2015 August 17

   Jeff Gaskin writes:  This morning, August 17, there was a single Lorquin’s Admiral and one Pine White at the Royal Roads college grounds. I couldn’t believe that there was only the one Pine White there as there are so many conifers on the campus.

   Cheryl Hoyle sends two pictures of a spider wrapping up her lunch.  (Pentatomid for lunch?)  Thanks to Robb Bennett, who writes:  Nice images!  Hard to tell for sure, but I think the spider is Araneus trifolium, a female.

Araneus trifolium (Ara.: Araneidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Araneus trifolium (Ara.: Araneidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

2015 August 16

   [Actually posted on the morning August 17, although all the contributions came on August 16.]

    Jeremy Tatum writes:  The flowers of Wild Carrot (“Queen Anne’s Lace”) at Panama Flats just now are attracting a large variety of wasps, bees, flies and beetles, just waiting for someone to come and photograph them.  We may not be able to identify them all, but we can try.  We can manage most butterflies and macro moths and we have experts who are helping us with dragonflies, flies, beetles, bugs, micro moths, spiders, but we need help with bees, wasps and grasshoppers.  Can anyone help with these?

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  6:30 pm today, Mount Tolmie reservoir:  1 Red Admiral, 1 Painted Lady.  At Panama Flats in the afternoon I saw three nests of the Fall Webworm Hyphantria cunea, all high up near the tops of alder trees.  The largest by far is near Panama Pond.   And at 11:30 pm, just when I was tired and ready to crawl into bed, I saw a large bug climbing on the curtain in my bedroom, so I had to get out the camera and photograph it.

Western Conifer Seed Bug Leptoglossus occidentalis (Hem.: Coreidae) Jeremy Tatum

   Bill Katz writes:  There were several large moths – 2" across – at the school on Haro Road this morning. I think they are Catocala unijuga.  [So do I – that’s a new one on me.  Nice find.  Jeremy]

   Also at the school on Haro Road an American Tissue Moth.

American Tissue Moth Triphosa haesitata (Lep.: Geometridae)

Bill Katz

   Cheryl Hoyle sends pictures from Metchosin of a Woodland Skipper, and third and fifth instars of the caterpillar of the Spotted Tiger Moth.

Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa maculata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa maculata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   Rosemary Jorna sends two pictures of a bee from her garden near Kemp Lake.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  Can someone identify it for us?  While it looks not dissimilar to a Honey Bee¸ I am not sure that that is what it is; I think it may be a different species.

Bee (Hym.: Apidae)  Rosemary Jorna

Bee (Hym.: Apidae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Scott Gilmore writes from Upper Lantzville:  Last night I found a new moth for me at our light. A Wavy-lined Emerald Moth (Synchlora aerata).

   I had seen a spot on the back of our house where there had clearly been a slug climbing. Last night I found out what was actually happening. I have read about this before but it was great to actually see it. I don’t know much about slugs but I think this is Limax maximus?   [Jeremy Tatum responds:  What a fantastic photograph!  Yes, I had read about this, but never seen it, and I believe it is Limax maximus, variously known as the Giant Garden Slug, or the Great Grey Slug.  When mating, they suspend themselves from a thread of mucus and twine around each other.  This is surely one of the most remarkable mating behaviours in nature.]

Synchlora aerata (Lep..: Geometridae)  Scott Gilmore

Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)  Scott Gilmore

2015 August 15

   Two more photographs from Devon Parker’s recent trip to Juan de Fuca Ridge.

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)   Devon Parker

Sylvan Hairstreak Satyrium sylvinum (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

   Aziza Cooper writes:  Today, under grey skies, the VHNS trip to Saanichton Spit and Island View Beach found 2 Purplish Coppers, 1 Ringlet, 5 Woodland Skippers and 2 Cabbage Whites. And I thought we wouldn’t see any butterflies!

Jeremy Tatum writes:  The Western Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar that was shown on August 4 has pupated.  Its chrysalis is shown below.

Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus (Lep.:  Papilionidae)

Jeremy Tatum

   Here are two woolly bear caterpillars, the first from Blenkinsop Lake, the second from Swan Lake, today.

Lophocampa maculata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Jeremy Tatum

Spilosoma virginica (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Jeremy Tatum

2015 August 14

   Reminder:  Monthly Butterfly Count period starts tomorrow. See yesterday’s posting for details.

   Jochen Moehr writes from his Metchosin farm:  Yesterday I caught a picture of a Grey Hairstreak. We have just sown a crop of Crimson Clover Trifolium incarnatum, with some mature plants still available from the previous application.  This little butterfly was very interested in them and stayed around for hours. Perhaps our beans are also attractive to him.

