2024 September 4 evening

Aziza Cooper photographed the fly below on Mount Douglas in mid-August.  We are grateful to Dr Jeff Skevington, who has identified it as a species of bee fly (Bombyliidae) in the genus Villa.

 Bee fly  Villa sp. (Dip.: Bombyliidae)   Aziza Cooper

Aziza visited Island View Beach today, Septmber 4.  She writes that there were three Purplish Coppers, one California Ringlet, five Woodland Skippers and nine Cabbage Whites. An aeshnid dragonfly was perching vertically.  Dr Rob Cannings kindly identified the aeshnid as a male Shadow Darner.  Aziza sends the following photographs.

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

Purplish Copper Tharsalia helloides  (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  (Lateral view)   Aziza Cooper

California Ringlet Coenonympha california (Lep.: Nymphalidae – Satyrinae)  Aziza Cooper

Shadow Darner Aeshna umbrosa (Odo.: Aeshnidae)  Aziza Cooper

2024 September 4 morning

Marie O’Shaughnessy photographed this exuvia at Esquimalt Lagoon, September 2.  Amazingly, Dr Rob Cannings managed to identify it.  He writes: This is Rhionaeschna multicolor. The width and length of its labium are measurable, so there is no doubt.

Blue-eyed Darner Rhionaeschna multicolor (Odo.: Aeshnidae)
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Jeremy Tatum photographed the moth below at his Saanich apartment this morning.

Xestia xanthographa  (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2024 September 3

  Ian Cooper sends another selection of pictures from his Aug 31 photo shoot. He starts with two photographs of a Folding-door Spider, with door open, and door closed.

Folding-door spider – Antrodiaetus pacificus (Ara. – Myg.:  Antrodiaetidae) door open
Ian Cooper

Folding-door spider – Antrodiaetus pacificus (Ara. – Myg.:  Antrodiaetidae) door closed
Ian Cooper

Red Carpenter Ant – Camponotus vicinus (Hym.: Formicidae)  Ian Cooper

Western Black Carpenter Ant  Camponotus modoc (Hym.: Formicidae)  Ian Cooper

Pacific Dampwood Termite  Zootermopsis angusticollis (Bla.:  Archotermopsidae)  Ian Cooper

Cybaeus signifer (Ara.: Cybaeidae)  Ian Cooper

   Marie O’Shaughnessy writes:  I visited several places on September 1 and 2 looking for birds, dragonflies and butterflies. All I saw were Cabbage Whites – one at each of these places:
Cattle Point, Bowker Avenue, Outerbridge Park, McIntyre Reservoir, Esquimalt Lagoon, plus three more Cabbage Whites while I was driving along Blenkinsop Road. Dragonfly numbers are way down.

Outerbridge Park had 2 Paddletail Darners and 1 Cardinal Meadowhawk.

Paddle-tailed Darner Aeshna palmata (Odo.: Aeshnidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Cardinal Meadowhawk   Sympetrum illotum  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Kirsten Mills writes on September 2:     Jeff Gaskin and I were at the ponds on Green Park Drive and saw a Cardinal Meadowhawk.  Photos were taken and also there were three Paddle-tailed Darners.  Green Park Drive is near Swartz Bay in North Saanich.

Cardinal Meadowhawk   Sympetrum illotum  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Kirsten Mills

Cardinal Meadowhawk   Sympetrum illotum  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Kirsten Mills

Judy Spearing sent this photograph on September 3 of a penultimate instar Yellow Woolly Bear on Fireweed in her garden near Bow Park.

Yellow Woolly Bear (Virginia Ermine or Virginia Tiger) Spilosoma virginica  (Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Judy Spearing

Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of a moth, reared from a caterpillar found in the Spring by Ian Cooper and emerged as an adult today.  Thanks to Libby Avis for the identification.

Pleromelloida cinerea  (Lep.:  Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2024 September 2 morning

Gordon Hart writes:  Here is a summary of yesterday’s Butterfly Walk There were no butterflies at Mount Tolmie at 1 p.m. but we decided that Island View Beach might be a good place to look. Six people made their way there, and decided to take the beach path as we thought it might be a bit cooler closer to the water. It was still very warm, but we did see at least 23 butterflies of three species, plus a mystery moth in flight, and several bee and wasp species. Butterflies seen were: Cabbage Whites, 7+; Purplish Coppers, 3 males, 3 females; and Woodland Skippers, at least 7.
The moth was possibly a Vapourer Moth, or Rusty Tussock Moth, inferred from its manner of flight.

Jeremy Tatum adds: The Purplish Coppers were the first reported this year.  I was afraid that we might go through the whole year without any being reported.  The first two seen on yesterday’s walk were a male and a female (they are quite distinctive), being very cooperative as they nectared on the flowers of a nearby Gumweed.  They caused great excitement among the participants, several of whom were armed with big cameras, which were fairly clicking for several minutes.

Here are some photographs taken during the walk.  Note the copper’s scientific genus name change from previous years.

Male Purplish Copper  Tharsalia helloides  (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Val George

Male Purplish Copper  Tharsalia helloides  (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Gordon Hart

Female Purplish Copper  Tharsalia helloides  (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Gordon Hart

Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides  (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Gordon Hart

Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides  (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Gordon Hart

Ian Cooper has been away in Ontario for a while visiting relatives.  He is now back and has wasted no time in getting his camera clicking here again on the Galloping Goose trail near Talcott Road in View Royal, August 31.

Large Yellow Underwing Moth – Noctua pronuba  (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Ian Cooper

Snail-eating Beetle – Scaphinotus angusticollis (Col.: Carabidae)  Ian Cooper

Limax maximus  (Pul.: Limacidae)  Ian Cooper

  Dr Robb Bennett kindly confirmed Ian’s identification of the spiders below.

Female Callobius pictus (Ara.: Amaurobiidae)  Ian Cooper

Male Callobius pictus (Ara.: Amaurobiidae)  Ian Cooper

2024 September 1

   Marie O’Shaughnessy writes that on August 30, she spent 45 minutes in the afternoon at Government House and saw

2 Cabbage Whites
4 Woodland Skippers
1 Blue-eyed Darner
1 Paddle-tailed Darner

She sends a photograph of one of the Woodland Skippers.

Woodland Skipper  Ochlodes sylvanoides  (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Jeremy Tatum shows a photograph of a moth that ecloded (emerged) today, reared from a caterpillar found on Gumweed at Island View Beach during the August 4 VNHS Monthly Butterfly Walk.

Heliothis phloxiphaga  (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum