June 13 morning

   Jochen Möhr sends a picture of a beetle from Metchosin.  Thanks to Scott Gilmore for identifying it as Xylotrechus longitarsus or X. undulatus.

Xylotrechus longitarsus/undulatus (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Jochen Möhr

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  At Mount Douglas last night (June 12) at 7:00 pm, four Painted Ladies and a Red Admiral.

July 12

   Marie O’Shaughnessy sends a photograph of a pair of Blue-eyed Darners mating at Swan Lake yesterday.

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

   Cheryl Hoyle sends a photograph of a jumping spider from View Royal, July 11.

Phidippus johnsoni (Ara.: Salticidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

    More moths from Metchosin.   Photographed by Jochen Möhr.    Identified by …  Jochen Möhr.

Drepana arcuata (Lep.: Drepanidae – Drepaninae)  Jochen Möhr

Hesperumia sulphuraria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Perizoma costiguttata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Nothing on Mount Tolmie reservoir last night (7:00 pm July 11), but two Painted Ladies near the Jeffery Pine.

July 11

   Jeremy Tatum writes that last night (July 10) at 7:00 pm there were two Painted Ladies and a Red Admiral flying erratically at the top of Christmas Hill, doubtless because of the strong smell of marijuana there.

   Marie O’Shaughnessy writes: There seem to be plenty of Lorquin’s Admirals along with Cabbage Whites and Western Tiger Swallowtails, especially in the Oak Bay area, with continuing dry and hot conditions. Lovely to see so many butterflies these days.

Lorquin’s Admiral  Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

   Here is an interesting upperside-and-underside photograph of a tortricid photographed by Bryan Gates.  It needs dissection to be absolutely sure of the identification, but we are grateful to Jason Dombrowskie for identifying it (with this caution) as probably Pandemis cerasana.

Probably Pandemis cerasana (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Bryan Gates

   Here are two more moths from Metchosin, photographed by Jochen Möhr and identified by Libby Avis.

Schizura unicornis (Lep.: Notodontidae)  Jochen Möhr

Common Emerald Hemithea aestivaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Rosemary Jorna writes:  Another sighting, this time from Kemp Lake. A swallowtail butterfly was moving oddly on my neighbour’s lawn, When I looked closely it was obviously dead and this wasp was butchering it (July 10, 2018, Kemp Lake area).   It made several trips as the corpse was drifting round the yard in the wind.  This was the best shot I got in tracking it on and off for about half an hour. Then the butterfly disappeared, probably blown away as the wind picked up

Wasp and swallowtail butterfly      Rosemary Jorna

July 10 evening

   Annie Pang sends pictures of what are believed to be different individuals of the large house spider, kindly identified by Robb Bennett as Eratigena duellica.

Eratigena duellica (Ara.: Agelenidae)  Annie Pang

Eratigena duellica (Ara.: Agelenidae)  Annie Pang

Eratigena duellica (Ara.: Agelenidae)  Annie Pang

    Jeremy Tatum shows a caterpillar feeding in a variety of garden rose:

Egira crucialis (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jeremy Tatum

July 10 morning

   Nathan Fisk writes:   I had a very quick view of what I’d label as a Great Arctic at the summit of Malcolm Mountain.  It landed but for a moment before flying off again but the colouring, pattern and size point to the Arctic.  

   Rosemary Jorna writes:  I seem to have been observing some interesting behaviours lately.  These two Yellow Spotted Millipedes Harpaphe haydeniana were travelling piggyback on the rocks just above the tide line near Sombrio Point earlier yesterday.

Harpaphe haydeniana (Polydesmida:  Xystodesmidae) Rosemary Jorna

Harpaphe haydeniana (Polydesmida:  Xystodesmidae) Rosemary Jorna

Here are more moths from Metchosin, photographed by Jochen Möhr and identified by Libby Avis.

Malacosoma (probably californica)  (Lep.: Lasiocampidae)  Jochen Möhr)

Panthea virginarius (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Oligocentria pallida (Lep.: Notodontidae) Jochen Möhr

Pseudothyatira cymatophoroides (Drepanidae – Thyatirinae) Jochen Möhr

Amorbia cuneana  (Lep.:  Tortricidae) Jochen Möhr

Furcula scolopendrina (Lep.: Notodontidae)  Jochen Möhr

Spilosoma virginica (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae) Jochen Möhr

Lophocampa argentata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae) Jochen Möhr