2015 August 3

   Jeremy Tatum visited Mount Tolmie at 6:00 pm on August 2 and found 1 Red Admiral on the reservoir, and 1 Painted Lady near the Jeffrey Pine.

  Devon Parker writes:  I was up on the San Juan Ridge again and found six species of butterflies today near the same area as last time [see July 18 posting], including three species not seen before on the San Juan Ridge.

2 Oreas Comma Polygonia oreas.
3 Mylitta Crescent Phyciodes mylitta nectaring on Pearly Everlasting.
3 Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini.
5 Hydaspe Fritillary Speyeria hydaspe nectaring on Pearly Everlasting.
3 Mariposa Copper Lycaena mariposa nectaring on Pearly Everlasting.
1 Sylvan Hairstreak Satyrium sylvinum.

   Fritillaries are notoriously difficult to identify from upperside alone.  Devon believes the ones he saw are probably hydaspe, but he will try and photograph the underside next time he goes there.  We wish him luck.

Sylvan Hairstreak Satyrium sylvinum (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

 Mylitta Crescent Phyciodes mylitta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Devon Parker

Hydaspe Fritillary  Speyeria hydaspe (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Devon Parker

   Annie Pang sends a picture of a European Paper Wasp

European Paper Wasp  Polistes dominula (Hym.: Vespidae)  Annie Pang

   David Robichaud writes:   I thought folks would want to know [yes we would! – Jeremy] that the Western Branded Skippers are flying at Cordova (Saanichton) Spit right now (Aug 3), and looking fresh.  I hadn’t checked there until today, so I can’t say when they started to emerge.  I saw more than a dozen in about 1.5 hours of wandering around.  There were also a few Woodland Skippers interspersed, just to make things interesting.  I’ve attached a photo.

   Jeremy Tatum comments.  Some taxonomists split the branded skippers into a Common Branded Skipper  Hesperia comma (Holarctic distribution – called Silver -spotted Skipper in the UK) and the newly-split Western Branded Skipper H. colorado.  Both are supposed to occur on Vancouver Island, but the Cordova Bay ones are supposed to be colorado.  Perhaps a lot more observations are called for!   I wish I could find the caterpillar.

 Western Branded Skipper  Hesperia colorado  (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  David Robichaud

    Aziza Cooper writes:  Today I found two Purplish Coppers at the pump house on the east side of Martindale valley, just north of Martindale Road. They were mostly nectaring on daisies. At least 50 Cabbage Whites were also there.

Female Purplish Copper Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

   And now for two fearsome flies.  Harmless to humans, but not to other insects!  The first is identified by Jeff Skevington as Villa sp., a species of bee fly.  It was photographed by Aziza Cooper during yesterday’s outing to the Kinsol trestle. The second, which came into my (Jeremy Tatum) living room today to frighten me, is identified by Rob Cannings as Laphria ventralis,  a species of robber fly.  Thanks to these experts for helping us out.

Laphria ventralis (Dip.: Asilidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2015 August 1

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  In yesterday’s (July 31) posting we posted details of the August monthly butterfly walk, which is to be to the Kinsol Trestle.  We dutifully posted where to meet (at the top of Mount Tolmie), and at what time (noon), but I have just realized that we omitted one minor detail – the date!  It is to be Sunday August 2.  Apologies for that, but we hope to see you anyway. All welcome.  Other details in the July 31 posting (just scroll down a few inches).

   The flowerheads of umbelliferous plants – such as Wild Carrot (“Queen Anne’s Lace”) and others are at present attracting lots of interesting bees, wasps and flies.  All you have to do is to set up your camera, on a tripod if you have one, focussed on an umbelliferous flower, and photograph each insect as it comes.  The one snag is going to be identification.  I’m not particularly knowledgeable on those groups, so we’ll need some help with identification.

  I’m slightly more knowledgeable about caterpillars – so here’s a nice one from Panama Flats today:

Acronycta dactylina (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jeremy Tatum

  Apologies to contributors for posting this so early in the day, before you have had a chance to submit your today’s photos – but I had to get that notice about the date of the Butterfly Walk posted a.s.a.p.

