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.

2022 April 30 morning

2022 April 30 morning

 May Butterfly Walk – Notice from Gordon Hart:

 Hello Butterfly Watchers,

We will be having a Butterfly Walk on Sunday, May 1 as described in the VNHS calendar  (https://www.vicnhs.bc.ca/?page_id=1518) 

We will meet at the top of Mount Tolmie 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, we will decide on a destination from there. The weather looks promising, so perhaps we will see you on Sunday.

Gordon Hart,

Butterfly Count Coordinator

Victoria Natural History Society

 Website for Vancouver Island Butterflies

 One problem with large butterfly books on the butterflies of North America, or of Canada, or even of just British Columbia, is that they give accounts of hundreds of species, only a tiny number of which can be seen on Vancouver Island.  Hence we welcome Val George’s website dealing with just the butterflies of Vancouver Island.  This should be of great help to newcomers and experienced butterfly watchers alike. A description of the site is to be found in Victoria Naturalist on page 10 of the 2022 May-June issue.  If my limited skills allow it (writes Jeremy Tatum) you may be able to reach the site by clicking on

https//vancouverislandbutterflies.com/

Greater Victoria Bioblitz

    I have received a notice about a Greater Victoria Bioblitz April 29 – May 2.  I don’t know if my computer skills are up to it, but I’ll try and forward the notice to the Invertebrate Alert site.  Users of this site should be able to contribute records of invertebrates to the Bioblitz.

   Aziza Cooper writes:   Here is a Western Spring Azure from April 29, on Mount Tolmie next to the reservoir.

Western Spring Azure Celastrina echo  (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

  Rosemary Jorna writes from Kemp Lake:  Here are three views to help identify the little jumping spider that helped me to garden, April 29.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  Within seconds of my emailing Thomas Barbin to ask if he could identify it, Thomas replied:  That is an Evarcha sp. jumping spider.  Both E. proszynskii and E. hoyi have been collected on the island.

   Rosemary added:  There was one Cabbage White drifting around the yard.

Evarcha sp.  (Ara.: Salticidae)  Rosemary Jorna

 

Evarcha sp.  (Ara.: Salticidae)  Rosemary Jorna

 

Evarcha sp.  (Ara.: Salticidae)  Rosemary Jorna