2018 February 17

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  My first moth of the year reared from a caterpillar found last year – Orthosia praeses.  ’Pologies for poor focus – in my excitement at the first emergence of the year, I forgot to check the camera settings  –  shall try to do better next time!

Orthosia praeses (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jeremy Tatum

2018 February 18

   Nathan Fisk writes from Fort Rodd Hill Nursery:  I found these two had just emerged and were fluffing out their wings on the Chocolate Lilies.

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  A remarkable find!  The first one is the geometrid Hydriomena nubilofasciata.  We can’t be 100 percent sure about the second.  At first glance it looks more like a noctuid than a geometrid.  However, with two moths emerging at exactly the same time so very close to each other makes it likely that they are the same species, and Libby Avis points out that the markings on the thorax and the legs are virtually identical on the two moths.  Thus we think it is likely that the second moth is also Hydriomena nubilofsciata.

Hydriomena nubilofasciata (Lep.: Geometridae)   Nathan Fisk

Freshly-emerged moth, probably also Hydriomena nubilofasciata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Nathan Fisk

2018 February 11

   Jeremy Gatten writes:  Here are some of the moths I’ve mentioned.  In addition to those mentioned from last weekend, I had Lithophane pertorrida at my place in Saanichton during the wee hours of February 8th

Jeremy Tatum writes:  This is an interesting bunch.  The three noctuids are among those moths that spend the winter in the adult state, reappearing early in the year.  Lithophane georgii is a new moth for this site. Homoglaea dives has appeared only once before, in September 2013.  The caterpillars of Lithophane  are best reared separately from other caterpillars – they are not wholly vegetarian!  Hydriomena manzanita is another “highflyer” (see February 7 for another one) – though not at all a very typical one. It’s also not a very typical geometrid, for it holds its wings “portrait” like a noctuid, rather than “landscape” like a typical geometrid. Its caterpillar feeds on Arbutus  and presumably also Manzanita. It enters diapause in the late summer, and pupates sometime during the winter.

Lithophane georgii (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Gatten

Lithophane pertorrida (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jeremy Gatten

Homoglaea dives (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Gatten

Hydriomena manzanita (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Gatten

Below is a photograph of a Yellow-bordered Taildropper, sent by Bud Logan and photographed by his son Robert from Sayward.  We’ve had this slug on this site just once before – on 16th September 2016.

Yellow-bordered Taildropper Prophysaon foliolatum (Pul.: Anadeniidae)  Robert Logan

2018 February 8

   Here’s another of those early moths to be welcomed at this time of year, from Jochen Moehr in Metchosin:

Egira hiemalis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

2018 February 7

   Moths are beginning to show themselves at least in Metchosin.  Jochen Moehr sends a couple of geometrid photographs.  Hydriomena nubilofasciata is one of the earliest moths to appear in the year.  Moth of the genus Hydriomena are often called “highfliers” – though I don’t know if they all fly particularly high. The caterpillar of this one feeds on oak, and the moth has gained the English name Oak Winter Highflier.  The other one is a “pug”, genus Eupithecia.  There are lots of species of these, and they are difficult to tell apart, so we often have to settle for “Eupithecia sp.”   Our (Libby Avis and Jeremy Tatum) best guess is maybe annulata.

Hydriomena nubilofasciata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr

Eupithecia (maybe annulata) (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Moehr