   Rosemary Jorna agrees with several other observers that there have been very few Satyr Commas this year.  Jeremy Tatum has yet to see one.

Aziza sends a selection of other butterflies from a recent visit to Mount Cokely.

Western Brown Elfin Incisalia iroides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

Two-banded Grizzled Skipper Pyrgus ruralis (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Aziza Cooper

Western Pine Elfin Incisalia eryphon (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

Western Tailed Blue Everes amyntula (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

Jody Wells photographed a tiger beetle at Cordova Spit.  These beetles run around so rapidly that Jody did well to get a photograph. Thanks to Claudia Copley for identifying it as Cicindela tranquebarica.

Tiger beetle Cicindela tranquebarica (Col.: Carabidae – Cicindelinae)

  Jody Wells

   Rosemary Jorna writes: I went looking for micro snails on our big leaf maples today May 2 2016 and found a second population; previous searches had not revealed them. The white curved shape is my fingernail.

 Nearctula sp. (Pul.:  Vertiginidae)  Rosemary Jorna

Jeremy Tatum writes:   That’s all I have time for today!   There are more photos in the queue, so please have patience.  I’ll get them up in the next couple of days.