2015 May 27

   Gordon Hart writes (May 26): I stayed around the yard today and managed to catch up with a few insects.  The Ceanothus (California Lilac) is in full bloom and was attracting several kinds of bees and three Cedar Hairstreaks with a couple of Spring Azures. I counted eight Pale Swallowtails at the same time on the Rhododendrons , a new yard record I think. I have attached another picture of a Cedar Hairstreak, plus a small brown pug on a squash leaf; and a small beetle with bright red-pink stripes on the pronotum.

   Thanks to Scott Gilmore for identifying the beetle to genus as Ellychnia.   This is in the firefly family, but only the larvae bioluminesce. 

   Jeremy Tatum writes that his best guess for the pug is Eupithecia annulata – but he can’t be certain.

Ellychnia sp.: (Col.: Lampyridae)  Gordon Hart

Eupithecia sp. (perhaps annulata) (Lep.: Geometridae) Gordon Hart

   Scott Gilmore sends photos of two colour varieties of a cerambycid  beetle – the common black-bodied form:

Pidonia scripta (col.: Cerambycidae) Scott Gilmore

and a less-common form with a brown body:

Pidonia scripta (Col.: Cerambycidae) Scott Gilmore

   He also sends photographs of a very tiny bug, the Mountain Leafhopper:

Colladonus montanus (Hem.: Cicadellidae) Scott Gilmore

Colladonus montanus (Hem.: Cicadellidae) Scott Gilmore

2015 May 26

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  The snail Cepaea nemoralis often has a pretty shell, but the one below, which I found, strangely, on an oak tree on Mount Tolmie yesterday really seems to have made a special effort.

Cepaea nemoralis (Pul.: Helicidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   An Apamea amputatrix flew into my bedroom late last night.

Apamea amputatrix (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jeremy Tatum

    Eric LaGasa of the Washington State Department of Agriculture has very kindly identified some recently photographed micro moths for us – as far as it possible to identify these small moths from photographs.

Maybe Archips rosanus (Lep.: Tortricidae)   Jeremy Tatum

Probably Argyrotaenia franciscana (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Probably Argyrotaenia franciscana (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Olethreutes albiciliana (Lep.: Tortricidae) Jeremy Tatum

(Lep.: Pyralidae)

Bill Katz

2015 May 25

   Aziza Cooper writes: 

   Hello, butterfly observers,

Attached is a list of butterflies of the Victoria checklist area which uses bars and symbols to show the flight periods and frequency of occurrence. It was compiled by Steve Ansell from data from the late 1990s, so there have been various changes since then in taxonomic order, accepted names, splits, declines and newly observed species.

Even though it’s not up to date, it’s a useful list to consult to determine the species likely to be seen throughout the butterfly season. Steve has generously made it available to us, and he says:

If anyone would like to bring it more up to date with new content and/or formatting, please feel free!

Sounds like a great project! Thanks very much to Steve.

Aziza

Legend:

Dotted line: Hibernating  species – may occasionally be seen on a warm winter day

Dashed line: Rare – has occurred, but may not always be found

Solid line: Uncommon – usually able to find a small number of individuals

Single red bar: Common – should always be present in moderate numbers

Double red bar: Very Common – present in moderate to large numbers

Triple red bar: Abundant – always present in large numbers

Large circle: Single record – migrant or stray

Four dots: Record from nearby region outside the checklist area, typically up-Island or higher elevations

Question mark: Uncertain record

Habitat

L: Local – found only in a limited number of locations

R: Restricted – found only in a specific habitat

W: Widespread – found over a variety of habitats

Status

X: Extirpated – no longer found in the area

D: Declining – population has declined significantly in recent years

U: Uncertain – status within the checklist is not well known

Hy: Hypothetical – no recent confirmed records

M: Migrant – only occurs as a migrant in the area

Thank you to Derrick Marven, Jeremy Tatum, Jeff Gaskin and others for their contributions.

