2024 August 10 evening

Marie O’Shaughnessy has been photographing dragonflies and damselflies at Beaver Lake Ponds and McIntyre Reservoir on August 8. We thank Dr Rob Cannings for help with the identifications.

First, from Beaver Lake Ponds, where Marie saw:

Dragonflies
1 Black Saddlebag 
2 Blue Dashers
1 Striped Meadowhawk
2 Western Pondhawks

Damselflies
3 Spotted Spreadwings 
2 Pacific Forktail

Butterflies
3 Cabbage Whites
2 Woodland Skippers

Spotted Spreadwing Lestes congener (Odo.: Lestidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Pacific Forktail Ischnura cervula  (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Female Western Pondhawk Erythemis collocata  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

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

Now from McIntyre Reservoir:

Butterflies
5 Cabbage Whites

Dragonflies
4 Black Saddlebags 
1 Blue-eyed Darner 
3 Western Pondhawks – 1 female, 1 male and 1 bi-coloured 
17 Blue Dashers
1 Eight-spotted Skimmer 
2 Paddletailed Darners

Male Western Pondhawk  Erythemis collocata  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Western Pondhawk Erythemis collocata (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy
Dr Cannings writes that this is a male Western Pondhawk but not yet fully pruinose.

Jeremy Tatum writes: “Two Red Admirals emerged today from their chrysalides.  See July 29 for a caterpillar and August 1 for a chrysalis.  I was unable to take a photograph, but you may see the adults where I released them, one at Mount View Park and the other at Playfair Park.”

Ian Cooper sends a photograph of a ladybird beetle from the E&N Trail in Vic West, August 4.   Scott Gilmore kindly identified it for us as Hippodamia convergens.

Hippodamia convergens  (Col.: Coccinellidae)  Ian Cooper

2024 August 10 morning

Aziza Cooper writes:  On August 8, on Mount Washington I observed nine species of butterflies:

Anise Swallowtail – 3
Anna’s Blue – 8
Boisduval’s Blue – 1
Arctic Blue- 1
Mariposa Copper – 5
Purplish Copper – 5
Hydaspe Fritillary – 10 to 15
Great Arctic – 1
Common Branded Skipper – 2 

The Anise Swallowtails and Great Arctic were at the summit. Arctic Blue was a little down from the top of the chair-lift. The others were seen both near the summit and at the lodge elevation.

Here are some of Aziza’s photographs.  We showed two of her photographs of the Arctic Blue in the August 8 posting.

Anna’s Blues  Plebejus (Lycaeides) anna  (Lep.:  Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

Anna’s Blue Plebejus  (Lycaeides) anna  (Lep.:  Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

 Note that the ATC treats Lycaeides as a subgenus within Plebejus.

Mariposa Copper  Tharsalia mariposa  (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Copper

Note the new genus.

Purplish Copper  Tharsalia helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)

Note the new genus.

We still haven’t had any reports this year of Purplish Coppers in the Southern Vancouver Island Birdwatching Area.

Lateral view of Hydaspe Fritillary  Argynnis (Speyeria) hydaspe   (Lep.: Nymphalidae)
Aziza Cooper

Dorsal view of Hydaspe Fritillary  Argynnis (Speyeria) hydaspe     (Lep.: Nymphalidae)
Aziza Cooper

Note that the ATC treats Speyeria as a subgenus within Argynnis.

Great Arctic  Oeneis nevadensis (Lep.: Nymphalidae- Satyrinae)  Aziza Cooper

We haven’t yet had any reports of the Great Arctic this year from within the Southern Vancouver Island Birdwatching Area, even though this is an even-numbered year.

Common Branded Skipper Hesperia comma  (Lep.: Hesperiidae) Aziza Cooper

   Hitherto in this site, we have included all records of Hesperia under the name Branded Skipper Hesperia comma.  From 2024 onwards, we are following the taxonomy of the ATC, which lists Hesperia comma  (which we may call Common Branded Skipper) and Hesperia colorado (which we may call Western Branded Skipper) as separate species.  The colony at Cordova (Saanichton) Spit is believed to be Hesperia colorado.  We haven’t had any reports from this colony, i.e. of this species, yet this year. The ones Aziza saw and photographed on Mount Washington are probably H comma.  In the United Kingdom, H. comma is called the Silver-spotted Skipper.  That name in North America is used for yet another species, in a different genus.

Some Words

Dorsal:      Of the back (i.e. from above).    Latin dorsum: back,    dorsalis:    of the back
Ventral:     Of the belly (i.e. from below).    Latin ventrum:   belly,    ventralis:  of the belly
Lateral:     From the side.                                Latin latus:     side,     lateralis:   of the side  

2024 August 9 evening

Aziza Cooper photographed an Arctic Blue near the top of Mount Washington on August 8.

Arctic Blue Agriades glandon  (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

Arctic Blue Agriades glandon  (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

Val George writes:   This morning, August 9, these two moths were on the wall of my Oak Bay house: An Alfalfa Looper, Autographa californica, and a  Eudonia sp.

 Autographa californica  (Lep.: Noctuidae – Plusiinae)  Val George

Eudonia sp.  (commortalis?  echo?) (Lep.: Crambidae – Scopariinae)  Val George

Jeff Gaskin writes that Kirsten Mills saw a Mourning Cloak near Hillside Mall today, August 9, and yesterday, August 8, she saw four California Ringlets at the disc playing field at Layritz Park.

2025 August 9 morning

Some recent pictures by Ian Cooper:

Moth Fly (Dip.: Psychodidae)  Ian Cooper

Tipula (probably pubera)  (Dip.: Tipulidae)   Ian Cooper

Arion rufus  (Pul.: Arionidae)   Ian Cooper

Limax maximus  (Pul.: Limacidae)   Ian Cooper

Cybaeus signifer  (Ara.: Cybaeidae)  Ian Coopr

2024 August 8

Ian obtained these six photographs below on August 6 near the 9 km marker in View Royal.

Harvestman (Opiliones)   Ian Cooper

Cybaeus signifer (Ara.: Cybaeidae)   Ian Cooper

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

Running crab spider: Philodromus dispar (Ara.: Philodromidae)   Ian Cooper

Pterostichus sp. (Col.: Carabidae)   Ian Cooper

Raspberry Weevil – Otiorhynchus singularis (Col.: Curculionidae)   Ian Cooper

Marie O’Shaughnessy photographed the beetle below in Outerbridge Park and the bee along Munn Road recently.

Golden Jewel Beetle Buprestis aurulenta  (Col.: Buprestidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Bombus vancouverensis  (Hym.:  Apidae)   Marie O’Shaughnessy
Steven Roias writes: It’s Bombus vancouverensis. They seem to be outnumbering vosnesenskii this year, or at least at many locales.