2015 August 7

   Here’s another photograph of the Lesser Yellow Underwing from Val George’s carport yesterday.

Lesser Yellow Underwing Noctua comes (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Val George

   Aziza Cooper writes:  Tonight, August 6, I saw two butterflies hilltopping at Moss Rock summit. There was a very fresh Painted Lady, and a very worn Red Admiral.

  Devon Parker writes:  I just remembered I had photographed some butterflies on the eastern peak of Mt. Prévost in Duncan on May 8 2015. Not sure if it is too late to add to the invert alert but I saw one Moss’s Elfin, one Western Elfin and one unidentified male ‘Blue’ possibly nectaring on Kinnikinnick.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  Yes, definitely too late! But I’ll post them just the same!   Just this once!   🙂

Devon Parker

   Aziza Cooper writes: Attached are two lists showing the environmental statuses of butterflies on Vancouver Island. They were compiled by Mike Yip, and I’ve checked the current statuses on the Conservation Data Centre (CDC) website. There are several discrepancies in names and entries, but even so the lists should be helpful in sorting out your sightings.

VANCOUVER ISLAND BUTTERFLIES

 Compiled by Mike Yip; edited by Aziza Cooper

 SWALLOWTAILS & APOLLOS  PROVINCIAL STATUS  

Clodius Apollo                           blue

Rocky Mountain Apollo          blue 

Anise Swallowtail     

Western Tiger Swallowtail   

Pale Swallowtail      

WHITES, MARBLES, & SULPHURS

Pine White       

Western White         

Margined White      

Cabbage White    exotic 

Island Marble        red, extirpated

Sara’s Orangetip

Clouded Sulphur                           

Orange Sulphur     migrant

Western Sulphur    

GOSSAMER WINGS

Purplish Copper      

Reakirt’s Copper     

Sylvan Hairstreak        

Johnson’s Hairstreak       red, extirpated

Cedar Hairstreak

Western Elfin  

Moss’ Elfin     blue

Western Pine Elfin    blue  

Grey Hairstreak

Western Tailed Blue     

Western Spring Azure

Silvery Blue      

Anna’s Blue      blue 

Greenish Blue         red, extirpated

Boisduval’s Blue                 blue

Arctic Blue       

BRUSHFOOTS

Satyr Anglewing

Green Comma

Zephyr Anglewing      

Oreas Anglewing

Compton Tortoiseshell            migrant

California Tortoiseshell   migrant

Mourning Cloak      

Milbert’s Tortoiseshell

American Lady    migrant

Painted Lady     migrant  

Red Admiral     migrant

Westcoast Lady    migrant

Zerene Fritillary    red

Hydaspe Fritillary

Mormon Fritillary      

Western Meadow Fritillary    

Field Crescent

Mylitta Crescent      

Chalcedon Checkerspot             extirpated   

Taylor’s Checkerspot           red  

Lorquin’s Admiral     

Common Ringlet    red

Common Woodnymph   red  

Great Arctic         

Melissa Arctic         

Monarch         blue, migrant

SKIPPERS

Silver-spotted Skipper                     blue, extirpated  

Northern Cloudywing        

Dreamy Duskywing

Propertius Duskywing   red 

Persius Duskywing

Two-banded Checkered Skipper   

Arctic Skipper

European Skipper    exotic  

Common Branded Skipper

Western Branded Skipper           red

Woodland Skipper     

Dun Skipper         red

Roadside Skipper

VANCOUVER ISLAND BUTTERFLIES

TRUE BUTTERFLIES

SWALLOWTAILS & APOLLOS    

Clodius Apollo                           

Rocky Mountain Apollo    

Anise Swallowtail     

Western Tiger Swallowtail   

Pale Swallowtail      

WHITES, MARBLES, & SULPHURS

Pine White    

Western White         

Margined White   

Cabbage White   

Large Island Marble        

Sara’s Orangetip

Clouded Sulphur                         Orange Sulphur     

Western Sulphur    

GOSSAMER WINGS

Purplish Copper   

Reakirt’s Copper     

Sylvan Hairstreak     

Johnson’s Hairstreak       

Cedar Hairstreak

Western Elfin  

Moss’ Elfin     

Blue=  Blue listed, Red=Red listed, Green=Introduced, Pink=migrant

Western Pine Elfin     Grey Hairstreak

Western Tailed Blue    Western Spring Azure

Silvery Blue      

Anna’s Blue    

Greenish Blue  (P. s. insulanus)  

Boisduval’s Blue                 

Arctic Blue       

BRUSHFOOTS

Satyr Anglewing

Green Comma

Zephyr Anglewing      

Oreas Anglewing

Compton Tortoiseshell            

California Tortoiseshell   

Mourning Cloak   

Milbert’s Tortoiseshell

American Lady    

Painted Lady    

Red Admiral     

Westcoast Lady    

Zerene Fritillary (S. z. bremnerii)  

Hydaspe Fritillary

Mormon Fritillary   

Western Meadow Fritillary    

Compiled by Mike Yip, 2015

Field Crescent

Mylitta Crescent   

Chalcedon Checkerspot          

Taylor’s Checkerspot

Lorquin’s Admiral     

Common Ringlet    

Common Woodnymph    Great Arctic         

Melissa Arctic

Chryxus Arctic             

Monarch xxx         

SKIPPERS

Silver-spotted Skipper                      Northern Cloudywing        

Dreamy Duskywing

Propertius Duskywing 

Persius Duskywing

Two-banded Checkered Skipper   

Arctic Skipper

European Skipper     Common Branded Skipper

Western Branded Skipper           

Woodland Skipper     

Dun Skipper         

Roadside Skipper   

2015 August 6

   Val George writes:  This morning, August 6, I had two of these Lesser Yellow Underwings in my carport in Oak Bay. 