   Julie Michaux sends photos of a female giant sawfly, often known as the Elm Sawfly (though not restricted, I think, to elm) taken by her friend Lindsay Critchley at the Cedar Hill Duck Pond  (King’s Pond?) on May 18;  and a Bald-faced Hornet from Julie’s garden on Old West Saanich Road.

 Giant sawfly Cimbex americana (Hym,: Cimbicidae)  Lindsay Critchley

White-faced Hornet Vespula maculata (Hym.: Vespidae)  Julie Michaud

White-faced Hornet Vespula maculata (Hym.: Vespidae)  Julie Michaud

   D. L. Parker sends a photograph of a Polyphemus Moth from his door today.

   Annie Pang reports a Western Tiger Swallowtail at Gorge Park today, and three Cabbage Whites in nearby Obed Avenue.  However, she comments on an apparent paucity of Western Tiger Swallowtails this year.  Several Pale Tiger Swallowtails (I don’t know why Cris omits the “Tiger” from this Pterourus) have been reported this year, but Jeff Gaskin has also commented on the small number of Westerns, and I have noticed it, too.  It is a little early in the season, but there should be some around by now.  I wonder if others share this impression. 

2015 May 24

   Aziza Cooper writes:   As I was coming back from the west coast on Thursday May 21 I stopped at the Taylor River flats and found this large orange moth. 

Nadata gibbosa (Lep.: Notodontidae)  Aziza Cooper

   Rosemary Jorna sends a nice bunch of lycaenid photographs from the Sooke area, May 23.  She also reports seeing five Pale Tiger Swallowtails together mud-puddling near Ripple Rock.

Western Spring Azure Celastrina echo (Lep.: Lycaenidae) Rosemary Jorna

Cedar Hairstreak Mitoura rosneri (Lep.: Lycaenidae) Rosemary Jorna

Western Pine Elfin Incisalia eryphon (Lep.: Lycaenidae) Rosemary Jorna

   Scott Gilmore sends some spectacular photographs from Upper Lantzville, all nicely identified for us!

   Here is a Four Spotted Sap Beetle that decided to walk across our picnic table as we had dinner outside. 

My son and I found this fly as we were out walking:

Epalpus signifer (Dip.: Tachinidae)  Scott Gilmore

[Jeremy Tatum remarks:  I once read that many tachinids can be recognized by their having bristly abdomens.  I see what they meant!]

This beetle was found sitting on a young Red Alder Leaf.

   Scott continues:  Most evenings near dusk there are reasonable numbers of beetles that fly around. My son and I like to see what we can find in our backyard. It is often the really tiny things we find that I find the most interesting.  The next two are about 2 mm long.  Thanks to Charlene Wood for the identification of Enicmus fictus, and Donald Chandler for the identification of Sonoma sp.

Enicmus fictus (Col.: Latritiidae) Scott Gilmore

Sonoma sp. (Col.: Staphylinidae) Scott Gilmore

2015 May 23

   Aziza Cooper writes: In spite of a bit of cloud and some wind, there were good butterflies at both summits (Mount Tolmie, Mount Douglas) in the late afternoon of May 22:

Mt Tolmie:

Red Admiral – 2 – one on the reservoir, and one perching on a tree over the steps near the reservoir.

Painted Lady – 2 – both very worn

West Coast Lady – 3 – seen all at once. Two on the reservoir concrete, and another in the grass next to the reservoir entrance.

Mt Doug west summit:

Painted Lady – 2

Red Admiral – 1

   Jeremy Tatum reports a Pale Tiger Swallowtail  from UVic, and a Large Heath (“Ringlet”) Coenonympha tullia from Island View Beach today, May 23.

   Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of  Spilosoma virginica,which emerged from a cocoon this morning.  The caterpillar was found last year at UVic, and the moth was released there this morning.  This is the adult of the well-known Yellow Woolly Bear.

He also sends a photograph of a Rose Weevil from Island View Beach.

Merhynchites bicolor (Col.: Attelabidae)  Jeremy Tatum