2017 July 31

 

Ken Vaughan photographed the moth below in the Highlands on July 29.  Libby Avis identifies it as Scopula quinquelinearia. She quotes from the new BC Lepidoptera List:

“This taxon (i.e. quinquelinearia) was historically treated as a subspecies of S. junctaria (Walker) but was raised to species status by Pohl et al. (2010).” The 2010 reference is to the revised Alberta Lepidoptera List. Extract from the Alberta appendix below:

 

Scopula quinquelinearia (Packard, 1870) REVISED STATUS This taxon was treated as a subspecies of S. junctaria (Walker) by Covell (1970). The two taxa are sympatric in southwestern Alberta (Waterton–Crowsnest Pass region), without evidence of intergradation. Molecular data indicate a divergence of about 1.5% (in the “bar code” fragment of the cox1 gene of mitochondrial DNA) between these two southern mountain populations. We therefore revert to treating both as full species.”

 

You can see one of Libby’s photographs of this new species at

mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=7164.1

 

Scopula quinquelinearia (Lep.: Geometridae)  Ken Vaughan

 

Jeremy Tatum photographed a moth at his Saanich apartment this morning:

 

Xanthorhoe defensaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  There are now to be found, on Lochside Drive north of Blenkinsop Lake, caterpillars of the Red Admiral on the nettles.  Here is one of them:

 

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   He continues:  At 6:00 pm today there were Painted and West Coast Ladies, and Western Tiger and Anise Swallowtails, at the top of Mount Tolmie.

 

Jochen Moehr writes:  I spotted this fellow on my driveway in Metchosin:

 

 Monochamus mutator (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Jochen Moehr