Jeff Gaskin writes: I was on Sidney Island today, August 25, and I saw one Pine White there. Also, yesterday, August 24, Kirsten Mills saw a female Purplish Copper at Island View Beach near the washrooms.
Aziza Cooper writes: Today, August 25, there was one Woodland Skipper and ten Cabbage White butterflies, plus a grasshopper.
Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides (Lep.: Hesperiidae) Aziza Cooper
Female Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae) Aziza Cooper
James Miskelly says, of the grasshopper below: Confirmation of Trimerotropis species should include the colour of the hind tibiae, but based on location and habitat I’ll say this is Trimerotropispallidipennis. It’s a widespread species in North and South America that in our area is found mainly in coastal sand ecosystems.
Trimerotropis pallidipennis (Orth.:Acrididae) Aziza Cooper
Here are some pictures taken by Ian Cooper between August 11 – 18 near the 9 km marker of the GG trail in View Royal.
Cross Orb-weaver Araneus diadematus (Ara.: Araneidae) Ian Cooper
Running crab spider Philodromus sp. (Ara.: Philodromidae) Ian Cooper
Pacific Foldingdoor Spider Antrodiaetus pacificus (Ara.- Myg.: Antrodiaetidae) Ian Cooper
Anyphaena aperta (Ara.: Anyphaenidae) Ian Cooper
Western Black Carpenter Ant Camponotus modoc (Hym.: Formicidae) and unidentified aphids (Hem.: Aphididae) Ian Cooper
Triphosa haesitata (Lep.: Geometridae) Ian Cooper
Jeremy Tatum visited McIntyre reservoir today. Most of the Teasel has long gone past flowering. There were quite a few Cabbage Whites, but the only other butterflies were a single Purplish Copper and a single Woodland Skipper, the latter nectaring on one of the very last flowering Teasels. There were very few dragonflies, and absolutely no birds. It might be a good idea for someone to visit Island View Beach for Purplish Coppers and California Ringlets.
Here are six photographs by Ian Cooper. All were taken on August 21 by the ^E&N trail and #near the 9 km marker of the GG trail in View Royal that evening.
In the first photograph, the termite is a Pacific Dampwood Termite Zootermopsis angusticollis (Blattodea: Archotermopsidae). The spider is a linyphiid – possibly Neriene litigiosa, although this is not certain at present.
#Spider and termite Ian Cooper
In the photograph below, the victim is probably a small crane fly (Dip.: Tipulidae), and the bug is probably a damsel bug (Hem.: Nabidae).
#Fly and bug Ian Cooper
^Unidentified ichneumonoid (Hym.: Ichneumonoidea) Ian Cooper
^Aerial yellowjacket wasp Dolichovespula arenaria (Hym.: Vespidae) Ian Cooper
#Emmelina monodactyla (Lep.: Pterophoridae) Ian Cooper
The moth below is a noctuid of the genus Abagrotis. We are not certain of its exact identity at species level, although it does bear some resemblance to A. variata.
#Abagrotis sp. (Lep.: Noctuidae) Ian Cooper
Jeremy Tatum photographed the moth below at his Saanich apartment on August 22.
Lesser Yellow Underwing Noctua comes (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jeremy Tatum
Ann Tiplady found this katydid in the kitchen of her home in Oak Bay on August 22.
Meconema thalassinum (Orth.: Tettigoniidae) Ann Tiplady
Jeff Gaskin writes that on August 22, there was a Black Saddlebags at the Summit Park reservoir, and in the evening there were a number of Paddle-tailed Darners at King’s Pond.
Colias Alert ! Gordon Hart writes: On August 23, during the VNHS field trip to Whiffen Spit, we had two sightings of a Western Sulphur Colias occidentalis butterfly. I have photos of one in the meadow halfway along (where we saw the American Lady years ago), and later Ben van Drimmelen and I saw another flying near the parking lot. It landed in a patch of grass and gumweed, but we were unable to relocate it. It flew from the direction of the parking lot, so may have been a second one, or the other may have made its way to that area by the time we got there.
Western Sulphur Colias occidentalis (Lep.: Pieridae) Gordon Hart
Here are some photographs taken by Ian Cooper on August 20 by the ^E&N trail in Esquimalt and #in the vicinity of the 9 km marker of the GG trail in View Royal.
#Female Eratigena duellica (Ara: Agelenidae) Ian Cooper
^Blue-green Sharpshooter Hordnia atropunctata (Hem.: Cicadellidae) Ian Cooper
Ian writes: The following two crab spiders were tiny spiderlings. Maximum 3 mm in size, including legs. The first was barely visible on a Queen Anne’s Lace (Wild Carrot) flower that I was scrutinizing. Easily the smallest crab spiders I have ever seen.
^Misumena vatia (Ara.: Thomisidae) Ian Cooper
^Misumena vatia (Ara.: Thomisidae) Ian Cooper
#Large Yellow Underwing Moth Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae) Ian Cooper
#Possibly Eudonia sp. (Lep.: Crambidae – Scopariinae) Ian Cooper
Jeremy Tatum writes: I had one of these at my Saanich apartment building this morning. It is difficult to be certain of the identification of these and similar moths – the Subfamily Scopariinae may need further study and possible revision.
