2023 May 21 evening

   Jeff Gaskin writes: Yesterday, May 20, Kirsten Mills and I did a lot of looking for butterflies in the Highlands.  We found four Western Brown Elfins along the start to the Stewart Mountain trail.  A Mourning Cloak was at the end of Caleb Pike Road in Gowlland Tod Park.  Kirsten saw an early Lorquin’s Admiral at the Thetis Lake parking lot.  A Green Comma was seen on Munn Road near the Francis/King Park parking lot.
We had a total of 40 Western Spring Azures and 17 Pale Tiger Swallowtails in the Highlands.

   A perusal of Invertebrate Alert records from 2015 – 2022 shows that, while May 20 is certainly an early sighting for the Lorquin’s Admiral, first reports of the year in 2016 and 2018 were also on May 20, and the first report for 2019 was May 21.

   Jeff continues:  Today, May 21, on Lochside Drive north of Blenkinsop Lake, I saw a Mourning Cloak, 1 Satyr Comma, 1 Western Spring Azure and 14 Cabbage Whites.   At Rithet’s Bog I saw 3 Ringlets, 1 Pale and 1 Western Tiger Swallowtails, 1 Mourning Cloak and 2 Cabbage Whites.   I also saw my first of the year Cardinal Meadowhawks at Rithet’s Bog  In total I saw three of them as well as California Darners.

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Here is a caterpillar found on Aspen at the University of Victoria this morning, May 21:

Enargia infumata  (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2023 May 21 morning

   Yesterday, Aziza Cooper and Marie O’Shaughnessy visited Mount Tolmie again in the morning and scored  1 Western Tiger Swallowtail, 1 California Tortoiseshell, 1 Cabbage White. Marie submitted several photographs of butterflies there.   In the first of these photographs below, the butterfly is on its larval foodplant (Fennel), which could mean either that the butterfly has very recently emerged, or that it is interested in ovipositing.

Anise Swallowtail  Papilio zelicaon   (Lep.: Papilionidae)

Marie O’Shaughnessy

Western Tiger Swallowtail  Papilio rutulus  (Lep.: Papilionidae)

Marie O’Shaughnessy

Pale Tiger Swallowtail  Papilio eurymedon (Lep.: Papilionidae)

Marie O’Shaughnessy

Western Brown Elfin Incisalia iroides   (Lep.: Lycaenidae)

  Marie O’Shaughnessy

California Tortoiseshell  Nymphalis californica  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)

Marie O’Shaughnessy

California Tortoiseshell  Nymphalis californica  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)

Marie O’Shaughnessy

Painted Lady  Vanessa cardui  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)

Marie O’Shaughnessy

Red Admiral  Vanessa atalanta  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)

  Marie O’Shaughnessy

    Jeremy Tatum notes that in the two days May 18-19 photographs of the following species were posted on Invert Alert:   Malacosoma californicum, Rhionaeschna californica, Hypena californica,  Nymphalis californica,  Autographa californica.  He does not doubt that in the next little while, we shall be receiving photographs of Calligrapha californica, Prionus californicus, Bombus californicus, Pyrausta californicalis, Hydriomena californiata, Neoalcis californiaria, Pheosia californica…  all (and a few more) of which occur here and have featured in Invert Alert.

2023 May 20

Aziza Cooper writes:  May 19 at about 6 pm, Marie O’Shaughnessy and I
observed nine butterfly species at Mount Tolmie summit:

Red Admiral – 2

Painted Lady – 4

Western Tiger Swallowtail – 2

Pale Tiger Swallowtail – 1

California Tortoiseshell – 1

Western Spring Azure – 1

Cabbage White – 1

Western Brown Elfin – 2 

Mourning Cloak – 2

Also on May 19, at Uplands Park, there were mining bees and a moth:  Autographa californica.

Red Admiral  Vanessa atalanta  (Lep.:  Nymphalidae) Aziza Cooper

Pale Tiger Swallowtail Papilio eurymedon (Lep.: Papilionidae)

Aziza Cooper

California Tortoiseshell Nymphalis californica   (Lep,: Nymphalidae)

   Aziza Cooper

Painted Lady Vanessa cardui  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

Autographa californica  (Lep.: Noctuidae – Plusiinae)  Aziza Cooper

Mining bee (Hym.: Andrenidae)   Aziza Cooper

2023 May 19 evening

Ken Vaughan sends a picture of an Anise Swallowtail from Mount Tolmie this morning.

Anise Swallowtail Papilio zelicaon  (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Ken Vaughan

   Kirsten Mills writes:  Today, May 19, Jeff Gaskin and I were on Stamps Road in Cowichan. Is this an Arctic Skipper? It would be a lifer for both of us.  Answer:  Yes!!! Carterocephalus palaemon! A great find!

   Incidentally, writes Jeremy Tatum, in the UK this butterfly has been known for a long time as the Chequered Skipper, which is one of several reasons that I prefer not to use that name for our Pyrgus ruralis.

Arctic Skipper Carterocephalus palaemon  (Lep.: Hesperiidae)

  Kirsten Mills

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Today I saw a Mourning Cloak and a Pale Tiger Swallowtail along Lochside Drive north of Blenkinsop Lake.  At 5:15 pm I was at the top of Christmas Hill, where I saw two Pale Tiger Swallowtails, but no hill-topping nymphalids.   By way of compensation I found this caterpillar with a 12-syllable name on a Garry Oak:

Hydriomena nubilofasciata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

Hydriomena nubilofasciata (Lep.: Geometridae) Jeremy Tatum

2023 May 19 morning

Yesterday, Ron Flower saw three Propertius Duskywings at Goldstream Park – interesting, because there appear to be no Garry Oaks (the larval foodplant) anywhere near.   Here is a male, photographed by Ron:

Male Propertius Duskywing Erynnis propertius (Lep.: Hesperiidae)

  Ron Flower

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I visited Mount Tolmie reservoir at 5:50 pm yesterday.  It was slightly windy, so not nearly as many butterflies as on the previous day.  On the reservoir there were a California Tortoiseshell, a West Coast Lady and a Pale Tiger Swallowtail, and, flying around the Laburnums, as also noted by Gordon Hart, an Anise Swallowtail.

   Marie O’Shaughnessy writes:  I spent some time on Mount Tolmie yesterday afternoon. Although sunny it was also breezy, so Swallowtails didn’t put down.  Constantly on the wing.

I saw

2 Mourning Cloak

2 Pale Tiger Swallowtail

2 Cabbage White

3 Western Tiger Swallowtail

3 Western Spring Azure

Mourning Cloak  Nymphalis antiopa (Lep.: Nymphalidae)

  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Mourning Cloak  Nymphalis antiopa (Lep.: Nymphalidae)

Marie O’Shaughnessy

Jeremy Tatum writes:  Here is a caterpillar from the Stinging Nettles along Lochside Trail north of Blenkinsop Lake.

Hypena californica   (Lep.: Erebidae – Hypeninae)  Jeremy Tatum