INVERTEBRATE ALERT
This blog provides an informal forum for terrestrial invertebrate watchers to post recent sightings of interesting observations in the southern Vancouver Island region. Please send your sightings by email to Jeremy Tatum (tatumjb352@gmail.com). Be sure to include your name, phone number, the species name (common or scientific) of the invertebrate you saw, location, date, and number of individuals. If you have a photograph you are willing to share, please send it along. Click on the title above for an index of past sightings.The index is updated most days.

2023 July 1 morning

2023 July 1 morning

A miscellany of creatures from Cheryl Hoyle in View Royal and Ian Cooper both in View Royal.  Thanks to Ian Cooper for the identification of the first three.

Thaumatomyia glabra  (Dip.: Chloropidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

 

Rhagoletis berberis (Dip.: Tephritidae)  Ian Cooper

 

Phalangium opilio (Opiliones:  Phalangiidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

 

Ladybird beetle larva Harmonia axyridis  (Col.: Coccinellidae)  Cheryl Hoyle

 

Lacinipolia patalis (Lep.: Noctuidae) Cheryl Hoyle
Thanks to Libby Avis for the identification.

 

European Paper Wasp Polistes dominula (Hym.: Vespidae)
Ian Cooper

 

Bombus vosnesenskii  (Hym.: Apidae)  Ian Cooper

 

Bombus fervidus californicus (Hym.: Apidae)

We thank Steven Roias for confirmation of these two bumblebees. Of the latter, Steven writes:  Bombus fervidus includes californicus for the dark morphologies on the west coast. They are genetically indistinct, therefore we need to remind ourselves that californicus is fervidus of another colour. For this example, I like to spell out Bombus fervidus californicus. iNaturalist distinguishes californicus from fervidus, even though the science does not support this split.

2023 June 30 evening

Hello, Butterfly Watchers,

This is a reminder for the VNHS Butterfly Walk on Sunday, July 2.

We will meet at the Mount Tolmie summit by the reservoir, at 1.00 p.m. You can park in the parking lot there, or in the large lot north of the summit. After a look around the summit, and depending on the weather, we will decide on a destination from there.

You can review Vancouver Island butterflies at Val George’s website : https://vancouverislandbutterflies.com/

See you on Sunday,

Gordon

Gordon Hart,

Butterfly count coordinator

Victoria Natural History Society

Jeremy Tatum writes:  The tops of Mount Douglas and Mount Tolmie were very active with butterflies at around 5:00 pm this afternoon.  At Mount Douglas there were Pale Tiger Swallowtails, Anise Swallowtails, Painted Ladies and one (or more) West Coast Lady. Strangely, no Western Tiger Swallowtails or Lorquin’s Admirals at the top, though there were plenty of those in Bow Park. At Mount Tolmie, there were Western Tiger Swallowtails, Lorquin’s Admirals, Painted Ladies, a Red Admiral and at least two West Coast Ladies.  BTW, if you visit Bow Park, take a close look at any Cabbage White that you might see – just in case it isn’t one.  I have twice seen white butterflies that I wasn’t quite sure of.

 

Today I visited the aspen at Cattle Point where Marie O’Shaughnessy photographed (see June 16) a number of young Mourning Cloak caterpillars.  I found them still all together on the same aspen leaf, apparently without having eaten or grown.  I concluded that this was because at Cattle Point it is nearly always windy and the aspen leaf was all the time trembling like a Trembling Aspen leaf leaving no time for the caterpillars to do anything other than hold on for dear life.   I have therefore transferred the caterpillars to an aspen in Bow Park, where it is much less windy.

 

Invertebrate Alert currently has a large backlog of photographs, some of which are awaiting identification, so there may be some delay in posting them.

2023 June 30 morning

2023 June 30 morning

Hello, Butterfly Watchers,

This is a reminder for the
VNHS Butterfly Walk on Sunday, July 2.

We will meet at the Mount Tolmie summit by the reservoir, at 1.00 p.m. You can park in the parking lot there, or in the large lot north of the summit. After a look around the summit, and depending on the weather, we will decide on a destination from there.

You can review Vancouver Island butterflies at Val George’s website : https://vancouverislandbutterflies.com/

See you on Sunday,

Gordon

Gordon Hart,

Butterfly count coordinator

Victoria Natural History Society

2023 June 29 evening

2023 June 29 evening

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  I saw a  Grey Hairstreak nectaring on Lavender at The Heights on Carey Road this morning.

Val George photographed these two moths at his Oak Bay home this morning.

Common Emerald Hemithea aestivaria  (Lep.: Geometridae)
Val George

Elder Moth Zotheca tranquilla  (Lep.: Noctuidae) Val George

2023 June 29 morning

2023 June 29 morning

    Ian Cooper sends a photograph of a jumping spider:  Thomas Barbin writes: A nice-looking Salticus scenicus.

  Salticus scenicus  (Ara.: Salticidae)  Ian Cooper

 

Thomas Barbin sends a photograph of the moth Ditula angustiorana from Mount Tolmie:

                    Ditula angustiorana (Lep.: Tortricidae)   Thomas Barbin