2022 July 9 morning

    Aziza Cooper writes from Mount Tolmie on the evening of July 8: I saw eight species of butterfly: two each of Red Admiral and Lorquin’s Admiral, three each of Western Tiger Swallowtail and Painted Lady, and one each of Pale Tiger Swallowtail, Anise Swallowtail and Cabbage White. Down the hill there were at least four Essex Skippers.  Aziza sends photographs of various creatures from Mount Tolmie and from Royal Roads University.

Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Aziza Cooper

Anise Swallowtail Papilio zelicaon (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Aziza Cooper

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

Satyr Comma Polygonia satyrus (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

Ladybird beetle pupa (Col.: Coccinellidae)  Aziza Cooper

Probably a syrphid fly  (Dip.: Syrphidae)  Aziza Cooper

Banana Slug Ariolimax columbianus (Pul.: Arionidae)  Aziza Cooper

Libby Avis sends photographs  from Port Alberni, July 8 and 9, of two moths new to Invertebrate Alert.  Of Aphomia sociella she writes:  It’s an introduced species from Europe. Larvae develop inside nests of bees and wasps. Seems to be becoming more common in BC. I had never seen it here in Port Alberni until two weeks ago. Since then have had five of them at the light, most recently this morning (July 9^th).

Apamea vultuosa (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Libby Avis

Aphomia sociella (Lep.: Pyralidae)  Libby Avis

2022 July 8 evening

    Jochen Möhr sends a photograph of Apamea maxima from his Metchosin home this morning.  Invertebrate Alert has only one previous record of this species – from Sidney Island, 2014 May 25.

Apamea maxima (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Jochen also writes:  Today, I spotted several Lorquin’s Admirals, several Swallowtails, among them repeatedly an Anise Swallowtail, and also a larger paler specimen, as well as a Mourning Cloak.

2022 July 8 morning

    Marie O’Shaughnessy writes:  At 2:00 pm on July 7th, I stopped by Mount Tolmie for 30 minutes, hoping to find a Painted Lady.  This lovely bright, orange butterfly flew in for 10-15 seconds up at the summit, and was soon gone.  I thought to myself: “ That isn’t a  Painted Lady” ,  so I had to do some research to find out what it was.  Jeff Gaskin confirmed that it was a West Coast Lady.

Jeremy Tatum writes:  This is the first West Coast Lady reported to Invertebrate Alert since 2019.

West Coast Lady Vanessa annabella (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Marie O’Shaughnessy

Jeremy Tatum writes:  The Woolly Bear caterpillar shown on May 30 produced this spectacular Garden Tiger Moth last night.  I released it along Lochside Drive near Lohbrunner Road – and promptly found another caterpillar within yards of where I released the moth.

Garden Tiger Moth Arctia caja (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Jeremy Tatum

Jochen Möhr sends photographs of two moths from Metchosin this morning. The first below is familiar enough, but the second, identified for us by Libby Avis as Perizoma grandis, is a new species for this site, which was started in March 2010.

Female Malacosoma californicum (Lep.: Lasiocampidae)  Jochen Möhr

Perizoma grandis  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

2022 July 7 afternoon

    Aziza Cooper sends photographs of a Lorquin’s Admiral from near Blenkinsop Lake, and a Cardinal Meadowhawk from Cedar Hill golf course, July 7.

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

Cardinal Meadowhawk Sympetrum illotum (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Aziza Cooper

2022 July 7 morning

    Here is a Neoalcis californiaria.  The caterpillar from which it came can be seen on the May 25 posting.

Neoalcis californiaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Marie O’Shaughnessy writes:  I managed finally get a Tiger Swallowtail to perch briefly at 5 pm on the blossoming vegetation at the summit of Mount Tolmie and better looks at a Red Admiral, Wednesday July 6th. I didn’t see any others other than Lorquin’s Admiral  and the bully Pale butterfly  that liked to chase others off.

Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy