2018 September 11

    Two small points about the Black Witches shown in yesterday’s posting.  1.  Libby estimated the wingspan of her Witch to be about seven inches.  Now, before you read on, go to your cupboard or drawer and bring out a ruler and remind yourself of exactly what seven inches looks like.  Once you’ve done that, you’ll see how excited we are over having two Black Witches on the Island.  2.  The two Black Witches shown on yesterday’s posting looked rather different.  Apparently they are sexually dimorphic.  I have added the sex to the caption of each of yesterday’s photographs.    I wonder if “male Black  Witch” is a contradiction in terms. Should it be “Black Warlock”?  And what about a male Painted Lady?  Should that not be a Painted Gentleman?

   Now more moth news from Jochen Möhr in Metchosin.

   The first is a pterophorid moth.   It looks a lot like Oidaematophorus mathewianus.  The trouble is that there are lots of pterophorids that also look like this, and, because of the way they hold their wings, they are difficult to identify from photographs.  Our commonest species of this group that we get in Victoria is Emmelina monodactyla.  It may be safest to label this just “pterophorid moth”.

Pterophorid moth (Lep.: Pterophoridae)   Jochen Möhr

Stenoporpia pulmonaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Two geometrid moths,  Triphosa haesitata and Coryphysta meadii, sometimes look so much alike that we dread being sent photographs of them!  Today we had photographs from Jochen Möhr and from Annie Pang.  Coryphista meadii  occurs in several forms, not all of which look like T. haesitata.  Fortunately, Jochen’s photograph below is one of the forms of  Coryphista meadii that does not resemble Triphosa haesitata and is therefore easy to identify, even though this is a somewhat worn specimen.

Coryphista meadii (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Annie’s is Triphosa haesitata:

Triphosa haesitata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Annie Pang

2018 September 10

    Exciting News!   On August 28, RBCM staff member Meg Sugrue found a large, dead tropical moth on the road beside the Museum.   She took it in to show Claudia Copley, and, although it was badly damaged, Claudia identified it as a Black Witch.  There are a few previous British Columbia records of this spectacular moth.  We had to ask the question as to whether it made its way here under its own steam, so to speak, or whether it was somehow brought up here on a car.  Meg tells us that, when she found it, it was still “bleeding”, indicating that it had just been killed shortly before, so that it is likely that it made its own way here.  In any case, this is an exciting find by Meg.

  I alerted Jochen Möhr and Libby Avis, who run UV moth traps, to keep a look-out for the species, and, sure enough, Libby found one at Port Alberni late last night!  There must be more of them around – so keep a look-out for this impressive moth.   The two found so far are shown below.

Female Black Witch Ascalapha odorata (Lep.: Erebidae – Erebinae)

Claudia Copley

Male Black Witch Ascalapha odorata (Lep.: Erebidae – Erebinae) Libby Avis

   In other moth news, Jochen sends photographs of the following seven moths from Metchosin last night.  Identifications by Libby Avis.

Oligia divesta (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Possibly a worn Euxoa difformis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

   The next one is a Drepanulatrix.   D. monicaria, secundaria and falcataria are all possibilities, though Jeremy Tatum thinks D. monicaria is the most likely.

Drepanulatrix (probably monicaria)  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Xanthorhoe defensaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Eulithis xylina (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Costaconvexa centrostrigaria (Lep.: Geometridae) Jochen Möhr

Autographa californica (Lep.: Noctuidae)

Jochen Möhr

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  The small caterpillar that Val George photographed on Gumweed at Island View Beach  (see September 2 evening entry) is now full grown and is shown again below, its head buried inside a Gumweed flowerhead.

Heliothis phloxiphaga (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2018 September 9

   Kirsten Mills writes:   On Thursday September 6 around 11:00 a.m. I saw a Red Admiral on blackberries in Uplands Park. It was close to where the Grey Catbird has been seen near Dorset Road.

   Mike Yip writes:  Green and Hoary Commas were common at Mount Washington on Tuesday September 4.   Several Cabbage Whites were seen in Nanoose Bay on Wednesday September 5.

Green Comma Polygonia faunus (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Mike Yip

Green Comma Polygonia faunus (Lep.:  Nymphalidae)  Mike Yip

Hoary Comma Polygonia gracilis (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Mike Yip

   Thomas Barbin found the caterpillar below in the Goldstream campground on August 15.

American Lappet Moth Phyllodesma americana (Lep.: Lasiocampidae)  Thomas Barbin

American Lappet Moth Phyllodesma americana (Lep.: Lasiocampidae)  Thomas Barbin

   Jochen Möhr sends photographs of three moths from his Metchosin home last night.

Tetracis pallulata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Philedia punctomacularia (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

2018 September 8

   Jeremy Tatum writes:   I have a Red Admiral chrysalis, so I know I’m going to see at least one more butterfly before S.A.D. sets in!

Red Admiral  Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Jeremy Tatum

The last Invertebrate Alert was on September 4

2018 September 7

    Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin  that last night he had one Tolype distincta, and the moth below, which Libby Avis believes is a species of the large and difficult genus Euxoa.

Probably Euxoa sp. (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Möhr

    Libby writes from Port Alberni:  Phantom Hemlock Loopers Nepytia phantasmaria are here in abundance this week – as in 20 – 30 at a time at the light!   Also saw the first couple of Fall Lithophanes here – innominata and baileyi – plus two Lambdina fiscellaria, another fairly common Fall moth.

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  I was out and about in two or three localities this morning, and I didn’t see any butterflies – not even Cabbage Whites or Woodland Skippers.   Viewers are therefore encouraged to report any sightings of even the commonest species in the next few days, so that we  can accurately record dates of last sightings.