Val George writes: During the time the Invert Sightings website was down I had the following moths at my Oak Bay house:
August 17 Acleris variegana August 18 Anania mysippusalisTriphosa haesitata August 21 Pero mizon
Triphosa haesitata (Lep.: Geometridae) Val George
Pero mizon (Lep.: Geometridae) Val George
Acleris variegana (Lep.: Tortricidae) Val George
Anania mysippusalis (Lep.: Crambidae) Val George
Jeremy Tatum shows a rather worn Xanthorhoe from his Saanich apartment building this morning.
Xanthorhoe sp. (Lep.: Geometridae) Jeremy Tatum
Richard Rycraft sends a photograph of a Woodland Skipper from his Oak Bay garden today. It is nectaring on Lavender, which seems to be a favorite nectar source for this butterfly.
Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides (Lep.: Hesperiidae) Richard Rycraft
On August 19, Jeff Gaskin saw a Grey Hairstreak in Cuthbert Holmes Park, near the Admirals Road parking lot.
Ian Cooper sends photographs of a termite and a moth, both View Royal, August 18.
Pacific Dampwood Termite Zootermopsis angusticollis (Blattodea: Archotermopsidae) Ian Cooper
Triphosa haesitata (Lep.: Geometridae) Ian Cooper
Aziza Cooper photographed this fly, on the windshield of her car, at Albert Head Lagoon, August 19. We are grateful to Dr Rob Cannings for identifying it as the robber fly Neomochtherus willistoni.
Robber fly Neomochtherus willistoni (Dip.: Asilidae)Aziza Cooper
Here are two creatures photographed by Ian Cooper along the Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal before dawn on August 16.
Male Folding-door Spider Antrodiaetus pacificus (Ara. – Myg.: Antrodiaetidae) Ian Cooper
Leopard slug Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae) Ian Cooper
Jeremy Tatum writes: The two best-known lepismatids are the Silverfish Lepisma saccharina, which likes cold buildings, and the Firebrat Thermobia domestica, which likes warm buildings. A third species, Ctenolepisma longicaudata,likes my Saanich apartment building. It is known as the Grey Silverfish. I get both T. domestica and C. longicaudata in my building, but I have never yet seen L. saccharina, the original genuine Silverfish, in Victoria.
Grey Silverfish Ctenolepisma longicaudata (Zyg.: Lepismatidae) Jeremy Tatum
Ian also sent the photograph below of a Thread-legged Bug. These bugs belong to the Subfamily Emesinae of the Family Reduviidae (Assassin Bugs).
Empicoris vagabundus (Hem.: Reduviidae – Emesinae) Ian Cooper
Janet Renouf sent in a photograph of a long-horned beetle from Ten Mile Point. We thank Scott Gilmore for identifying it as a species of Strophiona. It has recently been found that two species of this genus occur here, so, until more is known, I am leaving this one as “Strophiona sp.”
Strophiona sp. (Col.: Cerambycidae) Janet Renouf
Val George writes: On August 17, this moth, Autographa corusca, was on one of the windows of the Nature House at Swan Lake. Also at Swan Lake was a Mourning Cloak butterfly.
Autographa corusca (Lep.: Noctuidae – Plusiinae) Val George
Gordon Hart saw and photographed a Mylitta Crescent on his Highlands property on August 12 – the first time in years that he has seen this species there.
Male Mylitta Crescent Phyciodes mylitta (Lep.: Nymphalidae) Gordon Hart
Val George photographed this pug moth on the wall of his Oak Bay house on August 15. Some pugs are notoriously difficult to identify; Jeremy Tatum writes that he *thinks* this one is probably Eupithecia annulata.
Probably Eupithecia annulata (Lep.: Geometridae) Val George
Jeremy Tatum writes: Four moths turned up near the back door of my Saanich apartment building on August 13.
Acleris variegana(Lep.: Tortricidae) Jeremy Tatum Thanks to Libby Avis for the identification
Neoalcis californiaria (Lep.: Geometridae) Jeremy Tatum
Callizzia amorata (Lep.: Epiplemidae) Jeremy Tatum
Carcina quercana (Lep.: Depressariidae) Jeremy Tatum
On August 11, Gordon Hart photographed this Woodland Skipper in grave danger as it put its foot on a crab spider at his Highlands home. He also photographed a dark summer-brood Cabbage White, and a wasp, which Jeremy Tatum believes to be Vespula pensylvanica.
Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides (Lep.: Hesperiidae) and Crab spider Misumena vatia (Ara.: Thomisidae) Gordon Hart
Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae) Gordon Hart
Vespula pensylvanica (Hym.: Vespidae) Gordon Hart
Jeff Gaskin writes: Just before noon in the heat on August 12th, I saw what I’m quite sure was a Hydaspe Fritillary. I had some pretty quick but good looks at this butterfly as it headed into Gorge Park. Also, a Lorquin’s Admiral was still in Esquimalt Gorge Park.
Invert Sightings 