2015 April 8
Jeff Gaskin writes: There was a Satyr Comma on Hector Road near Interurban Road around 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 7, and it looked in pretty good condition.
Barbara McGrenere writes: This afternoon, Mike and I had a Western Elfin basking on a rhododendron in our garden in Saanich. It was cooperative and I have attached a photo.
Barbara McGrenere
2015 April 7
On April 6, Mike andBarbara McGrenere wrote: This morning, Mike and I saw four Sara Orangetips near the summit of Observatory Hill. And on April 7 they wrote: It was a great morning for butterflies on Mount Douglas. There were 30 Sara Orangetips on the lower and upper open south facing slopes of Mount Douglas. Also there was one male Propertius Duskywing near the path along the lower SW facing slope. And two Western Spring Azures as you come out of the forest to the open SW facing slope.
Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of a caterpillar of Lophocampa argentata from Rithet’s Bog this morning.
Silver-spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa argentata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)
Jeremy Tatum
2015 April 5
The last few days have been either cold or wet, and we have had no reports of butterflies for a week. However, today was sunny and, if one could get out of the wind, not too cold, and some butterflies were on the wing.
David Robichaud reported that Western Elfin butterflies are flying at Government House this week, along with Cabbage White, Sara Orangetip and Western Spring Azure.
Jeremy Tatum and Bill Savale saw one each of Cabbage White, Sara Orangetip, Western Spring Azure and Mourning Cloak at Latoria Creek Park today.
Also today, Jeremy Tatum saw a very pretty little geometrid moth with bright orange hindwings at Tower Point. It was Dasyfidonia avuncularia – a lifer for him.
Aziza Cooper writes: Today the butterfly walk group [that’s that first of this year’s monthly VNHS butterfly walks that Aziza runs] saw one Propertius Duskywing and a Spring Azure at Mount Tolmie. We went on to the Government House grounds where there were about six Spring Azures and eight Cabbage Whites. We saw two Cabbage Whites mating. We also saw a Brown Creeper catch and eat a moth with a fat body and wings with a black and white pattern. Last Monday on the west slope of Mount Douglas I saw another Propertius Duskywing and six Sara Orangetips.
Bill Katz photographed a geometrid moth in Haro Woods on April 4, kindly identified for us by Libby Avis as Perizoma curvilinea, a new one for this site.
Perizoma curvilinea (Lep.: Geometridae) Bill Katz
Bill also photographed a maggot at Haro Woods, which Jeremy believes is the larva (also known as a leatherjacket) of a crane fly.
2015 April 2
Scott Gilmore sends photographs of a looper caterpillar that he found on a Douglas Fir in Upper Lantzville yesterday.
Neoalcis californiaria (Lep.: Geometridae) Scott Gilmore
Neoalcis californiaria (Lep.: Geometridae) Scott Gilmore
Libby Avis writes: I’m sending along a couple of March Flies, female on the left and male on the right. The genus is Bibio but I don’t know the species. Quite distinctive because the males’ eyes are so much larger than the females’. Came across a number of these on the Log Train Trail in Port Alberni yesterday.
Jeremy Tatum comments: Although these are often called March Flies, in our area they are usually most noticeable in April. The group is named after a common European species, Bibio marci, which does not mean “of March”. Rather, it means “of Mark”, so called because the species is often abundant near to St Mark’s Day, which is April 25, and they are perhaps better referred to as St Mark’s flies.
St Mark’s fly Bibio sp. (Dip.: Bibionidae) Libby Avis
2015 March 31
Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of a weevil from his Saanich apartment this morning. It was identified for him by Scott Gilmore, who writes: Your beetle is Otiorhynchus singularis (Raspberry Weevil) a native of Europe from the Curculionidae family. The genus is quite common (at least here). There are no native species in the genus, 5 species are known from BC and I have had 4 of them in my backyard. I am not even sure the 5th species is recorded from the island.
Scott sends a photo of another Bark Louse from the same cedar tree in his Upper Lantzville backyard. The attached picture is of Ectopsocus briggsi (Ectopsocidae family) that he found on March 10th. Kindly identified by Diane Young.
Bark louse Ectopsocus briggsi (Pso.: Ectopsocidae) Scott Gilmore
Rosemary Jorna writes, from Otter Point: There were a half dozen of these bees landing on the damp stones of our path this afternoon. It was good to see them as I have not seen that many yet this spring. Jeremy Tatum writes: If there’s anyone out there who can identify it, please let us know. In the meantime I hope I’m not committing some dreadful blunder in labelling it Andrena sp.
Bill Katz sends a photo of Coryphista meadii from that famous garage on Summit Hill.
Coryphista meadii (Lep.: Geometridae) Bill Katz