2017 July 23

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  Back from holidays, so Invertebrate Alert is back in business – slowly as I recover from jet lag.   I saw lots of butterflies on the Sussex South Downs, largely thanks to Sussex butterfly enthusiast David Harris.  One of the most memorable was a Chalkhill Blue nectaring on a Round-headed Rampion – both species iconic symbols of the Sussex South Downs.  Also, not one, but two sightings of the absolutely enormous syrphid fly Volucella zonaria.

   Anyway, some unfinished business first. The moth/caddisfly with the very long antennae photographed by Ken Vaughan (see July 5 posting) has been identified by Claudia Copley and Libby Avis as a caddisfly (as originally suggested by Ken) of the family Leptoceridae, possibly, suggested by Libby, of the genus Oecetis.

  More unfinished business.  Nick Doe found several of these small moths on Gabriola Island in June 27.  He has since identified them as Protodeltote albidula

Protodeltote albidula (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Nick Doe

   Val George sends a photograph of Coryphista meadii from his Oak Bay garden, July 16. The caterpillar feeds on Mahonia and Berberis.

Coryphista meadii (Lep.: Geometridae)  Val George.

   Jeff Gaskin writes:  I have been doing quite a bit of looking for butterflies since it is butterfly count week and here are a few of my findings.

July 15, was the date of my first Pine White which was from the highway or Sooke Road near the View Royal Casino

July 19,  a Pale Tiger Swallowtail in Finnerty Gardens at UVic.

July 18,  6 Pine Whites near the View Royal Casino as seen from the highway or Sooke Road,  and a Painted Lady at Tower Point.

July 17, a Large Heath or “Ringlet”  in Layritz Park south of Markham Road and a Woodland Skipper on nearby Broadcast Hill.

July 17, on Mount Tolmie at 5 p.m. 1 West Coast Lady, 2 Red Admirals, and 5 Painted Ladies all near the concrete reservoir.

   Annie Pang sends a photograph of a Western Tiger Swallowtail from Gorge Park, July 16.

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

   We have a few photos in the queue awaiting identification.

2017 July 13​

FROM Gordon Hart

Hello Butterfly Counters,

2017 July 5

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  This will be the last Invert Alert before I start on holiday tomorrow.  If by any chance I should find myself near a computer and can figure out how it works (both of which are very unlikely) I may try and make one or two postings. Otherwise Invert Alert won’t be back in business before July 22.  By all means save up a very few of your most interesting photographs, but please don’t flood me with huge numbers of photographs of our most frequently-photographed insects when I get back!

We start off today with an insect photographed by Ken Vaughan in the Highlands. This has been identified by Claudia Copley and Libby Avis as a caddisfly of the family Leptoceridae, possibly, suggests Libby, of the genus Oecetis

Caddisfly (Tri.: Leptoceridae)  possibly Oecetis sp.

  Ken Vaughan

   Ken also photographed a soldier beetle in the Highlands.  Charlene Wood writes that they are tricky to identify to species, but that this one does look a lot like Podabrus cavicollis.

Soldier beetle, possibly Podabrus cavicollis (Col.: Cantharidae)  Ken Vaughan

Re the VNHS Monthly Butterfly Walk on Sunday July 2, Jeff Gaskin writes:  At Mount Tolmie we had  :  12 Lorquin’s Admirals, 5 Western and 1 Pale Tiger Swallowtails, and the usual Cabbage Whites. On Stelly’s Cross Road Eddy’s Storage we had :   2 Field Crescents, 25 Essex Skippers, and 1 Cabbage White.  At Island View Beach we had  :  9 Lorquin’s Admirals, 1 Purplish Copper, 14 Large Heaths (Ringlets), 1 Painted Lady, and 19 Essex Skippers.  When we returned to Mount Tolmie at 4:30 pm. on the Mount Tolmie reservoir were  :  1 West Coast Lady and 4 Painted Ladies.

Ann Tiplady writes:  Here is a photo from July 2, in my garden.  A crab spider with a dead honey bee, and particularly interesting was the cloud of very small insects buzzing around the dead honey bee.  I was reminded of jackals around lions at a kill, or arctic foxes around a polar bear at a kill.

