2024 September 2 morning

Gordon Hart writes:  Here is a summary of yesterday’s Butterfly Walk There were no butterflies at Mount Tolmie at 1 p.m. but we decided that Island View Beach might be a good place to look. Six people made their way there, and decided to take the beach path as we thought it might be a bit cooler closer to the water. It was still very warm, but we did see at least 23 butterflies of three species, plus a mystery moth in flight, and several bee and wasp species. Butterflies seen were: Cabbage Whites, 7+; Purplish Coppers, 3 males, 3 females; and Woodland Skippers, at least 7.
The moth was possibly a Vapourer Moth, or Rusty Tussock Moth, inferred from its manner of flight.

Jeremy Tatum adds: The Purplish Coppers were the first reported this year.  I was afraid that we might go through the whole year without any being reported.  The first two seen on yesterday’s walk were a male and a female (they are quite distinctive), being very cooperative as they nectared on the flowers of a nearby Gumweed.  They caused great excitement among the participants, several of whom were armed with big cameras, which were fairly clicking for several minutes.

Here are some photographs taken during the walk.  Note the copper’s scientific genus name change from previous years.

Male Purplish Copper  Tharsalia helloides  (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Val George

Male Purplish Copper  Tharsalia helloides  (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Gordon Hart

Female Purplish Copper  Tharsalia helloides  (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Gordon Hart

Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides  (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Gordon Hart

Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides  (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Gordon Hart

Ian Cooper has been away in Ontario for a while visiting relatives.  He is now back and has wasted no time in getting his camera clicking here again on the Galloping Goose trail near Talcott Road in View Royal, August 31.

Large Yellow Underwing Moth – Noctua pronuba  (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Ian Cooper

Snail-eating Beetle – Scaphinotus angusticollis (Col.: Carabidae)  Ian Cooper

Limax maximus  (Pul.: Limacidae)  Ian Cooper

  Dr Robb Bennett kindly confirmed Ian’s identification of the spiders below.

Female Callobius pictus (Ara.: Amaurobiidae)  Ian Cooper

Male Callobius pictus (Ara.: Amaurobiidae)  Ian Cooper