2105 September 19

    Rosemary Jorna writes:  Small spider on the kitchen floor – the photo is it leaving for the outside on the dust pan!

    Robb Bennett kindly provides the following identification and information:  A Xysticus crab spider (Family Thomisidae).  It is probably the introduced species Xysticus cristatus but I can’t be sure.  It was introduced not so long ago and for a while in the late 90s to early 2000s was the most common Xysticus to be found around here.  Now it seems to have dropped off in numbers and is not so common anymore.

Crab spider Xysticus (probably cristatus) (Ara.: Thomisidae)   Rosemary Jorna

   Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of a Large Yellow Underwing moth (also introduced!) from his Saanich apartment.

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jeremy Tatum

   And Cheryl Hoyle caught one of the same species laying eggs in Metchosin:

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Cheryl Hoyle

   Nathan Fisk writes:  Well armoured black pupa. 2 distinct orange puffs on the small end. 8 segments on the cuticle. 1.5cm in length. Slightly shiny. ‎Very intriguing. 

Jeremy Tatum writes:   This is a fly puparium.  There will be an opportunity to photograph and identify it when the adult fly emerges.  Can’t tell when this might be, but could be any day (not unlikely) – or not until next year!

Fly puparium (Diptera)  Nathan Fisk

2015 September 18

   Rosemary Jorna sends two photographs of a male Giant House Spider from Kemp Lake Road, September 16.

Male Giant House Spider Eratigena atrica (Ara.: Agelenidae) Rosemary Jorna

Male Giant House Spider Eratigena atrica (Ara.: Agelenidae) Rosemary Jorna

   Jeremy Tatum photographed what he took to be an entirely different spider from Poplar Avenue, Saanich, on September 18.  Surprise! –  Thanks to Robb Bennett for telling us that it is almost certainly a female of the same species!  (Slight chance of its being a close relative E. agrestis). 

Female Giant House Spider Eratigena atrica (Ara.: Agelenidae) Jeremy Tatum

   Jeremy Tatum writes that he saw another Banded Woolly Bear by the side of Martindale Road – we’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the coming weeks.  More of a surprise, near the Garcia Nurseries was a penultimate instar caterpillar of a Painted Lady.  Unfortunately the caterpillar refused to uncurl for the photographer before press time, so we just see it curled up.  If there are caterpillars around just now, then there’s maybe a chance of seeing an adult during the October Butterfly walk (see September 17 posting).

Painted Lady Vanessa cardui (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Jeremy Tatum

2015 September 17

Monthly Butterfly Count

Announcement from Aziza Cooper

Hi Butterfly Counters,

Saturday is the beginning of the September Butterfly Count. The count period is from the 3rd Saturday to the 4th Sunday: September 19 to September 27. This is the last count period for the year.

There are still a few butterflies to be seen on warm days. It will be interesting finding out what’s still around.

Please use the form at https://www.vicnhs.bc.ca/website/index.php/butterfly-count to submit your results. Submit a separate form for each area you count, so I can take the higher number in case of double counting.

If you’d like a suggestion about what area to count, send me an email. If you want to be removed from this list or if you know of anyone who would like to be added, please email me.

Thanks for submitting your sightings, and happy counting! 

The monthly butterfly walk is held on the first Sunday of each month. The next walk is on October 4. It’s the last one for the year. We meet at Mt Tolmie summit at 1:00pm and decide on our destination from there. The walk will be cancelled if the weather is cool or rainy. Please check the VNHS calendar for changes and updates.

Enjoy the butterflies!

Aziza Cooper

Butterfly count coordinator

   Jody Wells sends a picture of a big anthill at Saanichton Spit.  Stunty cedars NW as reference point.  It’s beside the path.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  I don’t know if it is possible to identify the ants, but I believe the ones that build these big anthills are in the genus Formica – which is just Latin for ant.

Anthill Formica sp. (Hym.: Formicidae) Jody Wells

   Rosemary Jorna writes:  When I was changing notices on a community board on Tugwell Rd in Otter Point a group of these European Paper Wasps Polistes dominula were investigating or resting on the board under a notice.

European Paper Wasp Polistes dominula (Hym.: Vespidae)

Rosemary Jorna

2015 September 14

   Jeremy Tatum reports an Indian Meal Moth from his Saanich apartment yesterday.

Indian Meal Moth Plodia interpunctella (Lep.: Pyralidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Nathan Fisk writes:  Found this big character near a large ocean spray at Fort Rodd.

Jeremy Tatum responds:  At first I thought this was the usual Smerinthus cerisyi, but on closer perusal I saw that it is the decidedly uncommon Paonias excaecatus.   One very obvious clue is the colour of the caudal horn, which is blue in cerisyi.  Nathan says that the caterpillar was about 7 cm long.  The Indian Meal moth above, on the other hand, was 9 mm long.

Paonias excaecatus (Lep.:  Sphingidae)  Nathan Fisk

2015 September 13

Cheryl Hoyle sends photographs of two caterpillars from Metchosin.  The first is a Tiger Swallowtail – I cannot tell which species.  Shortly before pupation these caterpillars turn brown and wander around away from their foodplant, looking for somewhere to pupate.   It looks as though this one has already found a place to pupate, and it has already spun its silken girdle. The second is a noctuid of the group known as dagger moths, because of a dagger-like mark on the wings of the adult moths.

Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus/eurymedon (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Acronicta dactylina (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

  She also sends a photograph of a plusiine moth Autographa californica from View Royal.  On September we pointed out that most plusiine caterpillars can be recognized by their reduced number of prolegs.  Likewise, many of the adult plusiines have a distinguishing feature – a y-like mark in the middle of the forewing.

 Autographa californica (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   And a spider:

Araneus trifolium (Ara.: Araneidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   The butterfly season isn’t quite over yet.  Jeremy Tatum saw a Cabbage White laying eggs on Cakile (Sea Rocket) at Weir’s Beach, September 13.

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

   I saw my first Banded Woolly Bear of the season at Metchosin Lagoon today.  October is the peak season for these caterpillars, and we should be seeing more of them in the next few weeks.  In case anyone is tempted to try rearing one of them to adult moth, I would point out that this species is one of the more difficult lepidopterous caterpillars to rear, and I would not advise trying it if you have never reared caterpillars before.