2018 May 4 morning

   Annie Pang reports seeing another Cedar Hairstreak (a different individual from the one shown yesterday) at Gorge Park this morning.

   Nathan Fisk found this bug in Mill Hill Regional Park on May 3.  Thanks to Thomas Barbin for identifying it as a stilt bug of the Family Berytidae.  Thomas points out that it bears a close resemblance to the species Neoneides muticus.  However, Berytidae is a large family of somewhat similar insects, and it seems safest to leave this one at Family level.

Stilt bug (Hem.: Berytidae)  Nathan Fisk

2018 May 3 evening

   Message from Gordon Hart – May Butterfly Walk

Hello Butterfly Watchers,

Our second walk of the year will be this Sunday, May 6. We meet at the top of Mount Tolmie, by the reservoir, at 1.00 p.m. You can park in the parking lot there, or in the large lot north of the summit. After a look around the summit, and depending on the weather, we will decide on a destination from there. 

See you on Sunday,

Gordon Hart

Victoria Natural History Society

Jeremy Tatum adds:  As Gordon points out, as usual we decide on a destination when we meet on Mount Tolmie – so give it a moment’s thought, and if you have any suggestions, don’t be shy about sharing them when we meet!

Western Spring Azures Celastrina echo (Lep.:  Lycaenidae)  Gordon Hart

   Apparently we don’t have to go out into the wilderness to see butterflies.  This morning’s posting showed a Western Brown Elfin near the Royal Jubilee Hospital.  Now Annie Pang comes up with an unexpectedly early Cedar Hairstreak in Gorge Park yesterday, May 2.  A “lifer” for Annie!

Cedar Hairstreak Mitoura rosneri (Lep.: Lycaenidae) Annie Pang

   Jeremy Tatum writes that at 6:15 pm this evening (May 3) there were two California Tortoiseshells and a Red Admiral on the Mount Tolmie reservoir.  So now is the time to look for hilltopping nymphalids there in the late afternoons and early evenings.  The action has started.

   Jochen Moehr had a good night two nights ago with his moth trap in Metchosin.   He and Jeremy Tatum are exceedingly grateful to Libby Avis for the identifications – this saves us a huge amount of work.  Jeremy writes:  No one seems to know how to distinguish reliably from photographs between Venusia obsoleta and V. pearsalli so I have written both species names under the photographs.  Egira simplex/crucialis is another difficult pair, though Libby and I both lean towards simplex in Jochen’s photograph below. Libby said she wasn’t 100 percent certain about Apamea cinefacta, though I think she’s almost certainly right, and that’s how I’m going to label it!

Egira simplex (or just possibly crucialis, though we don’t think so) (Lep.: Noctuidae) 

Jochen Moehr

Apamea cinefacta (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

Egira rubrica (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

Egira perlubens (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

Perizoma curvilinea (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr

Perizoma curvilinea (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr

Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr

Venusia obsoleta/pearsalli (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr

Xanthorhoe defensaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr

Perizoma curvilinea (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr

2018 May 3 morning

    Val George and Jeremy Tatum met briefly at about 4:30 yesterday (May 2) afternoon at  the Mount Tolmie reservoir, where we saw the California Tortoiseshell basking on the concrete at the same place where is has been seen since April 19.  And a Sara Orangetip flew by.

    Samantha Hatfield sends a photograph of a Western Brown Elfin – near her house not far from the Royal Jubilee Hospital.  Nice to see a butterfly like this in such an urban area.  Also a caterpillar of the Silver-spotted Tiger Moth.

Western Brown Elfin Incisalia iroides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Samantha Hatfield

Silver-spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa argentata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Samantha Hatfield

2018 May 2

   Val George found this Silver-spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa argentata caterpillar at Swan Lake yesterday, May 1.

Silver-spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa argentata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae) Val George

   Nathan Fisk writes that he had such a lovely visit with two of these gems (Silvery Blues) at the Colwood turn-off lupine patch. The lupines are maybe about a week from flowering, maybe sooner if the sun continues.

Silvery Blue Glaucopsyche lygdamus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Nathan Fisk

   Jochen Moehr writes: Today, with the sun blazing down on our slope in Metchosin, there was a lot of butterfly activity.  Quite a few Western Spring Azures.  I saw up to four simultaneously, and they were around all the time.  Also one Grey Hairstreak, and one Sara Orangetip which I saw four or five times, always as a single butterfly.

Western Spring Azure Celastrina echo (Lep.:Lycaenidae)  Jochen Moehr

2018 May 1

   Cheryl Hoyle sends a photograph of bunch of caterpillars of the Sheep Moth from Uplands Park, April 30.  These caterpillars may give a mild (or not-so-mild) rash if handled.  I couldn’t think of a suitable collective noun for a bunch of gregarious caterpillars, so I just used “bunch”.  Suggestions welcome.  Their usual foodplants are either Ocean Spray or Snowberry.

Sheep Moth Hemileuca eglanterina (Lep.: Saturniidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   Annie Pang sends a photograph of the parasitoidal tachinid fly Epalpus signifer.

Epalpus signifer (Dip.: Tachinidae)  Annie Pang

  Gerry and Wendy Ansell write:  

Today at the top of Mount Douglas we got our first swallowtail of the year – an Anise Swallowtail.

Also at the top were two Sara Orangetips and one Western Spring Azure.