2025 June 30 morning

   Kirsten Mills writes:  Yesterday, June 29, Jeff Gaskin and I went to Kinsol Trestle. On the trail from the parking lot to the trestle we saw Pale and Western Tiger Swallowtail, Lorquin’s Admiral, Satyr Comma, and Cabbage White butterflies, and a Common Whitetail dragonfly.  Here are photographs of two of these.

Satyr Comma  Polygonia satyrus   (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Kirsten Mills

Male Common Whitetail  Plathemis lydia   (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Kirsten Mills

2025 June 29

   Bruce Whittington found these Mountain Ash Sawfly larvae on June 28 on Mountain Ash in Ladysmith.

Pristiphora geniculata  (Hym.: Tenthredinidae)   Bruce Whittington

2025 June 28 morning

   Dun Skippers:  JeremyTatum writes: I have not done a thorough search of recent Dun Skipper sightings (and probably shan’t do so) but I have found a few sightings in addition to Aziza’s sighting on June 25 this year.   Thus:

2016:   June 9, one on the Malahat.   June 26, two at Spectacle Lake and one on Nanaimo River Road.
2018:  June 27, one, Gordon’s Highlands home,
2020:  June 28, one, Kinsol Trestle Bridge, and one, Nanoose.

Aziza’s June 25 sighting this year is still a significant one.

  A rather less rare lepidopteran is the ubiquitous moth below, photographed this morning at my Saanich apartment.

Idaea dimidiata  (Lep.: Geometridae)   Jeremy Tatum

2025 June 25

   Aziza Cooper writes:  Today, June 25, along the Galloping Goose trail near the Sooke Potholes Park, I saw:

Pale Tiger Swallowtail – 3
Lorquin’s Admiral – 6
Blue species – 1
Dun Skipper – 1

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I have not done a thorough search of Dun Skipper records, but from InvertAlert records, there were no reports of Dun Skipper in the Southern Vancouver Island Birdwatching Area in the years 2015 to 2024 inclusive.  This is a great finding.

Dun Skipper  Euphyes vestris  (Lep.: Hesperiidae)  Aziza Cooper

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

   Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of a Satyr Comma butterfly, which emerged from its chrysalis today and was released in a nettle patch near to the Famous Fence on Lochside Trail, from where the caterpillar came.  With luck you may still see it near there tomorrow (June 26) The complicated scribbly pattern on the underside of the wings shows that this is a male.  The female has much more uniform less scribbly undersides.

Male Satyr Comma  Polygonia satyrus  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2025 June 24 morning

   Aziza Cooper writes:   On June 23 at Mount Tolmie at about 3 pm, there were:

Western Tiger Swallowtail – 2
Pale Tiger Swallowtail – 1
Lorquin’s Admiral – 5
Red Admiral – 1
Cabbage White – 2
Painted Lady – 2

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

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

Western Tiger Swallowtail  Pterourus rutulus  (Lep.: Papilionidae)  Aziza Cooper

   Jeremy Tatum writes: This small moth was on the wall of my Saanich apartment this morning, June 24.  I cannot tell which of two similar species of Oegoconia it is.

Oegoconia novimundi/deauratella  (Lep.: Autostichidae)
Jeremy Tatum

2025 June 20

  Here are some photographs from Ian Cooper’s Solstice photoshoot at Colquitz River Park.

Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)  Ian Cooper

Female Western Earwig  Forficula dentata  (Derm.: Forficulidae)
 Ian Cooper

Medetera sp. (Dip.: Dolichopodidae)  Ian Cooper

Protolophus niger (Opiliones:  Protolophidae)  Ian Cooper

Enoplognatha ovata  (Ara.: Theridiidae)  Ian Cooper
With prey – another spider?

Woodlouse Hunter Spiders (in copula)  Dysdera crocata  
(Ara.: Dysderidae)  
Ian Cooper

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

Privet Leafhopper Fieberiella florii  (Hem.: Cicadellidae)  Ian Cooper

   

Here’s a selection of photographs by Aziza Cooper taken locally in the last few days.

