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.

July 14

2016 July 14

 

MONTHLY BUTTERFLY COUNT

 

Gordon Hart writes:

 

Hello Butterfly Counters!

The next butterfly count period will begin Saturday July 16 running until Sunday July 24. Please use the submission form on the VNHS website: www.vicnhs.bc.ca/?p=33

Numbers appear to be down now, but there can still be quite a variety on a good day. We should have Woodland Skippers and Pine Whites on this count, as well as some of the continuing species.

 

If you need suggestions for a place to count, please email me. If we get more than one count for a location, I will use the high numbers for each species. If you want to be removed from this list, please let me know. If you know someone who wants to be on the list, please ask them to email me.

 

The next butterfly walk will be on Sunday August 7, meeting at Mt Tolmie, at 1 p.m. The trip is weather-dependent and I will send out another reminder closer to the date.

Thanks for participating in the count!

 

Gordon Hart,

Butterfly count coordinator 

 

Gordon continues (from the Highlands District:  We were on the back deck Wednesday evening (July 13) looking for bats when we noticed two large Sphinx moths nectaring on pots of petunias. I was not able to get pictures because of the low light, but I found one this morning in the driveway.

 

Sphinx perelegans (Lep.: Sphingidae)   Gordon Hart

 

 

   Jeremy Tatum comments:  Sphinx vashti and S. perelegans  are somewhat similar hawk moths, perelegans being a little larger than vashti.  I used to think that vashti was the common one in our area, but since this website started in 2010, we have had five images of perelegans and none yet of vashti.