2015 March 31

   Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of a weevil from his Saanich apartment this morning.  It was identified for him by Scott Gilmore, who writes:  Your beetle is Otiorhynchus singularis (Raspberry Weevil) a native of Europe from the Curculionidae family. The genus is quite common (at least here). There are no native species in the genus, 5 species are known from BC and I have had 4 of them in my backyard. I am not even sure the 5^th species is recorded from the island.

   Scott sends a photo of another Bark Louse from the same cedar tree in his Upper Lantzville backyard. The attached picture is of Ectopsocus briggsi (Ectopsocidae family) that he found on March 10^th.  Kindly identified by Diane Young.

Bark louse Ectopsocus briggsi (Pso.: Ectopsocidae) Scott Gilmore

   Rosemary Jorna writes, from Otter Point:     There were a half dozen of these bees landing on the damp stones of our path this afternoon. It was good to see them as I have not seen that many yet this spring.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  If there’s anyone out there who can identify it, please let us know.  In the meantime I hope I’m not committing some dreadful blunder in labelling it Andrena sp.

   Bill Katz sends a photo of Coryphista meadii  from that famous garage on Summit Hill.

Coryphista meadii (Lep.: Geometridae) Bill Katz

2015 March 30

   Gordon Hart writes:  On the VNHS field trip to  the “Mossy Maple Grove”, we found a few invertebrates around and on the ancient moss-covered maples. I have attached a picture of a Monadenia fidelis out for a walk. We also saw the black and yellow millipede Harpaphe haydeniana, and a small brown cylindrical millipede.

Monadelia fidelis (Pul.: Bradibaenidae) Gordon Hart

   Scott Gilmore writes from Upper Lantzville:  On Febuary 14th my son and I found a bark louse nymph on a Red Cedar in our backyard. I learned last year that you can raise some bark louse on Cheerios and that you might end up with adults. I kept the nymph and gave it a Cheerio, some cedar and a moist environment. Most days I would see the barklouse hanging out on the Cheerio eating or grooming. Eventually on March 2nd I found it on the cedar and it was no longer a nymph but an adult. It took a while to get some decent photos (always difficult of things that are around 2mm long). I sent the specimen to Diane Young in Texas who identified it as a male Lachesilla pacifica.  

(Pso.: Lachesillidae)

Scott Gilmore

Bark louse Lachesilla pacifica (Pso.: Lachesillidae)  Scott Gilmore

2015 March 28

   Jeremy Tatum sends three photographs taken today.  He writes:  I am gradually trying to learn to identify our pugs.  Eupithecia ravocostaliata is one of the larger ones, with distinctive markings, and relatively easy to identify – although even it has a look-alike (E.. nevadata).  This one was on the wall of my Saanich apartment this morning.

  In yesterday’s posting, I showed the pupa of a Sara Orangetip with the colour of the wings of the imago showing through.  Sure enough, the butterfly – a male – emerged today.  After photographing it, I took it out to Munn Road, where the caterpillar came from last year.

  Finally, a snail, Cepaea nemoralis, from McIntyre Reservoir.

Eupithecia ravocostaliata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Bill Savale reports two Cabbage Whites from Poplar Avenue, Saanich, on March 27.

2015 March 27

   Libby Avis sends some recent photos of noctuid moths from Port Alberni:

Acerra normalis from Feb 25^th

Pleromelloida conserta March 11^th

Xylena curvimacula March 16^th

Xylena nupera March 13^th

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  On March 14 I showed a photograph of an Orangetip chrysalis.  Here is the same chrysalis today – you can see the wing colour of the butterfly that will shortly emerge.

   Barb McGrenere writes:  Mike and I took a walk up the road to Observatory Hill this afternoon (March 26) and saw eight Sara Orangetips on the way up and near the summit; and one California Tortoiseshell basking on the asphalt beside one of the telescope buildings and then basking on the roof over the entrance to that building.

 Gerry Ansell writes:  On a walk up Christmas Hill late this afternoon (Friday March 27), Wendy and I saw our first Milbert’s Tortoiseshell of the year.  We also saw at least four Sara Orangetips and one Cabbage White.

2015 March 25

   Libby Avis sends a photo of an almost full-grown Lorquin’s Admiral caterpillar from her greenhouse in Alberni.  This is astonishingly early for a caterpillar in this stage; at this time of year they would normally be found in their overwintering stage, which is a tiny first-instar caterpillar.  Presumably the combination of greenhouse plus mild winter did the trick. It was feeding on Scouler’s Willow, one of the usual foodplants.

Lorquin’s Admiral Limenitis lorquini (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Libby Avis

   Libby seems to be getting far more moths up there than we do here in Victoria, for she writes:  Starting to get quite a bit of activity at the light now – we`re up to 28 species for March so far, but pretty much the usual suspects:

Lithophane – baileyi, innominata, petulca and georgii

Xylena – nupera,  curvimacula

Egira – hiemalis and several crucialis

Acerra normalis, Anticlea vasiliata, Cerastis enigmatica, Ypsolopha falciferella, Pleromelloida conserta (both dark and light versions) and a couple of Zale lunata

Piles of Triphosa, Orthosia (both hibisci and praeses) and numerous Peridroma saucia.

Several Eupithecia including one gilvipennata which is not that common here.