July 6

   Gordon Hart writes:  I checked the patches of Spreading Dogbane at the Pike Lake Substation ponds on July 4, and I found one Grey Hairstreak, and many bee species. The Dogbane is in full bloom and not dried out yet, so may be worth checking again when it is sunny. I saw one Sheep Moth go speeding by, a Lorquin’s Admiral and a Western Tiger Swallowtail. There were a few dragonflies and I have attached a photo of a Four-spotted Skimmer Libellula quadrimaculata.

Honey Bee Apis mellifera (Hym.: Apidae)  Gordon Hart

Four-spotted Skimmer Libellula quadrimaculata (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Gordon Hart

   On July 2 we showed a photograph by Val George of the pretty little crambid moth Pyrausta californicalis from Val’s Oak Bay garden.  Val has since noticed several of these moths flying around the larval foodplant Mentha in his garden.  He also found and photographed a small caterpillar (shown below) on the mint. The caterpillar is semitranslucent like that of many crambid caterpillars and it seems all but certain that it must be a caterpillar of Pyrausta californicalis.  Jeremy Tatum will try to rear the caterpillar.

Pyrausta californicalis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Val George

   Jochen Möhr sends pictures of beetles from Metchosin.

Polyphylla crinita (Col.: Scarabaeidae)  Jochen Möhr

Yellow Douglas Fir Borer  Centrodera spurca (Col.:  Cerambycidae)  Jochen Möhr

   It is some days since a butterfly was reported from Mount Tolmie, in spite of several visits to the reservoir in the late afternoon or evening.  It has been either overcast or windy.   However, Jeremy Tatum reports a Red Admiral from the reservoir at 6:20 pm on June 6.

July 5

[No July 4 posting]

   Barbara McGrenere writes:  Yesterday, on a walk along the Cowichan Valley Trail to the Kinsol Trestle, Mike and I saw many Western Tiger Swallowtails, several Cabbage Whites and several Lorquin’s Admirals.  There was one Clodius Parnassian nectaring on some purple flowers between the main parking lot and the Kinsol Trestle.

   Nathan Fisk photographed the bee below at Fort Rodd Learning Meadow on July 3.  Thanks to Annie Pang for identifying it as a European Wool Carder Bee Anthidium manicatum.

European Wool Carder Bee Anthidium manicatum (Hym.: Megachilidae)  Nathan Fisk

   Rosemary Jorna found a pair of Lorquin’s Admirals at Aylard’s Farm,  East Sooke Park, this morning, sharing a private moment.

Lorquin’s Admirals Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Val George writes:   Yesterday, July 4, on my way to Nanaimo I took a quick drive up the Nanaimo River Road to look for butterflies.  As well as the more common species, I found a single Western Meadow Fritillary and a single Grey Hairstreak.  The day before, July 3, there were two moths in my carport in Oak Bay.  The one is, of course, a Common Emerald  Hemithea aestivaria;  is the other one a Herpetogramma pertexalis?  [Jeremy Tatum writes:  Herpetogramma certainly.  But is it H. pertextalis  or H. thestealis?  Libby Avis tells us that, according to current thinking, true pertextalis occurs in Canada only in a small area in southern Ontario, so we’ll have to label this one Herpetogramma thestealis.]

Western Meadow Fritillary Boloria epithore (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Val George

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Val George

Common Emerald Hemithea aestivaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Val George

Herpetogramma thestealis (Lep.: Crambidae) Val George

July 3 evening

  A beetle and a moth from Jochen Möhr in Metchosin.  Thanks to Claudia Copley for identifying the beetle, and to Libby Avis for identifying the moth.

Polyphylla crinita (Col.: Scarabaeidae)   Jochen Möhr

Lacinipolia strigicollis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

   Jeremy Tatum and Bill Savale visited the railway line north of Cowichan Station today, and we can report that there are still lots of Margined Whites there, as well as Lorquin’s Admirals and Western Tiger Swallowtails. 

July 3 morning

   A reminder – who photographed the fly shown on July 2?

   Annie Pang sends a photograph obtained by local gardener Janet Scott of a caterpillar of a Cinnabar Moth.

Cinnabar Moth Tyria jacobaeae (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Janet Scott

   Bryan Gates sends photographs of a Common Emerald moth and a Tule Bluet damselfly, the latter being the only native North American species in the morning’s offerings.

Common Emerald Hemithea aestivaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Bryan Gates

Tule Bluet Enallagma carunculatum (Odo.: Coenagrionidae)  Bryan Gates

   Marie O’Shaughnessy sends a photograph of an Essex Skipper:

Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineaola (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

     Jeremy Tatum writes:  Wanted!  Close-up photographs of the Essex Skipper clearly showing the underside of the tips of the antennae.

July 2 evening

New Book

   A problem with books with titles such as Butterflies of British Columbia,… or of Canada,…or of North America, etc., is that they include hundreds of species that we don’t see on Vancouver Island, which makes it difficult to identify a butterfly seen locally.  Val George has produced a beautiful little booklet that perfectly solves that problem, with 58 excellent photographs of 44 of the butterflies that you are most likely to see on Vancouver Island.   The book measures about 10 X 13 cm, and a few mm thick, and it will easily fit in your pocket.  It is made of strong paper and is sturdily bound so it is likely to survive well on many field trips.  The title is simply Butterflies of Vancouver Island.

  When last seen, Val was giving them away free to VNHS members who attended a VNHS field trip (you never know what rewards you may receive on one of these trips). If you would like a copy, Val gives his email contact as

valgeorge2006 at hotmail dot com

 I am sure that Val wouldn’t be offended if you were to offer a small sum to offset the cost of production of this delightful and useful little book.

   Aziza Cooper sends a picture of the European introduced snail Cepaea nemoralis from UVic’s Finnerty Gardens.

Cepaea nemoralis (Pul.: Helicidae)  Aziza Cooper

      Val George sends a photograph of a small moth found at Island View Beach during the VNHS Butterfly Walk on July2.

Male Choristoneura rosaceana (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Val George

   Val sends a photo of another small moth that was on his garden fence in Oak Bay on June 30.

Pyrausta californicalis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Val George

   Jochen Möhr sends photographs of Nadata gibbosa  and Campaea perlata from Metchosin.

Nadata gibbosa (Lep.: Notodontidae)  Jochen Möhr

Campaea perlata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Huge backlog – more tomorrow.  Jeremy