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.

August 21

2015 August 21

 

   Jeff Gaskin saw at least five Coenonympha tullia in the northwest field at Layritz Park  on August 20.

 

   Ron Flower writes:  We got the Grey Hairstreak in our garden in Royal Oak yesterday (August 19) and the “Ringlet” (Large Heath Coenonympha tullia) three days ago at Island View Beach.  There were a lot of them there.  Today we got the Mylitta Crescent.  We got it on Ocean Spring Terrace off of Beecher Bay Road.  There were Pine Whites all over the Beecher Bay area.

 

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae) Ron Flower

 Large Heath (“Ringlet”) Coenonympha tullia (Lep.: Nymphalidae – Satyridae)

 Ron Flower

 

Female Mylitta Crescent Phyciodes mylitta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Ron Flower

  Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of the cocoon of the Spotted Tiger Moth.

 

 

 Spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa maculata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae) Jeremy Tatum

 

 

   Gordon Hart writes:  Here at our Highlands home we had a fresh Western Tiger Swallowtail on August 17, the first in a while.  Today (August 18) the usual Woodland Skippers and Cabbage Whites on the Buddleia, along with a rather worn noctuid moth.   Yesterday, Wednesday August 20, we saw a fresh Mourning Cloak, too.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  Thanks to Libby Avis for identifying the moth for us as a day-flying plusiine noctuid, Syngrapha viridisigma.

 

 

Syngrapha viridisigma (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Gordon Hart

 

 

   Cheryl Hoyle sends a photograph of a jumping spider from View Royal, kindly identified for us by Robb Bennett as most likely Phidippus johnsoni .

 

 

Phidippus johnsoni (Ara.: Salticidae)  Cheryl Hoyle.