2015 August 26

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  One Painted Lady on the Mount Tolmie reservoir, 6:30 pm, August 25.

   Rosemary Jorna writes: This photo was taken Sunday August 23 on the Sun River Nature Trail on the Sooke River. This medium sized pale bee’s behaviour was new to me. There was an end table sized patch of burrs just coming into flower and this bee was very possessive, it would leave a flower to chase off any other insect approaching the plant. It knocked a skipper, a wasp and another species of bee right off the flowers and would take off to chase others away before they could land. It had a very loud buzz and I did not see another bee of this pale species.  [Jeremy Tatum writes:   Can anyone identify bees and wasps for us?   Please let us know if you can.]

Bee (Hym.: Apidae)  Rosemary Jorna

  Devon Parker writes:  There was one Cedar Hairstreak, one unidentified hairstreak and a few Woodland Skippers in my backyard today near Mount Wells Drive.  [Jeremy Tatum responds:  This is amazing to have Cedar Hairstreaks as late as this.  As far as I know this is supposed to be a univoltine species.  Perhaps these recent Cedar Hairstreaks weren’t supposed to eclode until next year, but did so this year because of the general effect our prolonged drought is having on the timetables of many species.  Or perhaps it has always been partially bivoltine, but the second generation of this inconspicuous butterfly has been overlooked. Either way, it’s interesting.]

Cedar Hairstreak Mitoura rosneri (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Devon Parker

  Rosemary Jorna sends a picture of a caterpillar (probably penultimate instar) of Spilosoma virginica, the Yellow Woolly Bear, from a peony in a garden on Kemp Lake Road today.

  Spilosoma virginica (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)  Rosemary Jorna