2018 September 10

 

    Exciting News!   On August 28, RBCM staff member Meg Sugrue found a large, dead tropical moth on the road beside the Museum.   She took it in to show Claudia Copley, and, although it was badly damaged, Claudia identified it as a Black Witch.  There are a few previous British Columbia records of this spectacular moth.  We had to ask the question as to whether it made its way here under its own steam, so to speak, or whether it was somehow brought up here on a car.  Meg tells us that, when she found it, it was still “bleeding”, indicating that it had just been killed shortly before, so that it is likely that it made its own way here.  In any case, this is an exciting find by Meg.

  I alerted Jochen Möhr and Libby Avis, who run UV moth traps, to keep a look-out for the species, and, sure enough, Libby found one at Port Alberni late last night!  There must be more of them around – so keep a look-out for this impressive moth.   The two found so far are shown below.

Female Black Witch Ascalapha odorata (Lep.: Erebidae – Erebinae)

Claudia Copley

Male Black Witch Ascalapha odorata (Lep.: Erebidae – Erebinae) Libby Avis

 

   In other moth news, Jochen sends photographs of the following seven moths from Metchosin last night.  Identifications by Libby Avis.

Oligia divesta (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

Possibly a worn Euxoa difformis (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr

   The next one is a Drepanulatrix.   D. monicaria, secundaria and falcataria are all possibilities, though Jeremy Tatum thinks D. monicaria is the most likely.

Drepanulatrix (probably monicaria)  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Xanthorhoe defensaria (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

 

Eulithis xylina (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Costaconvexa centrostrigaria (Lep.: Geometridae) Jochen Möhr

Autographa californica (Lep.: Noctuidae)

Jochen Möhr

 

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  The small caterpillar that Val George photographed on Gumweed at Island View Beach  (see September 2 evening entry) is now full grown and is shown again below, its head buried inside a Gumweed flowerhead.

Heliothis phloxiphaga (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum