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.

September 4 morning

2017 September 4

 

   Another Reminder:  Please, please, please! if you can,send photographs as attachments in .jpg format. 

 

   The VNHS September Butterfly Walk took place yesterday, in very hot weather.  There were 12 participants, who went first to McIntyre Reservoir, and then to Martindale Road, in Central Saanich.  Butterflies seen were:

 

Cabbage White:                      many

Orange Sulphur:                     several

Purplish Copper:                    2

Painted Lady:                         1

 

  Also found was a full-grown caterpillar of the White-lined Hawk Moth Hyles lineata:

 

White-lined Hawk Moth Hyles lineata (Lep.: Sphingidae)  Val George

 

    We hope to have more photographs and details from the Walk in due course.

 

     In the meantime, other photographs received –

 

     We have commented on this site how numerous and widespread the geometrid moth Neoalcis californiaria seems to be this year.  Bryan Gates sends a photograph from Black Creek


Neoalcis californiaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Bryan Gates

 

 

    Here is a rather unusual colour variety of a Spotted Tiger Moth caterpillar, from East Sooke Park.

 

Spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa maculata

(Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)

Jeremy Tatum