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)   Jochen Moehr

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)   Jochen Moehr

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)   Jochen Moehr

   Rosemary Jorna sends a picture of a little beetle, identified for us by Scott Gilmore as a

Twenty-spotted Ladybeetle.

Twenty-spotted Ladybeetle Psyllobora vigintimaculata (Col.: Coccinellidae)

 Rosemary Jorna

   Gordon Hart writes from Highlands District, August 13:  Today we still had a faded Lorquin’s Admiral, the Grey Hairstreak again, and one or two Cedar Hairstreaks. One seemed quite fresh and one seemed faded, so I think there were two.

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Mount Tolmie, 5:00 p.m. August 13.  One or perhaps up to three

Painted Ladies.

   Rosemary Jorna sends photographs of two flies.  The first, identified by Jeff Skevington, is a syrphid, and the second, identified by Monty Wood, is a tachinid.

Cheilosia sp. (Dip.: Syrphidae)  Rosemary Jorna

Graphogaster sp. (Dip.: Tachinidae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Aziza Cooper writes:  On Thursday, August 13, I found one Purplish Copper next to the pump house on the east side of Martindale valley. One photo shows a purple sheen on the forewing.

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

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

   Devon Parker writes:  August 13 was a great day for butterflies on the San Juan Ridge. 

18 Hydaspe Fritillaries

1 Green Comma

1 Painted Lady

3 Lorquin’s Admirals

1 Sylvan Hairstreak

1 Mylitta Crescent

The Sylvan Hairstreak appears to be the same specimen as last time (see August 3 posting).

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Devon Parker

Hydaspe Fritillary Speyeria hydaspe (Lep.: Nymphalidae)   Devon Parker

Both!      Devon Parker

   Gordon Hart sends a picture of an ichneumonid wasp from his Highlands garden.  If anyone can help with the identification, do let us know!

Ichneumonid wasp (Hym.:  Ichneumonidae)  Gordon Hart

2015 August 13

   Aziza Cooper writes:  Saturday is the beginning of the August Butterfly Count. The count period is from the 3rd Saturday to the 4th Sunday: August 15 to August 23.

The butterflies have been hard to find lately, since the warm weather has caused them to finish their cycles quite early this year. There are a few later butterflies like Purplish Copper, and also some that have two cycles per season, plus possible strays and migrants like the sulfurs we saw last year. Hilltops are still possible locations for butterflies.

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 September 6. 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 [and this site!  –  Jeremy] for changes and updates.

Enjoy the butterflies!

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  If the weather is suitable, I am planning to be at the northernmost Island View Beach parking lot at 1:30 pm on Friday August 14, to walk to Cordova Spit to see if I can find the Western Branded Skipper.  Company very welcome.

   Gordon Hart writes:  On Monday, August 10, I also tried to find the Branded Skipper, but had no success from Island View Beach to Cordova Bay Spit (Saanichton Spit). I did see the clouds of Woodland Skippers you mentioned, a couple of Cabbage Whites and several Ringlets/ Large Heaths (C. tullia), and at least one Essex Skipper, photo attached. There were many other insects enjoying the Grindelia (gumweed) flowers. The one attached is a sand wasp   At home today August 12, one Grey Hairstreak appeared briefly amongst many Woodland Skippers and a couple of Cabbage Whites.

Large Heath Coenonympha tullia (Lep.: Nymphalidae – Satyrinae)   Gordon Hart

Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Gordon Hart

Sand wasp Bembix sp. (Hym.:  Crabronidae – Bembicinae)  Gordon Hart

   Jeremy Tatum sends photographs of a clothes moth from his bedroom, and two caterpillars. The first one is Acronicta dactylina, which feeds on alder.  The second is

Nadata gibbosa, which usually feeds on oak, though this one, unusually, was on Amelanchier (Saskatoonberry).  Also from his bedroom – evidently a rich source of invertebrates – a spider, identified by Robb Bennett, who writes: That’s a male gnaphosid; almost certainly Scotophaeus blackwalli. Palaearctic species now widespread in southern Nearctic and Neotropics and apparently continuing to expand its range.  Only fairly recently have we been seeing it around here (records from Victoria area and Salmon Arm).

Tineola bisselliella (Lep.: Tineidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Acronicta dactylina (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Nadata gibbosa (Lep.: Notodontidae)   Jeremy Tatum

Scotophaeus blackwalli (Ara.:  Gnaphosidae)  Jeremy Tatum

  nDMFU