March 22
Derrick Marven reports another Satyr Comma in his garden in Duncan on March 20.  He also reports the geometrid moth Mesoleuca gratulata which has also been spotted in Victoria.  My (Jeremy Tatum's) first butterfly still eludes me, but at Millstream Road on Sunday I saw numerous male Empis flies, each carrying a heavy load of insects, including St Mark's (March) Flies and mayflies, to woo their girlfriends.  Today Annie Pang reports a Cabbage White  in Gorge Park, Victoria.

Annie Pang sends a photo of Mesoleuca gratulata from Seymour Hill taken today, accompanied by one of her charming verses.  Notice the egg that the moth has just laid on the Bramble bud.

Terry Thormin sends three photos, one of bumble bee and two of the same ichneumonid. He writes that "both species have been around for awhile, but I just got photos today. The ichneumonid was ovipositing in the sand at the base of a small plant that I could not identify. Because it moved from plant to plant I suspect that it is going after an insect larva that is host specific to that plant. The bumble bee is on Gold Star, and because the plants are so small, every time the bee landed its weight would cause the flower to bend upside down. Both insects were photographed at the sand dunes at Point Holmes in Comox."  Would anyone like to have a go at identifying them?

 Dave Stirling writes that he saw a female Western Spring Azure taking the sun on a low Garry Oak branch, near Wain Road, North Saanich, on March 20.

March 18
Gerry Ansell reports two Sara Orange Tips and a California Tortoiseshell from Mount Douglas Park.  The Orange Tips, of course, have emerged from overwintering pupae, but what about the Tortoiseshells?  They overwinter as adults, but did they do so here, or have they flown in from California? 

March 12
Barry Camp lays claim to the first butterfly sighting in all of Canada!   He reports a Cabbage White from Dean and Townley Street, Saanich, on February 20 when the temperature was 13º C.   Some nymphalid butterflies overwinter as adults, so it is in principle possible to see one on January 1, so it remains to be seen if Barry can sustain his claim.  But Cabbage Whites emerge only after overwintering as pupae, so Barry’s observation is truly a remarkable one, and he stands a very good chance of sustaining his claim for the earliest pupal emergence!

Terry Thormin asks if I can expand the area covered by this site to a larger area of Vancouver Island or even the entire Island.   I’m not sure whether I should say yes or no, but I can’t resist posting the superb photos that Terry has submitted.  His Honey Bee Apis mellifera and Drone Fly Eristalis tenax were photographed in Comox on February 17, and his unidentified (yet) syrphid was photographed there on March 5.   Can anyone identify the syrphid for sure? 

One of the great spectacles of nature to be seen this week is the large numbers of Yellow Dung Flies Scatophaga flava to be seen at the pig farm at Lochside Drive, Central Saanich.  These may not be to everyone’s liking, but it really is spectacular, and worth going to see.   If you look carefully there, you can also see a few Eristalis.    

Apis mellifera    Terry Thormin

Eristalis tenax  Terry Thormin

Syrphid   Terry Thormin

No viewer of the site managed to identify Terry's syrphid.  This may have been because I had messed up the posting and left you all with a blank rectangle to stare at, which put viewers somewhat at a disadvantage.  Meanwhile Terry has consulted syrphid expert Martin Hauser, who identifies it as Eupeodes sp., probably E. americanus.  

Terry also sends a picture from his Comox garden this morning of a Western Conifer Seed Bug Leptoglossus occidentalis.   Wouldn't it be nice if we could persuade everyone not to use the word "bug" for any old insect, but to use the word "bug" when they mean "bug"! 

March 9
A few reports of butterflies are now coming in.  Gordon Hart reports a Satyr Anglewing and a Milbert's Tortoiseshell from the Highlands on March 6.  These, of course, are butterflies that overwinter as adults, but there are also reports of butterflies that have emerged from overwintering pupae.  Thus Gerry Ansell reports a Cabbage White from Gonzales Hill on March 2, and Ian Cruickshank sends a delightful photo of a Moss's Elfin from East Sooke Park on March 6.

I have yet to see my first butterfly, but I found two noctuid caterpillars.  One was a Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba  walking along the sidewalk next to Shelbourne shopping plaza on March 7.  It was in too much of a hurry for photography, but you can read about the recent arrival in our area of this European moth in an article by  Claudia Copley and Rob Cannings at http://www.sfu.ca/biology/esbc/Journal/journal2005/2005_83-84_Copley.pdf.    Caterpillars of Aseptis adnixa  are now to be found on the young leaves of Indian Plum.  You can see from the shape of the head capsule of the one that I photographed near Blenkinsop Lake on March 7 that it is waiting for ecdysis (skin-change), and it obligingly sat still for me.

March 6
Derrick Marven reports a Satyr Comma (Satyr Anglewing) in his garden at Frances Street, Duncan.

March 5
Dave Stirling writes writes: This Tissue Moth, Triphosa haesitata, (identified by Claudia Copley) has lived in my house since January, 2010. It appears only at night and usually flat on the ceiling. It may not show for several days.  If I can catch it I will release it to the great outdoors where it will join the many other species helping to keep the vegetation in check. Last winter I had five of these moths but only one appeared at any time. I only realized the five had been here when I found their dead bodies when I was in one of my vacuuming modes.   (Dave:   Release it where there is lots of Cascara -- its caterpillars will appreciate that!    Jeremy)

March 4
Still no butterflies for me (Jeremy Tatum), but I managed to photograph a moth on the wall of my apartment building this morning.  It's one of the geometrid "highflyer" moths, Hydriomena manzanita.  The caterpillar feeds on Arbutus and presumably also (from its name) Manzanita.

March 3
I still haven't seen a butterfly this year, but Annie Pang reports a Mourning Cloak butterfly at Gorge Park

We just got our first posting, from Sharon Hartwell, who tells us that on February 20 she saw her first two Satyr Anglewings of the year on Lone Tree Hill. Has anyone else seen any butterflies yet? I haven't -- I'm still waiting. On February 27 I saw a Banded Woolly Bear at Panama Flats -- that's the caterpillar of the Isabella Moth Pyrrharctia isabella. 

So let us know what else is out there! Jeremy Tatum