July 25 morning

   Gordon Hart sent a couple of photographs of a bee in his Highlands garden about a week ago.  So far they have evaded identification.  If anyone can help, please let us know.

Unidentified bee   Gordon Hart

Unidentified bee   Gordon Hart

   Yesterday sand wasps seem to have attracted the attention of photographers.  Photographs were sent by Jody Wells from Saanichton and by Annie Pang from the Gorge.  The common default species here is Bembix americana, which is what we’ll label them here, though viewers might like to be more cautious and think just Bembix sp.

Sand wasp Bembix americana (Hym.:  Crabronidae)  Jody Wells

Sand wasp Bembix americana (Hym.:  Crabronidae)  Jody Wells

Sand wasp Bembix americana (Hym.:  Crabronidae)  Annie Pang

Sand wasp Bembix americana (Hym.:  Crabronidae)  Annie Pang

   Jody Wells sends a picture of a pond skater (water strider) from Goldstream Heights, July 23.  Also intruding illegally into the picture is a vertebrate animal, which Jody tells me is a young Cutthroat Trout.

Pond Skater (Hem.: Gerridae)

Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii (Sal.: Salmonidae)

Jody Wells

   Jeremy Tatum sends a picture of two moth pupae.

Sheep Moth Hemileuca eglanterina (Lep.: Saturniidae)

White-lined Hawk Moth Hyles lineata (Lep.: Sphingidae)

Jeremy Tatum

July 24

   Mike Yip writes from Nanoose Bay:  Lorquin’s Admiral, Pine White, and Cabbage White continue to pass through occasionally, but the one surprise was a fairly fresh second generation female Western Spring Azure. I also photographed one moth and three medium-sized dragonflies.

Western Spring Azure Celastrina echo (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Mike Yip

Selenia alciphearia (Lep.: Geometridae)  Mike Yip

   Libby Avis writes:  This is one of the few moths that usually sits with its wings up.

Cardinal Meadowhawk Sympetrum illotum (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Mike Yip

Cardinal Meadowhawk Sympetrum illotum (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Mike Yip

Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Mike Yip

Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Mike Yip

Erythemis collocata (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Mike Yip

   Jody Wells sends a picture of a dragonfly from the Blenkinsop Valley, June 29.

Four-spotted Skimmer Libellula quadrimaculata  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Jody Wells

…and that’s all I can manage today, writes Jeremy Tatum.  More tomorrow!

July 23

   Cheryl Hoyle sends a picture of a tachinid fly from Swan Lake, Saanich, July 20.  We are grateful to James O’Hara for identifying it as Uramya halisidotae.    The Spotted and Silver-spotted Tiger moths, now in the genus Lophocampa, were formerly in the genus Halisidota, so are presumably victims of this parasitoidal fly.

Uramya halisidotae (Dip.: Tachinidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   Jochen Möhr reports seeing two Panthea virginarius and one Gabriola dyari at his Metchosin home yesterday.   Gordon Hart reports seeing two Sphinx sp. at his Highlands home.   Val George writes that in the last few days at least nine or ten adult Pyrausta californicalis have appeared around the mint patch where he found the caterpillar at his Oak Bay home.

   Gordon Hart sends a picture of a damselfly from Cowichan Station, July 5.  Thank you, Rob Cannings, for identifying it for us as a spreadwing, Lestes sp.

Spreadwing  Lestes sp. (Odo.: Lestidae)  Gordon Hart

July 22

   Two more moths from Metchosin, sent by Jochen Möhr.

Hydriomena californiata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Johen Möhr

   Note the mite at the base of the left hand forewing.

Welsh Wave  Venusia cambrica (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  The small moth below, which ecloded (emerged) today, was from the caterpillar that Val George found on Mentha in his Oak Bay garden, illustrated on July 6 and 7.  The moth is quite variable – compare the photo that Val took of a moth of this species from his garden on July 2, and probably from the same batch.

Pyrausta californicalis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Cheryl Hoyle sends a photograph of a moth from View Royal and a grasshopper from Metchosin, July 21.

Zale lunata (Lep.: Erebidae – Erebinae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Dissosteira carolina (Orth.: Acrididae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   Butterflies are a bit scarce just now.  Cabbage Whites are ubiquitous.  There are still Lorquin’s Admirals and Western Tiger Swallowtails around.   Pine Whites and Woodland Skippers are just starting.  Please keep reporting Lorquin’s Admirals and Western Tiger Swallowtails, familiar though they may be, so that we can get a handle on the last dates.   Here’s a Western Tiger Swallowtail from The Gorge Tillicum area, July 19:

Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Annie Pang

Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Annie Pang

Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Annie Pang

    This just in from Gordon Hart – computer glitch delayed it for a couple of days:  On Wednesday July 18, at home, I saw two Pine Whites, a Grey Hairstreak, several Lorquin’s Admirals, a Pale Tiger Swallowtail, several Cabbage Whites, and five Woodland Skippers. Today, July 20, at the Pike Lake Substation ponds, I checked patches of Spreading Dogbane and found 11 Woodland Skippers.  There were only one or two Lorquin’s Admirals flying. I saw two or three Sheep Moths flying furiously by, or perhaps the same one. I am attaching photos of a Pine White from home today nectaring on Heliotrope, and one of the Woodland Skippers on Dogbane flowers.

Pine White Neophasia menapia (Lep.: Pieridae)  Gordon Hart

Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides (Lep.: Hesperiidae)

    And this just in from Jeff Gaskin:  Yesterday, July 21, 2018, I saw 35 Pine Whites at Witty’s Lagoon Park also including Tower Point.  Plus I saw a further 110 Pine Whites at Royal Roads University.

   …and that’s about all I can manage today!  Jeremy Tatum

July 21

   Val George sends a picture of Idaea dimidiata from his Oak Bay garden, July 20.

Idaea dimidiata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Val George

   Jeremy  Tatum writes:  I saw my first two Woodland Skippers of the year today, at Durrance Lake.  Also there were large numbers of Eight-spotted Skimmers.  This evening at 6:00 pm there was a Red Admiral on the bushes just outside the entrance to the Mount Tolmie Reservoir.