2015 September 29

   Val George’s plusiine caterpillar from his Kale plants (August 28 and September 10), which we initially speculated might be Trichoplusia ni, turned out to be Autographa californica.  The photograph below shows an adult from one of these caterpillars. It emerged today, and was released in the Blenkinsop valley.

Autographa californica (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jeremy Tatum

   Aziza Cooper writes:  On Saturday September 26 at Aylard Farm I photographed a Green Darner eating a Cabbage White. Darren Copley mentioned that this was a migratory dragonfly, and it was being studied to find its wintering area.   Today, Monday, September 28, I saw a Red Admiral at the hawk lookout near Beechey Head.  During the butterfly count period I saw ten Cabbage Whites, all but one from my car as I was driving in Victoria, and the last near my home. There were no butterflies at my regular butterfly count area, the Goldstream campground railroad tracks – not one Pine White.

Green Darner Anax junius (Odo.: Aeshnidae)

with Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae)

Aziza Cooper

   Annie Pang photographed the bee below in the Gorge on September 14.  She writes: I’ve never seen anything like it – the thorax a metallic green and yet the abdomen is yellow and black striped.  Sort of looks like a “half’n’half” wasp.  Really would like as much info on this one as anyone can come up with please!

  Jeremy Tatum responds:  We do really need someone who can help with identification of Hymenoptera. I had originally erroneously labelled this as a chrysidid wasp, and I am grateful to Scott Gilmore for pointing out that it is actually a halictid bee of the genus Agapostemon

 Sweat bee Agapostemon sp. (Hym.: Halictidae)  Annie Pang

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  The big bug below, which often attracts attention at this time of year, turned up at my Saanich apartment today.

Western Conifer Seed Bug Leptoglossus occidentalis (Hem.: Coreidae)  Jeremy Tatum