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.

June 4

2017 June 4

 

   We start with three caterpillars.  The first, on Ocean Spray from Mount Tolmie, is Synaxis jubararia  (Also known as Tetracis jubararia). 

 

Synaxis jubararia (Lep.: Geometridae)   Jeremy Tatum

   The second, also on Ocean Spray from Mount Tolmie, is a noctuid.  Beyond that we cannot go at present, although I am wondering if it might be Eurois occulta.

 

Unknown (Lep.: Noctuidae)   Jeremy Tatum

   Gordon Hart found the next one on Snowberry in the Highlands.  We are not sure whether it is a noctuid or an erebid.  One possibility we thought of might be a species of Zale, an erebid – but that is only a guess.

 

Unknown (Lep.: Erebidae or Noctuidae)  Gordon Hart

 

Here is a spider from UVic, identified for us by Sean McCann.

 

 

Araniella displicata (Ara.:  Araneidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   And a fly from an Oak Bay garden, identified by Jeff Skevington.

 

Eristalis sp. (Dip.: Syrphidae)   Ann Tiplady

 

This small bee, also from the Oak Bay garden, is kindly identified for us by Cory Sheffield as Lasioglossum sp.

 

Lasioglossum sp. (Hym.: Halictidae)   Ann Tiplady

   Last fall, Gordon and Anne-Marie Hart found two huge caterpillars within a few feet-minute in space-time in their Highlands garden.  The moth from one of them – a Cerisy’s Eyed Hawk Moth – was shown on this site on May 2.  The second moth emerged today – a female Polyphemus Moth. I hadn’t seen one for some time and I had forgotten how truly huge and spectacular they are.  I released this one at Munn Road, near the hydro station.

 

Polyphemus Moth Anthaea polyphemus (Lep.: Saturniidae)  Jeremy Tatum

 

From the large to the small  –  Aziza Cooper photographed Adela septentrionella at Camas Hill on June 3.

 

Adela septentrionella (Lep.: Incurvariidae)  Aziza Cooper

Aziza Cooper writes:  Today, Sunday, June 4, the VNHS monthly butterfly walk went to Layritz Park. We found a total of 9 species of butterflies there and at our starting point of Mount Tolmie:

 

Painted Lady – 1

Red Admiral – 1

Pale Tiger Swallowtail – 3

Western Tiger Swallowtail- 6

Anise Swallowtail – 1

Common (Vancouver Island) Ringlet – 40 or more  (Coenonympha tullia)

Cabbage White – 6

Propertius Duskywing – 3

Western Spring Azure – 6

 

Some photographs of butterflies seen on the walk will appear in tomorrow’s Invert Alert.