Aziza Cooper photographed a Mourning Cloak and a California Tortoiseshell on Mount Tolmie yesterday.
Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Aziza Cooper
California Tortoiseshell Nymphalis californica (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Aziza Cooper
In the early morning sunshine of April 17, Ian Cooper noticed numerous lady beetles among the plants growing along some derelict railway tracks by Esquimalt Road near Mary Street in Vic West. Most were Seven-spotted Lady Beetles, but he also spotted an Asian Lady Beetle during his quick survey of the location.
Seven-spotted Lady Beetle Coccinella septempunctata (Col.: Coccinellidae) Ian Cooper
Asian Lady Beetle Harmonia axyridis (Col.: Coccinellidae) Ian Cooper
Jeremy Tatum writes: H. axyridis is a very variable species, but that black W on the pronotum is usually a give-away.
Here is a selection of pictures from Ian Cooper’s March 3rd 2025 photo shoot at Colquitz River Park in Saanich.
Running crab spider – Philodromus dispar (Ara.: Philodromidae) Ian Cooper
Cybaeus signifer (Ara.: Cybaeidae) Ian Cooper
Triangle web spider – Hyptiotes gertschi (Ara.: Uloboridae) Ian Cooper
Common Chrysalis Snail – Lauria cylindracea – (Pul.: Lauriidae) Ian Cooper
Banded Garden Snail – Cepaea nemoralis (Pul.: Helicidae) Ian Cooper
Common Pillbug – Armadillidium vulgare (Isopoda: Armidillidiidae) Ian Cooper
Here’s a female Pimoa altioculata (Ara: Pimoidae) spotted by Ian Cooper in a gash on the side of an alder tree by the Galloping Goose Trail before dawn on April 14 2025.
Female Pimoa altioculata (Ara: Pimoidae) Ian Cooper
Aziza Cooper writes: On April 14, at East Sooke Park there were three Western Spring Azures and several other insects. On April 15, on Lochside Trail north of Hunt Road, we saw two Western Spring Azures and a Mourning Cloak.
Aziza continues: at Mt. Douglas’ west slope, there were three Sara Orangetips, but they were too active for photos.
Jeremy Tatum writes: These are the first Orangetips to be reported to Invert Sightings this year. As a onetime astronomer, I insist that Spring begins when the right ascension and declination of the Sun are both zero. There are some, however, who say that Spring doesn’t really start until you have seen the first Orangetips of the year.
Western Spring Azure Celastrina echo (Lep.: Lycaenidae) Aziza Cooper
Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa (Lep.: Nymphallidae) Aziza Cooper
Here are some pictures from a photoshoot by Ian Cooper in View Royal, March 11, plus one (Oxychilus draparnaudi ) taken by Ian in Colquitz River Park on April 14.
Harvestman – Protolophus sp. (Opiliones: Protolophidae) Ian Cooper
Globular springtail – (Coll.: Dicyrtomidae) Ian Cooper
Threeband Slug, Ambigolimax sp. (Pul.: Limacidae) Ian Cooper
Dark-bodied Glass Snail – Oxychilus draparnaudi (Pul.: Daubebariidae ) Ian Cooper
Folding door spider, Antrodiaetus pacificus (Ara.-Myg: Antrodiaetidae) Ian Cooper
Cybaeus sp. (Ara.: Cybaeidae) Ian Cooper
Common Rough Woodlouse – Porcellio scaber (Isopoda: Porcellionidae) Ian Cooper
Michael Ryan reports a sighting of a Mourning Cloak along Craigflower Road on February 24 for the first butterfly reported this year.
Kirsten Mills reports that she and Jeff Gaskin saw a Mourning Cloak and a (probable Satyr) Comma at Cowichan Bay Dock on February 28.
Gordon Hart photographed a Green Comma in his Highlands property on March 6. He saw another (or the same?) one there on March 25.
Green Comma Polygonia faunus (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Gordon Hart
Marie O’Shaughnessy saw three California Tortoiseshells chasing each other around the top of Mount Tolmie on April 3. On the same day, Burl Jantzen saw a butterfly on Mill Hill that sounded, from his description, quite likely another California Tortoiseshell.
California Tortoiseshell Nymphalis californica (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Marie O’Shaughnessy
On March 28 and April 11, Ian Cooper went out to check on a Tiger Swallowtail chrysalis that he has been keeping his eye on all winter:
Tiger Swallowtail Pterourus sp. (Lep.: Papilionidae) Ian Cooper
Tiger Swallowtail Pterourus sp. (Lep.: Papilionidae) Ian Cooper
Mike and Barb McGrenere photographed this Satyr Comma in their Cordova Bay garden on April 1.
