2015 November 5

   Rosemary Jorna writes:  One cold wet bumblebee on a late blooming blackberry at Langford Lake this morning, November 5.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  We badly need someone who can identify Hymenoptera for us!  I wouldn’t try to do so, though I note that the bee in Rosemary’s photograph bears some resemblance to some colour varieties of  Bombus fervidus.

Bumblebee Bombus sp. (Hym:. Apidae) Rosemary Jorna

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Today, at the Thrifty checkout, I noticed a glossy magazine called BLOOMS Butterflies and Birds.  Picture of a Monarch on the front cover.  I think it is a special  edition of a gardening magazine called Garden Gate.  Can$9.95.  To be displayed until November 15.

   It is all about how to design your garden to attract butterflies and birds.  I have had a look at it, and my impression is that it is good and has lots of useful and valid advice about how to attract them.  Most of the species are typical of SE U.S., but that probably doesn’t matter a great deal.  It’s got lots of nice pictures of butterflies, and info on their life histories and advice pertinent to attracting each species, and what flowers to plant, etc.  Should be of interest to local gardeners and butterfly enthusiasts.

2015 November 3

   Geoffrey Newell sends a photograph of a Red Admiral from Cattle Point, November 2.  Although Red Admirals spend the winter in the adult state, there is a question as to whether they do so here in Victoria, or whether they migrate to warmer climes. This is therefore an interesting observation.  Until recent years it was believed that the Red Admiral did not overwinter in Britain.  Either it migrated to warmer climes, or, if it stayed in Britain, it wouldn’t survive the winter.  In recent years they have been regularly overwintering in Britain – sometimes cited (whether correctly or not!) as evidence of global warming.  It will be interesting to record any winter records of Red Admirals here (or any other butterfly species for that matter!)

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Geoffrey Newell

2015 November 1

   Rosemary Jorna sends a photograph of a beetle from Sooke Potholes, October 30.  She writes: It held still long enough for a photo.  I saw another two days ago in Eaglecrest Park in Otter Point, but it just moved too fast.  Scott Gilmore writes:  It is a carabid beetle, Scaphinotus angusticollis.  Eater of snail and slugs!  Given its food source, I am not sure why they are so fast.

Scaphinotus angusticollis (Col.: Carabidae)  Rosemary Jorna

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  It’s time for Winter Moths again!  Here is one of two from my Saanich apartment this morning (November 1) – the first I’ve seen this season.

 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

2015 October 28

   Annie Pang sends pictures of what I believe to be the Black-tailed Bumble Bee from a dahlia at Gorge Park, October 23.

Black-tailed Bumble Bee Bombus melanopygus (Hym.: Apidae)  Annie Pang

 Black-tailed Bumble Bee Bombus melanopygus (Hym.: Apidae)  Annie Pang

Black-tailed Bumble Bee Bombus melanopygus (Hym.: Apidae)  Annie Pang

2015 October 27

   Rosemary Jorna writes:  There were several of these millipedes in the fallen maple leaves in our yard when I went looking for mushrooms, October 26, Kemp Lake area.

Millipede (DIPLOPODA)   Rosemary Jorna