2015 October 4

October Butterfly Walk.  In spite of tempting competing attractions, such as a Black-throated Sparrow and a Cattle Egret, five butterfly enthusiasts turned up to see if they could find a last few butterflies before the onset of S.A.D.  The party was Gail Chacter, Gordon Hart, Agnes Lynn, Helen Oldershaw and Jeremy Tatum.  At Agnes’s suggestion, we decided to try the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific – Agnes had free passes for everyone!  On the way there, some of the party saw a Cabbage White along busy Quadra Street.  When we got to the HCP it was hot, calm and sunny, seemingly ideal for butterflies – but for a while none were to be found.  Most of us contented ourselves with looking at the flowers while pretending to be looking for butterflies, and a few even took a sneak look at one or two birds.  But after a while another Cabbage White appeared, and then another, and thick and fast they came at last (Lewis Carroll).  In the end I think there were about nine Cabbage Whites, not including the Quadra Street one.  All of us had an enjoyable afternoon.

   Many thanks to Scott Gilmore for pointing out that the colourful bee/wasp shown on the September 29 posting is a sweat bee (Halictidae) of the genus Agapostemon, not as I had originally labelled it, a chrysidid wasp.

   Annie Pang sends a photograph of a fly from Gorge Park on October 3.  Hard to identify it with certainty, but it is probably an anthomyiid, though possibly a muscid.

Fly (Dip.:  Anthomyiidae/Muscidae)  Annie Pang

   Mike Yip sends a photograph from Nanoose of a pupa of Cerisy’s Eyed Hawk Moth.

Cerisy’s Eyed Hawk Moth Smerinthus cerisyi (Lep.: Sphingidae)   Mike Yip

2015 October 3

    Monthly Butterfly Walk, October 4.  Scroll down to October 1 posting for details.

    Eric LaGasa has a suggested identification for Aziza Cooper’s caddisfly on the October 2 posting.  Scroll down to that date to see.

   Annie Pang sends photographs taken by Rhona McAdam of a quite small millipede from a garden and in a freshly dug potato in the Rockwell area.

Millipede (DIPLOPODA)   Rhoda McAdam

Millipede (DIPLOPODA)   Rhoda McAdam

   Jody Wells sends a photograph of a pair of meadowhawks ovipositing in the Red Barn area.  Also a Banded Woolly Bear (Isabella Moth).

Meadowhawks ovipositing Sympetrum sp. (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Jody Wells

Banded Woolly Bear Pyrrharctia isabella (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Jody Wells.

2015 October 2

October Monthly Butterfly Walk: Scroll down to October 1 posting for details.

Jeff Gaskin writes: Yesterday, October 1, there was a single Red Admiral in crisp condition sunnying itself on the summit of Christmas Hill, around 4:00 p.m.

Jeremy Tatum writes: Now that October is here, most of the woolly bears that we are seeing are Banded Woolly Bears (Isabella Moth Pyrrharctia isabella), but today at Rithet’s Bog I still saw a late woolly bear caterpillar of the Spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa maculata. The caterpillars of the former are difficult to rear; those of the latter are much easier. Are all furry caterpillars entitled to be called “woolly bears”? I would say no – they must belong to the erebid subfamily Arctiinae. Greek arktos = bear. And how many l’s in woolly? I use two, but I believe that our friends to the south use just one.

Annie Pang sends pictures of a Large Yellow Underwing from her house, September 30.

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae) Annie Pang

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae) Annie Pang

Aziza Cooper sends a photograph of a caddisfly on the wooden walkway near the Goldstream Nature House, September 30. Eric LaGasa suggests that this caddisfly looks like a good fit for Limnephilis sp. Aziza also writes: The Tuesday birding group went to Panama Flats and found many Banded Woolly Bear caterpillars, and 3 Cabbage Whites.

Caddisfly. Perhaps Limnephilus sp.  (Tri.: Limnephilidae) Aziza Cooper

Val George asks: What’s this one? It was in my bathroom in Oak Bay yesterday, Oct 1. Jeremy Tatum responds: Oh, dear. It looks as though it has been trying to get out of your bathroom for some time. It is badly battered and has lost many of the scales and hence wing-pattern. I am not sure that I’ll be able to identify it!

Noctuid moth (Lep.: Noctuidae) Val George.

2015 October 1

Monthly Butterfly Walk
(Jeremy Tatum)

Aziza unfortunately won’t be able to make the October walk, and she has asked me to lead it. We meet at the top of Mount Tolmie at 1:00 pm, Sunday October 4. There are no huge numbers of butterflies around at this time of year, so we’ll think of the October Butterfly Walk as a challenge to find the last few butterflies before the onset of S.A.D. There are still a few Cabbage Whites around, and one or two Red Admirals, Mourning Cloaks and Painted Ladies have been reported in the last couple of weeks.

We usually decide where we are going to go by mutual discussion on Mount Tolmie. I have two suggestions. One is the cabbage fields at Island View Road, where there is a fairly good chance of seeing a few Cabbage Whites. There might also be a chance of finding a late Purplish Copper there or along nearby Island View Beach. And in past years, very rarely, there have been a few October Orange Sulphurs there, though maybe that’s being a bit optimistic. My second suggestion would be Panama Flats to see how many Banded Woolly Bear caterpillars we can count. A couple of years ago there were dozens, perhaps even hundreds, there. This is the caterpillar of the Isabella Moth. But these are just a couple of suggestions. Other suggestions would be welcome when we meet.

Bud Logan sends a photograph of a caterpillar of the Peppered Moth Biston betularia. It has turned brown and assumed a rather dumpy appearance just prior to pupation.

2015 September 30

   Annie Pang writes:  Today in Victoria, it was up to 20 ºC and I was so very pleased to be able to get an Autographa californica moth, common name; Alfalfa Looper , that just flew up in front of me and then landed briefly on some marigolds in Gorge Park Community Gardens. Pictures taken Sept 29, 2015.  [Jeremy Tatum comments:  This is the seventh photo of this species sent to Invert Alert in the last four weeks. (See Aug 28, Sep 10,13, 24, 26 and 29 in addition to today) One of them was reared from a caterpillar, but I wonder if we are having a sudden invasion of this migratory species.  Additional observations will be of interest.]

Autographa californica (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Annie Pang

   David Stirling writes:  On Sunday, September 27, 2015 . fifty or more dragonflies were hawking over the field at East Sooke Park from  2:00 to 3:00 pm. They appeared golden in the low fall sunlight but changed to vivid green if viewed from a different angle. A fine sight. A Merlin was sallying forth to capture individual insects.

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  On September 13 we showed a photograph of an egg of a Cabbage White found on Cakile at Weir’s Beach. The caterpillar is now almost full grown, thriving on a diet of Cakile, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.  (It seems to be favouring the latter at present.)  Photograph below, taken today.

Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae) Jeremy Tatum