Geoffrey Newall reports two California Tortoiseshells from Beacon Hill Park on October 6. Here is a photograph of one of them nectaring on Ivy blossom. Ivy blossom is a good place to look for nymphalid butterflies at this time of year.
California Tortoiseshell Nymphalis californica (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Geoffrey Newall
Val George writes: These two moths, Udea profundalis and Xanthorhoe defensaria, were on the wall of my Oak Bay house this morning, October 8.
Udea profundalis (Lep.: Crambidae) Val George
Xanthorhoe defensaria (Lep.: Geometridae) Val George
Gordon Hart reports that on October 7 he saw a Cabbage White at Cattle Point, and another along Foul Bay Road. He also saw and photographed a worn Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba at Harling Point.
Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae) Gordon Hart
Marie O’Shaughnessy reports that she spent an hour at Beaver Lake Ponds on October 7 and saw one Cabbage White. She also saw a few Darner dragonflies, including about six Paddle-tailed Darners, and she saw and photographed an Autumn Meadowhawk (formerly known as Yellow-legged Meadowhawk – you can see why in the photograph) and a Striped Meadowhawk.
Autumn Meadowhawk Sympetrum vicinum (Odo.: Libellulidae) Marie O’Shaughnessy
Striped Meadowhawk Sympetrum pallipes (Odo.: Libellulidae) Marie O’Shaughnessy
Aziza Cooper writes: On October 7 this caterpillar was on the trail in East Sooke Park. Found by Ren Ferguson. Jeremy Tatum writes: This is the caterpillar of Acronicta insita looking for somewhere to pupate. Moths of the noctuid genus Acronicta are known as dagger moths, because of a dagger-like mark on their wings. This particular species was known, until a recent name-change, as A. dactylina. In fact,it’s not really a name-change. It was originally described and named as insita in 1856. Sometime later, it was presumably rediscovered and given the name dactylina . The rules of nomenclature specify that the original name must have priority (with rare exceptions), so insita is not so much a name-change as a reversion to the original name.
Marie O’Shaughnessy writes: Yesterday I spent an hour looking for Dragonflies and Butterflies at McIntyre Reservoir I was able to find seven Cabbage Whites and a further two in the Martindale Flats area. Also six Cardinal Meadowhawks and one darner in flight (possibly a Paddle-tailed).
Cardinal Meadowhawk Sympetrum illotum (Odo.: Libellulidae) Marie O’Shaughnessy
Jeremy Tatum found this moth at his Saanich apartment this morning, October 6.
Amblyptilia pica (Lep.: Pterophoridae) Jeremy Tatum
Jeremy Tatum writes: I saw a California Tortoiseshell on the Mount Tolmie Ivy patch at 4:00 pm this afternoon. Also, in the morning, two Cabbage Whites in Mount View Park.
The Ivy patch on Mount Tolmie is in spectacular full flower each year in early October, and in past years several nymphalid butterflies have been seen nectaring on it, usually in the afternoons, when it is in sunshine. One way (not the only way) to find it is to enter Mount Tolmie Park from the end of Rattenbury Place. That’s not an easy place to find on the map. Enter Fredrick Norris Road, go along Redwood Avenue and see if you can find Rattenbury Place, probably the shortest road in Saanich. At the end of the road there is a path between two houses, which looks like a private drive, but is in fact a public path going up to Mount Tolmie. If you can find that, you’ll soon find the Ivy patch, and, with luck, a nice nymphalid butterfly or so.
Those who have known me long will occasionally have heard me admonish someone for calling some insect or other a “bug”. Or you may have heard me say: “That’s not a bug, it’s a beetle.” Now this is a bug (from my Saanich apartment this afternoon):
Halyomorpha halys (Hem.: Pentatomidae) Jeremy Tatum
It is not always realized that the undersides of the hindwings of the Cabbage White butterfly are yellow, and consequently they are occasionally reported as sulphur butterflies. However, it is usually quite a pale yellow, not like the intense yellow of a sulphur. All the same, occasionally the yellow of a Cabbage White is surprisingly intense, as shown in these photographs by Marie O’Shaughnessy.
Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae) Marie O’Shaughnessy
Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae) Marie O’Shaughnessy
A genuine sulphur (Colias sp.) is quite different, as shown in the photograph below, taken by Marie at McIntyre reservoir, September 15. Having determined that it is indeed a sulphur and not a Cabbage White, that is not an end to our difficulties. There are three species of Sulphur to be seen on Vancouver Island – Orange, Clouded and Western. The first two are migrants, the third a resident, but all are rare in the Victoria area, and all are difficult to distinguish. We can’t say with complete certainty what Marie’s sulphur is, so we shall leave it as Colias sp. If anyone has strong feelings as to exactly what it is, let us know – but we’ll need a bit of convincing.
