Metchosin Biodiversity Project

European Wall Lizard, Podarcis muralis

One species we were hoping NOT to count on the 2015 BioBlitz was the invasive European Wall Lizard. It's a zoo escape that got a toe-hold on the Saanich peninsula in the 1970s. Since then it has been steadily spreading across the Greater Victoria region. Unfortunately, one of these lizards showed up at Kem Luther's house just before the BioBlitz. On BioBlitz day, a homeowner in the Duke Road area spotted another one. Any new sightings of Wall Lizards should be reported to members of the Metchosin Biodiversity Project or to the BC Museum.

Ceanothus Silkmoth, Hyalophora euryalus

Thanks largely to the devoted labor of Libby and Rick Avis and Moralea Milne, the 2015 Metchosin BioBlitz harvested a bounty of moth species. Moths, which need warm weather to be active, were out in droves at this year's BioBlitz -- this year was the latest in the spring season that the BioBlitz has been scheduled and this particular spring was advanced by at least two weeks. A record 55 species of moth were captured and identified.

One of the more spectacular of the large moths, found by two groups at the 2015 BioBlitz, is the Ceanothus Silkmoth. Southern Vancouver Island doesn't have the Buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus) that gives this moth its common name, but the insect larva is able to make use of a wide range of plants as host, including Alder, Arbutus, and Manzanita. It's wingspan can reach 12 cm (4 inches).

Contorted-pod Evening-primrose, Camissonia contorta

Metchosin hosts one of the eight remaining Canadian populations of the rare Contorted-pod Evening Primrose, all of which are found on Vancouver Island or nearby islands. This small plant prefers sandy backshore habitats. When it flowers, Contorted-pod Evening-primrose sports four yellow petals on each flower, which gradually fade to red. When the seeds mature, they are housed in a twisted pod that gives the plant its name.

Contorted-pod Evening Primrose was red-listed by SARA in 2007. The greatest threat to the continued presence of the plant along our shores is loss of habitat, a loss often accelerated by invasives such as Scotch Broom. Human recreational activities can also lead to destructive trampling. BioBlitz teams found it at Witty's this year, but if you come across this plant in other places in our District, please report it to the Metchosin Biodiversity Project or to the BC Conservation Data Centre.

Common Nighthawk, Chordeiles minor

The many birders that help with the Metchosin BioBlitzes find, year in and year out, about a hundred different species of birds. But not always the same hundred -- over the five years of the BioBlitz, birders have turned up 150 species. This year the new birds on the list included the Common Nighthawk. A strong flyer that migrates thousands of kilometres from winter home in South America, it often does not show up on Vancouver Island until early June. The late date for this year's spring BioBlitz gave us the opportunity to add this important bird to our list and the birders delivered.

If you want to see this special raptor, you usually need to be out late at night or early in the morning. It is crepuscular and nocturnal, scooping a stream of insects out of the darkening and night skies. Often the only indication that one is around is a distinctive, sharp "peent" call. Listen to it here.

Scrambled Egg Slime Mold, Fuligo septica

The drier the season, the fewer the mushrooms. Our 2015 BioBlitz fungi teams, led yet again by Adolf and Oluna Ceska, still managed to find almost 40 species of fungi. Oluna could probably find a mushroom on the moon, if she could find a way to get there. And she could probably identify it.

Although slime molds are not fungi (we now believe slime molds belong to their own kingdom), fungi researchers often take it on themselves to keep track of them because slime molds, which are neither slime nor molds, can resemble certain fungi and they occur in the same habitats. This year's bioblitzers found two slime molds. The most visually arresting of the two is Fuligo septica, known commonly as Scrambled Egg Slime Mold, or sometimes Dog's Vomit Slime Mold. Like many slime molds, it is a poorly differentiated mass of protoplasm that moves about like a giant amoeba. Unlike many slime molds, it is easy to spot. The bright yellow colour does indeed resemble the disgorged remnants of a dog's bad meal.

California Broomrape, Orobanche californica

Moralea Milne reported California Broomrape from the property around her Camas Hill home, a first BioBlitz sighting of this unusual plant. It is a close cousin of the Naked Broomrape (Orobanche uniflora) that has been recorded at every BioBlitz. The broomrapes have no photosynthetic organs and are listed as parasites on other plants (in the case of California broomrape, on gumweeds and asters). Interestingly, we have learned that fungi may be involved in the broomrape's direct plant-to-plant relationship.