2015 September 3

   Ron Flower writes:  I went back out to Beecher Bay on August 30th and found a male Mylitta Crescent.  I also got a female Pine White on the same day.  Today at Martindale area there were many Cabbage Whites.  Today also at Island View in field there were “Ringlets” (Coenonympha tullia Large Heath)  and a few Woodland Skippers before the rains.

Male Mylitta Crescent Phyciodes mylitta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Ron Flower

Female Pine White Neophasia menapia (Lep.: Pieridae)  Ron Flower

2015 September 2

   Mike Yip sends a photograph of a caterpillar of Cerisy’s Eyed Hawk Moth, from Nanoose Bay, September 1.

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

   Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of a caterpillar of a Spotted Tiger Moth, from Central Saanich, September 1.

Spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa maculata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2015 September 1

   Rain at last!  Very welcome rain, though it does mean that no one has reported any butterflies in the last three days.  There are still some Cabbage Whites around.  Our butterfly season often ends rather abruptly at the end of August, but please keep reporting any butterflies that you see – even the commonest ones, so as to delay the onset of S.A.D. as long as possible. 

  Of course some invertebrates actually like the rain.  Rosemary Jorna sends a photograph of two Banana Slugs dining on an old mushroom along the Sheringham Point Lighthouse Trail.

Banana Slugs Ariolimax columbianus (Pul.: Arionidae)   Rosemary Jorna

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I have been maintaining an Index of all photographs shown on the site since it started in 2010.  Thanks to the computer savvy of Adam Taylor, to whom very many thanks, it is now possible for you to view and to download the Index.  Just scroll to the top of this site and you will be guided on how to do this with one deft click.  I shall be updating it every few days as new photographs come in and are posted.

  One small project that I am doing is – I am going through all of the Invert Alert postings from today right back to 2010, looking for mistakes and correcting them.  If any viewer is aware of any mistakes in past postings, or if you spot any, please do let me know at  jtatum at uvic.ca so that I can correct them.  I am looking for any sort of mistake – not just major blunders and obvious misidentifications, but also little things such as spelling or punctuation mistakes, or scientific names not set in italic, of photocaptions not centred and so on.   So please do let me know if you spot anything.

2015 August 29

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I was evidently not paying attention on August 18 when we received an email from Aziza Cooper with two photographs of splendid butterflies.   ‘Pologies, Aziza, for missing them.  Here they are – a Purplish Copper from the Martindale Valley, and a Pine White near the Lochside Drive pig farm, both on August 17.

Female Purplish Copper Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)   Aziza Cooper

Male Pine White Neophasia menapia (Lep.: Pieridae) Aziza Cooper

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Here are two moths from the walls of my Saanich apartment building this morning, August 29.

Neoalcis californiaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

Udea profundalis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   And this evening, just when I was preparing dinner, I found a splendid noctuid caterpillar on my store-bought broccoli.  A very nice find.  I don’t know what it is – I’ll have to wait until next spring to find out.

Unknown caterpillar on broccoli  (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jeremy Tatum

2015 August 28

   Aziza Cooper writes:  Yesterday, August 27, one male Purplish Copper was in the flowers next to the pump house on the east side of Martindale. About 20 Cabbage Whites were also in the area.

  Annie Pang sends a photograph of a bee, which reminds us that we very much need someone to help us with identification of Hymenoptera.  Please do let us know if you can help.

Bee (Hym.: Apidae)  Annie Pang

   Rosemary Jorna photographed a ground beetle at Kemp Lake Road on August 27.  Thanks to Scott Gilmore for identifying it as probably Amara sp.

Ground beetle, probably Amara sp. (Col.: Carabidae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Val George found a plusiine caterpillar Autographa californica on his kale plants in his Oak Bay garden today.

   Also on Val’s kale were some caterpillars of Plutella xylostella.

Plutella xylostella (Lep.: Plutellidae)  Jeremy Tatum