Author: tatumjb352

2025 May 22 morning

   Yesterday late afternoon, Aziza Cooper saw and photographed a Painted Lady and a California Tortoiseshell at the top of Mount Tolmie.

Painted Lady  Vanessa cardui  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

California Tortoiseshell  Nymphalis californica  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper

   This morning, May 22, Aziza Cooper saw and photographed a Pale Tiger Swallowtail near Warbler Alley on Mount Tolmie.  (Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between our two tiger swallowtails. I wish they were all as easy as this one.   Jeremy  Tatum)

Pale Tiger Swallowtail  Pterourus eurymedon (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Aziza Cooper

(Notice the genus name – no longer Papilio.)

   Gordon Hart writes:   We saw our first Pale Tiger Swallowtail of the year yesterday (May 21) at home (Highlands), along with several Western Spring Azures and Cabbage Whites. On the Munn Road power lines, we saw only faded Western Spring Azures, and many long-horned fairy moths, Adela septentrionella.  We saw dragonflies too, and got one photo of a meadowhawk.

Adela septentrionella  (Lep.:  Adelidae)  Gordon Hart

Note – it is now in Family Adelidae.  Incurvariidae is now a separate Family.

Female Cardinal Meadowhawk  Sympetrum illotum 
(Odo.: Libellulidae) 
Gordon Hart

2025 May 18

   Richard Rycraft photographed this moth on the Ceanothus in his Oak Bay garden yesterday.  Libby Avis identified it for us as Pyrausta californicalis.  Its caterpillars feed upon mint.  Val George tells us that there is a small flock of them harassing his mint patch every year.

Pyrausta californicalis  (Lep.: Crambidae)  Richard Rycraft

2025 May 16

   This morning, this moth was on the wall of Val George’s Oak Bay house.

Drepanulatrix secundaria/monicaria  (Lep.: Geometridae)
  Val George

   Jeremy Tatum photographed the snail below along Carey Road this morning:

Cepaea nemoralis  (Pul.: Helicidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2025 May 15 evening

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  Here are two photographs showing the male and female bee moth Aphomia sociella.  The female is slightly larger (17 mm) than the male (15 mm).

Male Aphomia sociella  (Lep.: Pyralidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Female Aphomia sociella  (Lep.: Pyralidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Here are six more pictures taken by Ian Cooper on May 13 2025 by the Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal.

Unidentified Harvestman (Opi.: Phalangiidae)  Ian Cooper

Camel cricket Pristoceuthophilus celatus 
(Orth.: Rhaphidophoridae)
 Ian Cooper

Pacific Foldingdoor Spider  Antrodiaetus pacificus 
(Ara.:  Antrodiaetidae)  
Ian Cooper

Weevil   Dyslobus decoratus (Col.: Curculionidae)   Ian Cooper

Western Black Carpenter Ant  Camponotus modoc
 (Hym.: Formicidae)
  Ian Cooper

Springtail  Orchesella villosa (Coll.: Orchesellidae)   Ian Cooper

2025 May 15 morning

    Here are some photographs taken by Ian Cooper on May 13, * in Colquitz River Park, or # by the Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal.

# Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)  Ian Cooper

# Woodlouse Hunter Spider  Dysdera crocata  (Ara.: Dysderidae)  Ian Cooper

* Clubiona sp. (Ara.: Clubionidae)  Ian Cooper

# Red Carpenter Ant  Camponotus vicinus (Hym.: Formicidae)
 Ian Cooper

* Male Non-biting Midge (Dip.: Chironomidae)  Ian Cooper

* Hairy Spider Weevil  Barypeithes pellucidus (Col.: Curculionidae)  Ian Cooper

2025 May 14

  Well, writes Jeremy Tatum, that must be the shortest hospital visit ever, and it means, I think, that both I and Invert Sightings are back in full working order.

  We start with a highflyer moth that Val George photographed at his Oak Bay house yesterday morning, May 13.

Hydriomena californiata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Val George

   Also on May 13, Marie O’Shaughnessy sends first-for-the-year reports and photographs of two butterflies.  A Painted Lady on Mount Tolmie, and a Propertius Duskywing on Little Saanich Mountain (Observatory Hill).

Painted Lady  Vanessa cardui  (Lep.: Nymphalidae) 
Marie O’Shaughnessy

Propertius Duskywing  Erynnis propertius  (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

Jeremy Tatum writes: I have to go the hospital for a minor indisposition, nothing serious. There may not be more Invert postings until I get back.

2025 May 12 evening

   Last year, Beaudin A. Bennett (son of Dr. Robb Bennett, who has identified many of our spiders for us) found a large batch of moth cocoons in an ancient and very dry pile of firewood in the Ten-mile Point area of Saanich.    Here is a photograph of a small part of the batch of cocoons – there must surely be more than 100 in all.

Cocoons of Aphomia sociella  (Lep.: Pyralidae)  Jeremy Tatum

   Robb gave the cocoons to me (Jeremy Tatum) to look after over the winter. The first four of the adult moths emerged yesterday, May 11, and another eight are out today by six o’clock in the evening.  One is shown below.  Thanks to Gregory Pohl for identifying them as Aphomia sociella.

Aphomia sociella  (Lep.: Pyralidae)  Jeremy Tatum

  At first blush this looks like a rather ordinary undistinguished sort of micro moth.  First blush is wrong. The life history of the caterpillar is in fact most interesting – it is spent in a bee’s nest, feeding largely upon beeswax, but not averse from eating the occasional ovum, larva or pupa.  The Wikipedia article on Aphomia sociella gives a good account of this interesting species.

   Here are two more small moths, with more conventional life histories.  Both were reared from caterpillars found near Blenkinsop Lake.  The first was a green caterpillar feeding on Oemleria cerasiformis.  Thanks to Greg Pohl for identifying it as Argyrotaenia franciscana.

Probably Argyrotaenia franciscana  (Lep.: Tortricidae) 
Jeremy Tatum

   The second was from a black and quite wriggly caterpillar feeding on Urtica dioica.  I don’t know what it is, but I feel that it must be either in or close to the genus Olethreutes.

Possibly Olethreutes sp. (Lep.: Tortricidae) Jeremy Tatum

2025 May 12 morning

     Ian Cooper writes: Here are some additional pictures taken on May 08 2025  ^ by the  E&N Trail in Esquimalt and # by the Galloping Goose trail in View Royal.

# Raspberry Weevil  Otiorhynchus singularis (Col.: Curculionidae)   Ian Cooper

^ Marsh Beetle  Herthania concinna (Col.: Scirtidae)   Ian Cooper

# Crane Fly – Probably Austrolimnophila sp. (Dip.: Limoniidae)
  Ian Cooper

Mosquito Culiseta incidens (Dip.: Culicidae)   Ian Cooper

# Forest Spider  Pimoa altioculata (Ara: Pimoidae)   Ian Cooper

# Harvestman  Protolophus singularis (Opiliones: Protolophidae)   Ian Cooper

2025 May 11 morning

   Here are two spiders photographed by Ian Cooper on May 8.  The first was obtained along the E&N Trail in Esquimalt; the second near the 9 km marker in View Royal.  Thanks to Thomas Barbin and Robb Bennett for help with the identifications.

Metaphidippus manni  (Ara.: Salticidae)  Ian Cooper

Anyphaena aperta  (Ara.: Anyphaenidae)  Ian Cooper

   The Red Admiral below was photographed by Aziza Cooper on Mount Tolmie on May 10.  There have been one or two there in the last few days, often nectaring on the Laburnum at the entrance to the reservoir, as in Aziza’s photograph.

Red Admiral  Vanessa atalanta  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Aziza Cooper