Saanichton Spit's Sensitive Species

Who doesn't like an alliterative title?  Saanichton Spit is my local gem.  I have been going there to seek out birds ever since I was a kid and I now enjoy it for its locally unique biota.  The base of the spit is on Tsawout First Nation land, while the outer two-thirds is managed by Central Saanich Parks.  The habitat is classified as a coastal dune, which is a very scarce commodity in British Columbia.  Consequently, the spit is a mecca for rare plants and animals.

I am becoming a fan of the visual tour de force approach because pictures really do say a thousand words.  I will, however, interject at one point to line up a bit of a story about a very special sighting.  Without further ado, here are some photos I took during my outing yesterday.

Contorted Pod Evening-Primrose (Camissonia contorta) 

Grey Beach Peavine (Lathyrus littoralis)

Purplish Copper (Lycaena helloides)

Purplish Copper (Lycaena helloides)

Vancouver Island Ringlet (Coenonympha tullia insulana)

Snowy Owl primary feather

Snowy Owl body feathers

Plusia nichollae nectaring on Yellow Sand-Verbena (Abronia latifolia)

Large-headed Sedge (Carex macrocephala)

Beach Bindweed (Calystegia soldanella)

Beach-Carrot (Glehnia littoralis)

Barestem Desert-Parsley (Lomatium nudicaule)

Tree Lupine (Lupinus arborea)

Oblique-lined Tiger Beetle (Cicindela tranquebarica vibex)

Beach Pea (Lathyrus japonicus var. maritimus)

As seen in the photo of the stunning moth Plusia nichollae, Yellow Sand-Verbena is a vibrant nectar source found in the dune community.  In fact, there is one species that relies on it for every aspect of its life history.  The species is Copablepharon fuscum.  That wasn't very helpful, was it?  The common name of the species is the appropriately named Sand-Verbena Moth.  Some moths are exciting because they are intricately patterned, but that is not the case here.  The Sand-Verbena Moth is exciting because it is a rare regional endemic that is known from only ten or so locations in the world.  I learned about this species several years ago and, having a strong interest in endemics and conservation, I really wanted to find one.  My field work schedule seemed to span the majority of the Sand-Verbena Moth's flight period, so I never really had a fair shot at it before.  I wasn't even sure if I had a chance to find it yesterday, but I scoured the larger patches of Yellow Sand-Verbena in hopes of finding nectaring moths.

Yellow Sand-Verbena patch

Yellow Sand-Verbena close-up

As I scanned over patches of sand-verbena, I did see one moth that I thought had a chance at being my holy grail.  Unfortunately, the moth flew off and I lost track of it.  I later saw another intriguing moth that briefly nectared on sand-verbena, but it also flew off before I could get a good look.  I had already been out at the spit for a couple hours, but I decided to put in one last effort around the largest sand-verbena patches again.  It looked like I was going to strike out as I approached the last few patches when I spied a medium-sized, coppery-tan moth nectaring on sand-verbena.  This individual was very cooperative and was actively moving from flower to flower, inflorescence to inflorescence, and even patch to patch.  I took many photos, but most were rubbish.  I'm sorry this will be fairly anticlimactic because the moth is really not showy.  Try to look at this from the natural history side of the picture.  This moth is so finely adapted to the coastal dunes that it is requires Yellow Sand-Verbena for all stages of its life - without the sand-verbena there is no Sand-Verbena Moth.  I find that amazing and I felt privileged to watch this globally rare moth doing what it is highly evolved to do.

The Sand-Verbena Moth was only described in 1995 from Deception Pass State Park

Sand-Verbena Moth with its proboscis fully extended to extract nectar from its sole hostplant