2018 June 16

 

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Lorquin’s Admirals and Western  Tiger Swallowtails are general now and are at

their best (although we haven’t actually received any recent reports of Pale Tiger Swallowtail.)   

 

   Yesterday evening there were three or four Painted Ladies on the Mount Tolmie reservoir.  This

evening there were a Painted Lady and a Red Admiral there, as well as an Anise Swallowtail on the

Philadelphus bush at the reservoir entrance.

 

   Jochen Möhr sends a photograph of a chrysalis of a Sara Orangetip from a fence in his garden.

  

Sara Orangetip  Anthocharis sara (Lep.: Pieridae) Jochen Möhr

 

   Jeff Gaskin writes:  Today, June 16, I found my first of the year Essex Skippers in Esquimalt Gorge

Park.  There were at least ten of them there.

 

    David Harris and Jeremy Tatum went to the railway line north of Cowichan station today.  On the way

there, David spotted a Red Admiral at Goldstream Park.  On the railway line we met three more

 butterfly-ers  –Rick Schortinghuis,  Ben van Drimmelen and a Ms Johnson, who

Jeremy hopes will forgive him

for forgetting her first name.  We saw several Margined Whites and Cedar Hairstreaks, as well as

several blues whose identities we could not be 100 per cent certain of.  We think probably Western

Tailed Blues, though it is possible that they may have been late Spring Azures, or even some other

species.  Some of them seemed to be attracted to Cascara trees.  It would be nice if some other

observers might go there and try to identify these blues with certainty.

 

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  Just after I had written the above paragraph, I received the following from Val

George!:-

 

 Only three members (Rick Schortinghuis, Ben van Drimmelen, and myself Val George) participated in the VNHS Birds and Butterflies trip to the Duncan area today, June 16.  We went to the dock road at Cowichan Bay, Providence Farm, Cowichan River, Mount Prévost, and Cowichan Station.  Twelve species of butterflies were seen:  Western Tiger Swallowtail, Pale Swallowtail, Anise Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Margined White, Western Spring Azure, Green Comma, Cedar Hairstreak, Purplish Copper, Hydaspe Fritillary, Lorquin’s Admiral, and Essex Skipper.  Some photos are attached.  

 

Jeremy continues:  but it is past my bedtime – so we’ll eagerly wait to see the photos tomorrow!