2019 March 28 evening

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I managed to walk all around Rithet’s Bog this afternoon, without seeing a single butterfly.  However, on the way back I saw my first Cabbage White of the year, flying over Shelbourne Street at Feltham.  At 4:45 pm there were three California Tortoiseshells hill-topping on the Mount Tolmie reservoir.  The same individuals as on March 20, or different?

   Ron Flower writes:  Today March 28 we went to the Prospect lake power line, west side, around noon and found two Sara Orangetips. No photo for they wouldn’t settle.

   Among the several tiny arthropods photographed by Scott Gilmore in Lantzville in the last few days was a velvet mite.  We are grateful to Ray Fisher and Heather Proctor of the University of Alberta for identification to probable genus level.  Ray Fisher writes:  Usually if I can’t see the “face” then I leave open the possibility for Microtrombidiidae. However, in this case, I strongly suspect Allothrombiinae, and probably Allothrombium.

Velvet mite, probably Allothrombium sp. (Acari:  Trombidiidae)  Scott Gilmore

Velvet mite, probably Allothrombium sp. (Acari:  Trombidiidae)  Scott Gilmore

   Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:  After I had no success whatsoever for weeks with leaving my light on at night, this morning suddenly there was a bonanza: more than fifty moths on the wall and ceiling!

  What intrigues me no end is why there is all of a sudden this change in abundance.  The temperature at night is not much changed, below 10 degrees C.  Humidity not much changed – no rain but lots of dew on the grass in the morning.  The big maple tree next to the house is starting to bloom.  Could that be it?

   Jeremy Tatum comments:  No one seems to know why some nights are good moth nights and some aren’t.  Everyone seems to have his/her own theory.  As for maples, my experience is that very few moth caterpillars feed on maples – but perhaps the maple inflorescence coming in now may be attractive to adult moths.

Acerra normalis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Orthosia hibisci (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Egira crucialis/simplex (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Egira crucialis/simplex (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Egira crucialis/simplex (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Eupithecia probably olivacea  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Eupithecia ravocostaliata/nevadata (Lep.: Geomtridae)  Jochen Möhr

More Möhr tomorrow!

And thanks to Libby Avis for help with the identifications.

2019 March 28 morning

   Rosemary Jorna sends photographs of a European Paper Wasp from Whiffin Spit, March 26.  She writes:  Tuesday seemed to be the day for wasps as there were several in our yard later that day along with my first butterfly sighting , a comma.

European Paper Wasp Polistes dominula (Hym.: Vespidae) Rosemary Jorna

European Paper Wasp Polistes dominula (Hym.: Vespidae) Rosemary Jorna

   Mark Wynja writes from Parksville:  Yesterday on Little Mountain in Parksville I tried to relocate the Oreas Comma with Mike Yip.  The Comma was a no show. I walked back to my vehicle and found a single Grey Hairstreak nectaring along the chain link fence across from the parking lot at 3:35pm on March 27.

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Mark Wynja

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Mark Wynja

   Ron Flower writes:  Yesterday March 27 we went back to the Goldstream River this afternoon and  found these two moths and we also saw another Mourning Cloak butterfly.

Archiaeris infans (Lep.: Geometridae)  Ron Flower

Enchoria lacteata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Ron Flower

2019 March 27

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I haven’t seen any butterflies since those wonderful California Tortoiseshells during that brief heat wave on March 20.  The best I have been able to do today is an unidentified pug.

I think any of Eupithecia annulata, maestosa or misturata would be reasonable candidates for this one:

Eupithecia sp. (Lep.: Geometridae)   Jeremy Tatum

2019 March 26

   Kirsten Mills writes:  I was at Swan Lake at 3 pm today, March 26, between the parking lot and the nature house. I saw two Satyr Commas.

Satyr Comma Polygonia satyrus (Lep.: Nymphalidae)

Kirsten Mills

   Scott Gilmore sends remarkable photographs of some quite tiny arthropods from Lantzville.

Trigonurus sharpi (Col.: Staphylinidae)  Scott Gilmore

Clinidium calcaratum (Col.: Rhysodidae)  Scott Gilmore

Vescicephalus occidentalis (Collembola: Katiannidae)  Scott Gilmore

   Jeremy Tatum writes: The classiification of the springtails is a “work in progress”.  They used to be Order Collembola, but nowadays Collembola is treated as a Subclass, which includes several Orders.  Until the dust has settled, I think I’ll just list them under “Collembola”.  The “Col.” under the beetle photographs is short, of course, for the beetle Order Coleoptera.

2019 March 25

  Jeremy Tatum writes: 

  Recent photographs of difficult commas (Ron Flower March 20, Mark Wynja March 23) have generated some interesting comments.  Cris  Guppy  identifies Ron’s Goldstream Park comma as a female Satyr Comma. Although I originally labelled it as “Comma sp.”, I believe the Satyr is more likely at Goldstream Park than Green.

  The Oreas is more difficult, but Cris Guppy, Mark Wynja and Mike Yip all go for Oreas (Cris cautiously “most likely Oreas”), and that is how I have labelled it.  The underside of Oreas is characteristically dark, though both Mark and Cris point out that the underside photo is backlit, which makes it difficult to judge.  However, Mark, of course, saw the butterfly in the flesh, so to speak, and was able to see that the underside was dark.

  As for the “comma”, the distinct V shape shows unambiguously that Mark’s butterfly is certainly not Satyr or Green – but does the V-shaped  “comma” mark distinguish between Oreas and “Zephyr”?   Opinions differ on this.  Cris cautions that he doesn’t find the comma mark to be very useful, because it is very variable. Mike says there are distinct differences in the comma shape in the two species.  In the Oreas the comma is more like a V or chevron with pointed tips and pointed base.  In the “Zephyr” the comma has a blunt end and is more of a curve in the middle.  Mark’s comma, he writes, is good for an Oreas.

  For myself, I think I need a good deal more experience before I become confident with these species.  In the past I have seen comma butterflies with a very distinct V, and I have called them (not necessarily correctly!) “Zephyr”.   Often it starts out to be very difficult to distinguish between similar species, but after a bit of experience it becomes easy and one can recognize them at a glance by their “jizz” – that indefinable je ne sais quoi characteristic of a species.  I’m not there yet!

  In the meantime, Mark sends photographs (below) of an Oreas taken in May 2018 at the same place as this year’s.   Contributors are encouraged to continue to send good photos of all commas.

Oreas Comma Polygonia oreas (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Mark Wynja

Oreas Comma Polygonia oreas (Lep.: Nymphalidae)

 Mark Wynja