2018 June 18 morning

   Request:  Earler this week David Harris and Jeremy Tatum went to the railway line north of Cowichan Station to see the Margined Whites there.  We also saw several blues which we suspect may have been Western Tailed Blues.  We would be very grateful if other butterflyers would go up there and have a look and confirm (or otherwise) this identification.

 

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  David Harris, Bill Savale and I went to Boas Road near Spectacle Lake yesterday, hoping to see a Boisduval’s  Blue.  We saw one blue that might have been one, but we could not confirm.  By way of compensation we saw two Western Pine Borer Beetles Chalcophora angulicollis (Col.: Buprestidae).  We went on from there to the Kinsol Trestle, where, in addition to many Western and Pale Tiger Swallowtails  and Lorquin’s Admirals, we saw several Cedar Hairstreaks  and two Clodius Parnassians.

 

    Aziza Cooper reports  2 Pale Swallowtails.  1 Western Tiger Swallowtail and 2 Painted Ladies

from Mount Tolmie on the evening of June 16.   Jeremy Tatum reports that the Mount Tolmie reservoir was on excellent form last night (June 17), with all three swallowtails (look on the Philadelphus shrub for the Anise), two admirals (Lorquin’s and Red), two ladies (look around the Jeffery Pine for the West Coast) and a Western Spring Azure.

 

  Aziza Cooper reports from Welch and Livesay Roads, 10:30am, June 17,  2 Western Tiger Swallowtails, 2 Lorquin’s Admirals and a Cabbage White.

 

Aziza Cooper sends a photograph of a Western Pondhawk feeding on a hapless damselfly.

 

Western Pondhawk Erythemis collocata (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Aziza Cooper

 

   Jeff Gaskin writes:   Out at Ten Mile Point on June 17, where I was doing my butterfly count for June,  I saw 5 Pale Tuger Swallowtails, 7 Western Tiger Swallowtails, 3 Lorquin’s Admirals, and 12 Cabbage Whites.

   Ron Flower writes: On Sunday  June 16 Nora and I went to Goldstream River were we found over a dozen Purplish Coppers and even more Cedar Hairstreaks.  We also saw 5 Lorquin’s Admirals,

 7 Western Tiger Swallowtails  and 2 Pale Tiger Swallowtails.

 

Female (left) and male Purplish Coppers Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Ron Flower

 

Cedar Hairstreak Mitoura rosneri (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Ron Flower

 

 

   Val George writes:   On June 17, there were two Grey Hairstreaks at the summit of Mount Douglas.

 

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Val George