Lesser Yellow Underwing Noctua comes (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Val George

   Devon Parker writes:  I was up on the San Juan Ridge today and it was a terrible day for butterflies, although I got to identify the fritillaries [see August 3 posting]  as the Hydaspe Fritillary. They have a few extra black spots on the ventral hindwing compared with zerene when I compared pinned specimens of the two.

San Juan Ridge:
1 skipper
2 Hydaspe Fritillaries

South of the San Juan Ridge is the Jordan Ridge. There were 2 Grey Hairstreaks there. At a lower elevation on the Jordan Ridge there was one skipper.

2015 August 4

   Jeff Gaskin writes:  Today, August 4, in Uplands Park while with the Tuesday birders’ group, we found a single Western Tiger Swallowtail and 2 Lorquin’s Admirals. There were also several Woodland Skippers in the park as well.

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  Observers are noticing that the season for Western Tiger Swallowtails is beginning to wind down.  To reassure observers, however, I can say that there will be at least one next year – the caterpillar below was found at King’s Pond.

Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   If the season is winding down for many butterflies, Woodland Skippers seem to be very numerous just now – witness Annie Pang’s photograph of four on a single thistle flower.

Woodland Skippers Ochlodes sylvanoides (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Annie Pang

   Jeremy Tatum writes: I went to Cordova Spit this morning to see if I could see the Western Branded Skippers reported by David Robichaud (see yesterday’s posting).  I walked from Island View Beach, through the Indian reserve, and I spent two hours on the spit systematically quartering it to and fro – and I saw not a single butterfly of any species!

   Devon Parker writes:   These are the butterflies I saw in my backyard today near Goldstream Campground.

3 Woodland Skippers
1 Cedar Hairstreak – with damaged wings
1 Grey Hairstreak

 Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

2015 August 3

   Jeremy Tatum visited Mount Tolmie at 6:00 pm on August 2 and found 1 Red Admiral on the reservoir, and 1 Painted Lady near the Jeffrey Pine.

  Devon Parker writes:  I was up on the San Juan Ridge again and found six species of butterflies today near the same area as last time [see July 18 posting], including three species not seen before on the San Juan Ridge.

2 Oreas Comma Polygonia oreas.
3 Mylitta Crescent Phyciodes mylitta nectaring on Pearly Everlasting.
3 Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini.
5 Hydaspe Fritillary Speyeria hydaspe nectaring on Pearly Everlasting.
3 Mariposa Copper Lycaena mariposa nectaring on Pearly Everlasting.
1 Sylvan Hairstreak Satyrium sylvinum.

   Fritillaries are notoriously difficult to identify from upperside alone.  Devon believes the ones he saw are probably hydaspe, but he will try and photograph the underside next time he goes there.  We wish him luck.

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

 Mylitta Crescent Phyciodes mylitta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Devon Parker

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

   Annie Pang sends a picture of a European Paper Wasp

European Paper Wasp  Polistes dominula (Hym.: Vespidae)  Annie Pang

   David Robichaud writes:   I thought folks would want to know [yes we would! – Jeremy] that the Western Branded Skippers are flying at Cordova (Saanichton) Spit right now (Aug 3), and looking fresh.  I hadn’t checked there until today, so I can’t say when they started to emerge.  I saw more than a dozen in about 1.5 hours of wandering around.  There were also a few Woodland Skippers interspersed, just to make things interesting.  I’ve attached a photo.

   Jeremy Tatum comments.  Some taxonomists split the branded skippers into a Common Branded Skipper  Hesperia comma (Holarctic distribution – called Silver -spotted Skipper in the UK) and the newly-split Western Branded Skipper H. colorado.  Both are supposed to occur on Vancouver Island, but the Cordova Bay ones are supposed to be colorado.  Perhaps a lot more observations are called for!   I wish I could find the caterpillar.

 Western Branded Skipper  Hesperia colorado  (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  David Robichaud

    Aziza Cooper writes:  Today I found two Purplish Coppers at the pump house on the east side of Martindale valley, just north of Martindale Road. They were mostly nectaring on daisies. At least 50 Cabbage Whites were also there.

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

   And now for two fearsome flies.  Harmless to humans, but not to other insects!  The first is identified by Jeff Skevington as Villa sp., a species of bee fly.  It was photographed by Aziza Cooper during yesterday’s outing to the Kinsol trestle. The second, which came into my (Jeremy Tatum) living room today to frighten me, is identified by Rob Cannings as Laphria ventralis,  a species of robber fly.  Thanks to these experts for helping us out.

Laphria ventralis (Dip.: Asilidae)  Jeremy Tatum