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.

2024 May 9

2024 May 9

Aziza Cooper writes: On May 8, at about 4 pm, I saw four species of butterflies at Mount Tolmie: two Painted Ladies, two Mourning Cloaks, one Western Spring Azure and one flyby Anise Swallowtail.  [Jeremy Tatum writes:  The two Painted Ladies and a Mourning Cloak were still there on May 9, 4:00 pm.]

 

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

Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

   Here are a few photographs taken on May 5 to 9 by Ian Cooper at Colquitz River Park.

If anyone can help with the first two insects below, please let us know.  At present we label them as “probablys”.

 

Probably an aphid (Hem.: Aphididae)  Ian Cooper

Probably a crane fly  (Dip.: Tipulidae)  Ian Cooper

Harvestman Protolophus sp. (Opiliones:  Protolophidae)  Ian Cooper

Tetragnatha versicolor (Ara.: Tetragnathidae)  Ian Cooper