2015 October 3

    Monthly Butterfly Walk, October 4.  Scroll down to October 1 posting for details.

    Eric LaGasa has a suggested identification for Aziza Cooper’s caddisfly on the October 2 posting.  Scroll down to that date to see.

   Annie Pang sends photographs taken by Rhona McAdam of a quite small millipede from a garden and in a freshly dug potato in the Rockwell area.

Millipede (DIPLOPODA)   Rhoda McAdam

Millipede (DIPLOPODA)   Rhoda McAdam

   Jody Wells sends a photograph of a pair of meadowhawks ovipositing in the Red Barn area.  Also a Banded Woolly Bear (Isabella Moth).

Meadowhawks ovipositing Sympetrum sp. (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Jody Wells

Banded Woolly Bear Pyrrharctia isabella (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Jody Wells.

2015 October 2

October Monthly Butterfly Walk: Scroll down to October 1 posting for details.

Jeff Gaskin writes: Yesterday, October 1, there was a single Red Admiral in crisp condition sunnying itself on the summit of Christmas Hill, around 4:00 p.m.

Jeremy Tatum writes: Now that October is here, most of the woolly bears that we are seeing are Banded Woolly Bears (Isabella Moth Pyrrharctia isabella), but today at Rithet’s Bog I still saw a late woolly bear caterpillar of the Spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa maculata. The caterpillars of the former are difficult to rear; those of the latter are much easier. Are all furry caterpillars entitled to be called “woolly bears”? I would say no – they must belong to the erebid subfamily Arctiinae. Greek arktos = bear. And how many l’s in woolly? I use two, but I believe that our friends to the south use just one.

Annie Pang sends pictures of a Large Yellow Underwing from her house, September 30.

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae) Annie Pang

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae) Annie Pang

Aziza Cooper sends a photograph of a caddisfly on the wooden walkway near the Goldstream Nature House, September 30. Eric LaGasa suggests that this caddisfly looks like a good fit for Limnephilis sp. Aziza also writes: The Tuesday birding group went to Panama Flats and found many Banded Woolly Bear caterpillars, and 3 Cabbage Whites.

Caddisfly. Perhaps Limnephilus sp.  (Tri.: Limnephilidae) Aziza Cooper

Val George asks: What’s this one? It was in my bathroom in Oak Bay yesterday, Oct 1. Jeremy Tatum responds: Oh, dear. It looks as though it has been trying to get out of your bathroom for some time. It is badly battered and has lost many of the scales and hence wing-pattern. I am not sure that I’ll be able to identify it!

Noctuid moth (Lep.: Noctuidae) Val George.

2015 October 1

Monthly Butterfly Walk
(Jeremy Tatum)

Aziza unfortunately won’t be able to make the October walk, and she has asked me to lead it. We meet at the top of Mount Tolmie at 1:00 pm, Sunday October 4. There are no huge numbers of butterflies around at this time of year, so we’ll think of the October Butterfly Walk as a challenge to find the last few butterflies before the onset of S.A.D. There are still a few Cabbage Whites around, and one or two Red Admirals, Mourning Cloaks and Painted Ladies have been reported in the last couple of weeks.

We usually decide where we are going to go by mutual discussion on Mount Tolmie. I have two suggestions. One is the cabbage fields at Island View Road, where there is a fairly good chance of seeing a few Cabbage Whites. There might also be a chance of finding a late Purplish Copper there or along nearby Island View Beach. And in past years, very rarely, there have been a few October Orange Sulphurs there, though maybe that’s being a bit optimistic. My second suggestion would be Panama Flats to see how many Banded Woolly Bear caterpillars we can count. A couple of years ago there were dozens, perhaps even hundreds, there. This is the caterpillar of the Isabella Moth. But these are just a couple of suggestions. Other suggestions would be welcome when we meet.

Bud Logan sends a photograph of a caterpillar of the Peppered Moth Biston betularia. It has turned brown and assumed a rather dumpy appearance just prior to pupation.

2015 September 30

   Annie Pang writes:  Today in Victoria, it was up to 20 ºC and I was so very pleased to be able to get an Autographa californica moth, common name; Alfalfa Looper , that just flew up in front of me and then landed briefly on some marigolds in Gorge Park Community Gardens. Pictures taken Sept 29, 2015.  [Jeremy Tatum comments:  This is the seventh photo of this species sent to Invert Alert in the last four weeks. (See Aug 28, Sep 10,13, 24, 26 and 29 in addition to today) One of them was reared from a caterpillar, but I wonder if we are having a sudden invasion of this migratory species.  Additional observations will be of interest.]

Autographa californica (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Annie Pang

   David Stirling writes:  On Sunday, September 27, 2015 . fifty or more dragonflies were hawking over the field at East Sooke Park from  2:00 to 3:00 pm. They appeared golden in the low fall sunlight but changed to vivid green if viewed from a different angle. A fine sight. A Merlin was sallying forth to capture individual insects.

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  On September 13 we showed a photograph of an egg of a Cabbage White found on Cakile at Weir’s Beach. The caterpillar is now almost full grown, thriving on a diet of Cakile, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.  (It seems to be favouring the latter at present.)  Photograph below, taken today.

Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae) Jeremy Tatum

2015 September 29

   Val George’s plusiine caterpillar from his Kale plants (August 28 and September 10), which we initially speculated might be Trichoplusia ni, turned out to be Autographa californica.  The photograph below shows an adult from one of these caterpillars. It emerged today, and was released in the Blenkinsop valley.

Autographa californica (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jeremy Tatum

   Aziza Cooper writes:  On Saturday September 26 at Aylard Farm I photographed a Green Darner eating a Cabbage White. Darren Copley mentioned that this was a migratory dragonfly, and it was being studied to find its wintering area.   Today, Monday, September 28, I saw a Red Admiral at the hawk lookout near Beechey Head.  During the butterfly count period I saw ten Cabbage Whites, all but one from my car as I was driving in Victoria, and the last near my home. There were no butterflies at my regular butterfly count area, the Goldstream campground railroad tracks – not one Pine White.

Green Darner Anax junius (Odo.: Aeshnidae)

with Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae)

Aziza Cooper

   Annie Pang photographed the bee below in the Gorge on September 14.  She writes: I’ve never seen anything like it – the thorax a metallic green and yet the abdomen is yellow and black striped.  Sort of looks like a “half’n’half” wasp.  Really would like as much info on this one as anyone can come up with please!

  Jeremy Tatum responds:  We do really need someone who can help with identification of Hymenoptera. I had originally erroneously labelled this as a chrysidid wasp, and I am grateful to Scott Gilmore for pointing out that it is actually a halictid bee of the genus Agapostemon

 Sweat bee Agapostemon sp. (Hym.: Halictidae)  Annie Pang

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  The big bug below, which often attracts attention at this time of year, turned up at my Saanich apartment today.

Western Conifer Seed Bug Leptoglossus occidentalis (Hem.: Coreidae)  Jeremy Tatum