Goldenrod Crab Spider Misumena vatia (Ara.: Thomisidae)  Ann Tiplady

    Jeremy Tatum writes:  This is the second time recently that we have seen a crab spider overcome a bee (see June 14 evening).  We can see two of the tiny insects.  They are hymenopterans, probably of the Superfamily Chalcidoidea.

Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of a Common Emerald Moth from his Saanich apartment garden this morning.

 Common Emerald Hemithea aestivaria (Lep.: Geometridae) Jeremy Tatum

Jody Wells sends a bunch of photographs of invertebrates – one of them found on the beach and not strictly terrestrial – but we’ll allow it this time!

Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis (Odo.: Libellulidae) Jody Wells

Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis (Odo.: Libellulidae) Jody Wells

Polyphylla crinita (Col.: Scarabaeidae)  Jody Wells

Polyphylla crinita (Col.: Scarabaeidae)  Jody Wells

Nereis vexillosa (Phyllodocida: Nereididae)  Jody Wells

2017 July 4

   Ken Vaughan  sends a nice collection from Beaver Lake Ponds, July 2.

Bee-like robber fly Laphria asturina/fernaldi (Dip.: Asilidae) Ken Vaughan

Blue-eyed Darner Rhionaeschna multicolor (Odo.: Aeshnidae) Ken Vaughan

Left:  Dot-tailed Whiteface Leucorrhinia intacta (Odo.: Libellulidae)

Right: Western Pondhawk Erythemis collocata (Odo.: Libellulidae)

Ken Vaughan

   And another nice collection from the Highlands:

 Left:  Pasiphila rectangulata (Lep.: Geometridae)

Right:  Tentatively Protitame matilda (Lep.: Geometridae)

Ken Vaughan

 Pasiphila rectangulata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Ken Vaughan

Enypia packardata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Ken Vaughan

2017 July 3

   Reminder:  Invert Alert closed July 6 -22.  See recent postings.

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  There have been very few moths at my Saanich apartment building this year, so it was nice this morning to see a Cerisy’s Eyed Hawk Moth there.  Unfortunately, she flew away strongly about half a second before I pressed the shutter button.  I’m sure many of you have had the same experience!

   Gordon Hart writes:  We had a good June count after a slow start this spring. We were down four species this year, from 15 species in June, 2016, to 11 in 2017. Because we use the Christmas Count circle, we could not count the Island View Beach Purplish Coppers reported by Val George. This is one of those formerly more common species, like Mylitta Crescent, that used to be seen in several areas of Greater Victoria. Some numbers were down, but eight species had higher numbers than last year. The most counted of any species was Western Tiger Swallowtail, with 262 seen, 105 more than last year! Surprisingly, Cabbage Butterfly was down by 305, from 532 in 2016, to 227 this year. European (Essex) Skippers were down from 180 in 2016, to 55 this year, but this was probably due to the later season this year. We had 13 observers and 34 reports covering about 43 locations. Thanks to all who submitted count reports. I also included a few sightings from the Invert Alert if they matched the date range and were in the count circle.

    Annie Pang sends a picture of a Small Magpie Moth, July 2.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  I can’t get used to the new scientific name!  It must have been Eurrhypara hortulata for well over 100 years.  I hope the taxonomists have good reasons for the name change.  They changed its Family not so long ago.  (It was Pyralidae.)   Beautiful moth anyway.

Small Magpie Moth Anania hortulata (Lep.:  Crambidae)  Annie Pang

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I inadvertently missed a bunch of photographs from Gordon Hart a week or so ago.  Thanks, Gordon, for re-sending them, and here they are.

Acronicta dactylina (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Gordon Hart

Nomad bee (Hym.: Nomadidae)  Gordon Hart

Red-veined Meadowhawk Sympetrum madidum (Odo.: Libellulidae) Gordon Hart

   Samantha Hatfield sends photographs of a Western Tiger Swallowtail and a Cabbage White.

Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Samantha Hatfield

Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae)  Samantha Hatfield.