2016 May 15

   Jeremy Gatten and Jeremy Tatum wish to express their great appreciation to Michael and Devon Parker for showing us the Johnson’s Hairstreak near Jordan River yesterday (May 14).  We all had excellent views of this rare butterfly.  We also saw the Hoary ( “Zephyr”) Comma, an unidentified comma but thought to be probably a Green Comma,  a few Western Pine Elfins and Two-banded Grizzled Skippers.   Jeremy Gatten found a caterpillar of the moth Campaea perlata, And Jeremy Tatum was excited by an as-yet-to be-identified noctuid caterpillar.  Here is Jeremy Tatum’s photograph of Jeremy Gatten’s Campaea perlata.

Campaea perlata (Lep.: Geometridae)   Jeremy Tatum

Jeremy Tatum also thanks Devon for letting him have one of the eggs of the Two-banded Grizzled Skipper, which he saw being laid on Rubus ursinus near Jordan Rover on May 10.  The egg hatched early on the morning of May 14, and the young caterpillar is being offered two species of Rubus  and two of Fragaria.  So far, it has been nibbling on Rubus ursinus.

Two-banded Grizzled Skipper Pyrgus ruralis (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Jeremy Tatum apologizes, but he is a little behind with Invert Alert.  There are lots of fine photographs in the queue, and I’ll try and get them all up in the next couple of days.