2015 July 31

Monthly Butterfly Walk

Aziza Cooper writes: 

Hello, butterfly watchers,

For the August Butterfly Walk I’d like to suggest that we meet at the top of Mount Tolmie at noon instead of 1pm, and then go to Kinsol Trestle, near Shawnigan Lake. It’s the August long weekend, so it will be a good holiday outing and a chance of more variety in butterflies than we are likely to find in Victoria. As always, the walk is dependent on good weather and will be cancelled if the weather is cold or raining.

Jeremy Tatum’s list of butterflies sighted in past years include Hydaspe Fritilliary, Clodius Parnassian, Dun Skipper and Western Tailed Blue.

I’d like to meet at noon instead of 1pm to allow for the driving time which will be about an hour.

Here are the directions:

From Victoria:  From the Trans Canada Highway turn west onto Mill Bay/Shawnigan Lake Road and go all the way into the Village of Shawnigan Lake. Turn right onto Shawnigan Lake Road and follow it until it turns into Renfrew Road. Follow Renfrew road past the end of the Lake to Gleneagles Road and turn right. There is a public parking area about 550 metres down the road on the right hand side. Park here and walk to the Trestle on the Cowichan Valley Trail which is approximately 1.2 km in distance.

Here’s a link to the website:

http://www.cvrd.bc.ca/index.aspx?NID=1379

Comments/questions: tanageraz AT yahoo.com, or phone me at 250-516-7703.

Cheers,

Aziza Cooper

   Rosemary Jorna writes:  This water beetle is over 3 cm in size. It was in the Phillips’
garden pond near Kemp Lake; they caught it when looking for pond life to
show tonight at the Sooke Children’s Garden Club.

   Scott Gilmore identifies it for us as a female Predacious Diving Beetle of the genus Dytiscus.

 Dytiscus sp. (Col.: Dytiscidae)         Rosemary Jorna

Dytiscus sp. (Col.: Dytiscidae)         Rosemary Jorna

    Jeremy Tatum writes:  We have had some, but only a very, very few, aquatic animals on this site. There is a whole world of invertebrates out there in rivers and ponds just waiting to be watched and photographed. There will be technical difficulties to overcome, which will be a challenge to photographers, but it will be wonderful to see more of these aquatic creatures.

   This site was originally intended for terrestrial invertebrates, which certainly includes pond life, though I notice that the current heading at the top of the site does not include the work “terrestrial”.   We’ll have to restore that!  Occasionally I have received photographs of animals that don’t come into this category, and I have reluctantly not posted them.  Recently I received some excellent photographs of seashore invertebrates.  This raises the question: When naturalists take photographs of things other than terrestrial invertebrates, where can they be posted so that other naturalists can enjoy them, and so that the photographer gets some appreciation for his/her work?  SUGGESTIONS PLEASE.

   Would anyone like, for example, to set up a website, similar to this one, but covering, for example, seashore life?  It’s great fun doing it. If you are not a computer expert (as I’m not) and have no idea how to set up a website (as I haven’t) there are computer exerts around who would be happy to set up a site, so that all you have to do is to receive photographs as they are sent in, and paste it into the website, which is routine after you have been shown how to do it and have done it once or twice.  Please let us hear some suggestions, and perhaps even volunteer to run a seashore website.  We have some seashore photos from contributors right now, and we don’t want them just to disappear!

2015 July 30

   Aziza Cooper sends a picture of a dragonfly from Rocky Point, July 28.  We weren’t sure what it was, so thanks to Rob Cannings, who writes:  “A bit of a tricky one, but pretty sure this is a young female Striped Meadowhawk.”

Striped Meadowhawk Sympetrum pallipes (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Aziza Cooper

   Gordon Hart writes:  Today, July 29,at home (Highlands), we saw a Cedar Hairstreak on some Oregano flowers . This would be a second generation since I don’t think we have seen any since May or early June. There were also many Woodland Skippers (25-30) on the lavender and buddleia flowers, and a couple of  Lorquin’s Admirals.

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  Yes, this does seem to be rather late for a Cedar Hairstreak.  Whether it is a genuine second generation (i.e. hatched from an egg laid this year) or just a late individual from a 2014 egg we can’t be sure.  I have no experience in rearing this species, but as far as I know it is supposed to be univoltine here.

Cedar Hairstreak Mitoura rosneri (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Gordon Hart