Choristoneura rosaceana (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Aziza Cooper

  

A first report of the year of an Essex Skipper, from Maber Flats:

Essex Skipper  Thymelicus lineola (Lep.: Hesperiidae)
  Aziza Cooper

Ants at Swan Lake   (Hym.: Formicidae)     Aziza Cooper

Misumena vatia  (Ara.: Thomisidae)  Aziza Cooper

Strophiona (probably tigrina) (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Aziza Cooper
Identified by Scott Gilmore

2025 June 19

   Ian Cooper writes: Here is another selection of fascinating creatures observed during my very productive June 15 photoshoot along the Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal, near Talcott Road. 

Armadillidium vulgare  (Isopoda:  Armidillidiidae)  Ian Cooper

Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)  Ian Cooper

Protolophus niger  (Opiliones:  Protolophidae)  Ian Cooper 

Camponotus vicinus  (Hym.: Formicidae)  Ian Cooper

Hedya nubiferana  (Lep.:  Tortricidae)   Ian Cooper

Pactopus hornii  (Col.: Throscidae) Ian Cooper
Thanks to Scott Gilmore for the identification

   Marie O’Shaughnessy has been seeing a lot of dragonfly larval exuviae recently, so she is now photographing some of them in the hopes that someone might be able to identify them from photographs.  Dr Rob Cannings is bravely attempting to do just that.  Here is one that Marie photographed on June 13 at Outerbridge Park.  Dr Cannings writes: This one is almost certainly a Rhionaeschna. My guess would be R. multicolor, but I can’t be sure.

Rhionaeschna sp. exuvia (Odo.: Aeshnidae)  Marie O’Shaughnessy

2025 June18 evening

   Here are a damselfly from Beaver Lake, June 10, and two dragonflies from Swan Lake, June 11, photographed by Aziza Cooper.

Probably Western Forktail Ischnura perparva  (Odo.:Coenagrionidae)
  Aziza Cooper

Female Blue Dasher  Pachydiplax longipennis  (Libellulidae)
  Aziza Cooper

Male Cardinal Meadowhawk  Sympetrun illotum  (Odo.:Libellulidae)
  Aziza Cooper

        Aziza also photographed this bee from the Goldstream railroad tracks on June 15:

Halictus rubicundus (Hym.:  Halictidae) Aziza Cooper

2025 June 18 afternoon

   More photographs from Ian Cooper’s June 15 photoshoot

Banana slug  Ariolimax columbianus (Pul.: Arionidae)   Ian Cooper

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

Rove beetle Quedius sp. (Col.: Staphylinidae)  Ian Cooper
Thanks to Charlene Wood for the identification.

Ceratogalia gueneata  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Ian Cooper

Jumping Bristletail  Pedetontus sp. (Archaeognatha:Machilidae)
Ian Cooper

Clubiona sp. (Ara.: Clubionidae)  Ian Cooper

2025 June 17

   There was no posting on June 16.

   Here are more recent photographs from Ian Cooper, June 15, Galloping Goose Trail.

Bombus fervidus californicus  (Hym.: Apidae)  Ian Cooper
Thanks to Steven Roias for the identification of this one.

   Ian found this spider in his bathroom on June 15.  He put it outside and photographed it there.

Scotophaeus blackwalli  (Ara.:  Gnaphosidae)  Ian Cooper

Elachista sp.  (Lep.: Elachistidae)   Ian Cooper

   Aziza Cooper writes:

On June 15, at Goldstream Heights, there were: 
Pale Tiger Swallowtail – 2 
Western Spring Azure – 1
Blue sp. – 5
Western Tiger Swallowtail – 1
Cedar Hairstreak – 1
Hairstreak sp., very worn – 1

Also on June 15, at the railroad tracks near Goldstream campground:

Pale Tiger Swallowtail – 3
Cabbage White – 2
Cedar Hairstreak – 5
Western Spring Azure – 1
Blue sp. – 2

Aziza sends these photographs:

Probably Ceratina sp.:  (Hym.: Apidae) Aziza Cooper

Cedar Hairstreak Callophrys gryneus  (Lep.: Lycaenidae) 
Aziza Cooper

Possibly rather worn Cedar Hairstreak Callophrys gryneus 
(Lep.: Lycaenidae)
Aziza Cooper

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

Adela septentrionella  (Lep.: Adelidae)  Aziza Cooper