compton tortoise shell

  a new to me butterfly.

According to inaturalist there have been a few sightings in the Whitehorse area this spring.

It has been a butterfly abundant spring, a spring that started early march and has not turned into summer yet.

This one on a little  aspen lined path toward the Takhini river.

May 11 2024

Social Wasps

 I highly  recommend the book  The Social Wasps of North America

:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58964391-the-social-wasps-of-north-america

 Social Wasps most likely to be encountered in the Yukon are:

Vespula, ground yellow jackets

Vespula acadica

Vespula infernalis

Vespula intermedia

Vespula consobrina 

Vespula alascensis

Dolichovespula aerial yellow jackets

Dolichovespula norvigicoides

Dolichovespula alpicola

Dolichovespula arenaria

Dolichovespula arctica

Dolichovespula maculata

Dolichovespula albida

most of the Yellow Jackets i have  ID-ed, came in the house, i would catch them in glass jar, photograph them and release them.

I have observed  in the house (or yard)  most Dolichovespula species, ( exept  D.albida) 

Ryan has an observation in Whitehorse from D. albida

For the Vespulas i have many observations from V. alascensis, and one from V consobrina.

Checking the observation on inaturalist for the Yukon, Vespula infernalis and V. alascensis are most observed and some V. consobrinas.

Pieris angelika

June 22 2019

Cracker creek area

C. Guppy wrote this about a white i posted on inaturalist:Although the photos are very distant and not sharp, the second photo shows the upper forewing wing pattern characteristic of a female P. marginalis. Southern Yukon has 3 species of Pieris - P. angelika, P. marginalis, and P. oleraciea. P. oleracea would have almost no wing pattern, so that eliminates that species. P. angelika females have quite extensive black upper forewing pattern (unlike the photo), and P. marginalis females have grey upper forewing pattern (range from relatively little pattern (as in this case) to extensive grey pattern.

Yellowjackets

2018 was a good year for Yellowjackets, 2019 not so much.
I post my observations on inaturalist.ca

Today i did get some helpful information that i might want to look for again.

Yes, for the genus it is the shape of the head, i.e. the length of space between eyes and mandibles: https://cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca/bmc_05/bmc05images/keys/b11-3_4.jpg 
https://cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca/bmc_05/key_vespinae.html 
This is, of course, not visible here but most species can also be recognized by their abdominal patterns: 
V. alascensis (formerly vulgaris): https://cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca/bmc_05 
/98v_vulgaris.html 
https://cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca/bmc_05/85d_norvegicoides.html

Western Tailed Blue

Cupido amyntula

June 30 2017 Elfin Creek

Euphydryas anicia

June 25, 2017 , in the garden

anicia checkerspot

a Marble

Euchloe ausonides

In the garden , June 18, 2017