Sulphur butterfly Colias sp. (Lep.: Pieridae) Marie O’Shaughnessy
Purplish Coppers have been scarce this year, but here is a male photographed by Marie at McIntyre reservoir on August 7. Although this is not a recent photograph, we don’t want to lose this record, so here it is.
Male Purplish Copper Tharsalea helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae) Marie O’Shaughnessy
Male Purplish Copper Tharsalea helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae) Marie O’Shaughnessy
On October 2 we posted a photograph by Val George at Swan Lake of a moth that we thought most likely Tetracis pallulata, but possibly T. jubararia. There were three similar moths there, and Val took the photograph shown below of another of them. This time, writes Jeremy Tatum, I would lean toward jubararia rather than pallulata, but the truth is that we just don’t know for certain what either of them is.
Tetracis jubararia / pallulata (Lep.: Geometridae) Val George
It seems that the tortricid Acleris rhombana is quite common around here just now. Here is the third that I have photographed at my Saanich apartment, writes Jeremy Tatum, in the last few days.
Acleris rhombana (Lep.: Tortricidae) Jeremy Tatum
Dragonfly numbers are beginning to diminish, but there are still a few around. Here is a meadowhawk (we cannot be sure which species) photographed by Aziza Cooper on September 24 at Panama Flats.
Meadowhawk Sympetrum sp. (Odo.: Libellulidae) Aziza Cooper
Here is a photograph of a Striped Meadowhawk photographed by Marie O’Shaughnesssy at Heritage Acres on September 16,
Striped Meadowhawk Sympetrum pallipes (Odo.: Libellulidae) Marie O’Shaughnessy
And here is another dragonfly photographed by Marie at McIntyre reservoir, October 1.
Shadow Darner Aeshna umbrosa (Odo.: Aeshnidae) Marie O’Shaughnessy
Jeremy Tatum writes: It has been a busy day for this site today, so it’s not impossible that I may have missed one or more submissions. If I have missed one, let me know.
Val George writes: On October 1, there were three Tetracis moths near the door of the Swan Lake nature house. Jeremy Tatum writes: The moth shown below is either T. jubararia or T. pallulata. The liberal sprinkling of tiny elongated dots over the wings, plus the two very emphatic transverse lines, suggests (but no more than suggests) to my mind that this is more likely T. pallulata.
Tetracis pallulata /jubararia (Lep.: Geometridae) Val George
To those who wonder why we sometimes have difficulty in identifying moths, compare the photograph of the moth shown below (from Jeremy Tatum’s Saanich apartment this morning) with the one shown on September 30. They may not look at all alike, but, writes Jeremy Tatum, I believe they are both the same species, Acleris rhombana.
Acleris rhombana (Lep.: Tortricidae) Jeremy Tatum
In the case of Tetracis we have two moths that look almost indistinguishable, yet they are distinct species. In the case of Acleris, we have two moths that look almost totally different, yet they are the same single species. Small wonder that we sometimes find identification difficult!
Wendy Ansell reports a Cabbage White butterfly at Island View Beach, October 2, We may soon be approaching the last sighting of the year.
Aziza Cooper sends a photograph of a meadowhawk dragonfly at Panama Flats, September 24. We’ll post the picture as soon as we are certain of the identification.
She also sends a photograph of the caterpillar shown below at Maber Flats, September 26. This is the Banded Woolly Bear. This caterpillar is most commonly found during October; sometimes there are then large numbers at Panama Flats. In case you are tempted to take one home for rearing to adult, Jeremy Tatum writes: In my experience, this is one of the most difficult caterpillars to rear successfully, and it is very likely to die during the winter. It is a different matter if one is found in March, when it will be looking for somewhere to pupate, and you are then much more likely to achieve success.
Aziza also repots a Cabbage White near the Juan de Fuca Library on September 26. Is that going to be the last butterfly seen this year?
Jeremy Tatum shows this photograph of a small moth found at his Saanich apartment on September 29. It was kindly identified by Dr Jason Dombrowskie as Acleris rhombana. This is a European species which is fairly common here, and has been reported several times on Invert Alert. Interestingly, all records that I have found on searching the Internet for North American records of the species are from Vancouver Island. I haven’t found any North American records from elsewhere.
Jeremy Tatum writes: I searched my apartment today to see if I could find another German Cockroach. Luckily, I couldn’t. The best I could come up with was this Ctenolepisma longicaudata, which is related to and somewhat resembles the Firebrat or the Silverfish.
Ctenolepisma longicaudata (Zyg.: Lepismatidae) Jeremy Tatum
Invert Sightings 