Satyr Comma Polygonia satyrus (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Mike and Barb McGrenere
Jeff Gaskin writes that on April 3rd, there was a Western Spring Azure that passed through his mother’s garden on Wascana Street in the Burnside/Gorge community. Aziza Cooper photographed one at Quick’s Bottom on April 10, and Wendy Ansell photographed one at Rithet’s Bog on April 12.
Western Spring Azure Celastrina echo (Lep.: Lycaenidae) Aziza Cooper
Aziza Cooper reports three Cabbage Whites, one on April 4 at Quadra and Bay, and two on April 3, in Metchosin at Pedder Bay and Metchosin Road and Witty’s Lagoon parking lot.
Marie O’Shaughnessy reports a Mourning Cloak on Mount Tolmie and a Cabbage White in Uplands Park on April 4. Val George reports his first Cabbage White of the year in his Oak Bay garden, April 5. Wendy Ansell reports a Cabbage White on April 6. Jeremy Tatum saw his first on April 8, and two more on April 12, and another on April13.
Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Marie O’Shaughnessy
Here, I think, writes Jeremy Tatum, is the last of the backlog of non-lepidopterous invertebrates. This evening, I hope, we shall post the backlog of moths. As with the backlogs of all the photographs submitted during the February-March technical problems, we label these photographs with only the name of the animal and the name of the photographer. Tomorrow morning, if all goes well, we shall post the butterfly sightings and photographs that we have received this year. After that, I hope things will be back to normal.
Send photographs or reports of sightings to tatumjb352 at gmail dot com (photographs preferably as attachments). To view the postings on this site, type invertsight.com at the top of your screen.
We are continuing with the backlog, first posting nonlepidopterous invertebrates, limiting labelling to the names of the organism and the photographer. These will be followed, later, with moths, and then butterflies, and we hope, after the backlog has been cleared, to return to normal.
Soldier beetle larva – (Col.: Cantharidae) Ian Cooper
Deinopteroloma subcostatum (Col.: Staphylinidae) Ian Cooper
Pacific Sideband Snail – Monadenia fidelis (Pul.: Xanthonychidae) Ian Cooper
Female Linyphiid spider, possibly Neriene sp. (Ara.: Linyphiidae) Ian Cooper
Male linyphiid spider, possibly Neriene sp. (Ara.: Linyphiidae) Ian Cooper
Non-biting midge (possibly Chironomus sp.) (Dip.: Chironomidae) Ian Cooper
Pedetontus saltator (Microcoryphia: Machilidae) Ian Cooper
Deroceras reticulatum (Pul.: Agriolimacidae) Ian Cooper
Saint Mark’s Fly (Dip.: Bibionidae) Aziza Cooper
Hover fly (Dip.: Syrphidae) Aziza Cooper
Omus dejeanii (Col.: Carabidae – Cicindelinae) Aziza Cooper
Jeremy Tatum writes: There have been no fresh postings to Invert Alert for several weeks. One of the problems relates to a problem in the current re-organization of the VNHS Website, which results in my not being able to edit or add to Invert Alert. It does not appear that there is likely soon to be any solution to the problem. Therefore, Charles Martin is attempting to open another “blog” for me, to be called Invertebrate Sightings Victoria, or, for short, Invertsight, of which this is the first such posting. It will not be part of the VNHS Website, and hence will presumably not be affected by the current re-organization of that site.
There is a large backlog of images and sightings that have been sent to me in recent weeks, and, until these have been cleared up, for most of them I shall label the photographs with only the name of the organism and the name of the photographer, with no further details. Once the backlog is over, I expect Invertsight will look very much like Invert Alert did. There will doubtless be a few glitches in the first few postings.
In order to submit photographs or records of sightings, just send them in the usual way to me at tatumjb at gmail dot com, using the usual symbols for “at” and “dot” (not used here for security reasons). If you just want to look at the site, type “invertsight.com” at the top of the screen.
Here, below, is the first batch of photographs. If all goes well, more of the backlog will follow in the next few days, after which Invertsight should begin to look just like Invert Alert did. Butterflies will be last – in a few days – with a bit more information than just the name of the photographer.
Ctenolepisma longicaudata (Zyg.: Lepismatidae) Jeremy Tatum
Antrodiaetus (Ara. – Mygalomorpha – Antrodiaetidae) Ian Cooper
Scylonotus sp. (Diplopoda – Polydesmidae) Ian Cooper
Dyslobus decoratus (Col.: Curculionidae) Ian Cooper
Invert Sightings 