Diario del proyecto Lepidoptera of British Columbia

To date, survey work has led to the documentation of 2901 species in the province. This works out to about 53% of the Lepidoptera species known in Canada including 71 families of Lepidopterans.

Numerous additions have been made since Pohl et al.'s 2018 "Annotated checklist of the moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Canada and Alaska." I spent the new year year scouring data from private and public collections, GBIF, BOLD, UASM and iNaturalist to update the list. Special thanks to all the volunteer efforts of the Lepidoptera enthusiasts who continue to make valuable contributions to our knowledge of species diversity across the Canada.

To learn more about this project or to see the draft species list visit: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379539901_Lepidoptera_of_British_Columbia

If there are species missing or any questions about the list feel free to message me. I'm happy to add or adjust the list as new information comes available.

"A new western azure species, Celastrina asheri, is described from the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada. A lectotype is designated for Lycaena pseudargiolus var. nigrescens Fletcher, 1903 to secure the identity of that name. C. asheri broadly overlaps with the northeastern range of C. echo (W. H. Edwards, 1864) but is usually very distinct from that species. C. lucia (W. Kirby, 1837) is narrowly sympatric with C. asheri in British Columbia, the southwest corner of Alberta and along the Rocky Mountains in Montana. As far as is known, C. asheri uses only red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) and possibly oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor) as larval foodplants, while C. echo and C. lucia use a wide variety of larval foodplants. A lack of past research and confusion as a “form” of C. echo obscured the identity of C. asheri."

https://archive.org/details/t-report-10-3-celastrina-asheri

"This list documents 2832 Lepidoptera species reported for the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is based on examination of the major public insect collections in the province and the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Ottawa, Ontario. Records from relevant literature sources and online databases have also been examined and reliable ones have been included. The entry for each species includes the scientific name, the author and year of publication of the original description, and occurrence status. Taxonomic, distributional and biological notes are provided for selected species, and 134 species are flagged as introduced from outside North America. An additional 27 species which probably occur in British Columbia are included in the list. A list of 322 species erroneously reported from British Columbia in previous works is provided. Introductory sections provide an overview of the order Lepidoptera, review the province’s ecozones, and discuss the history of lepidopterology in British Columbia and its current state of knowledge. Each of the 70 families occurring in the province is briefly reviewed, along with information on its distinguishing features, general appearance and biology and diversity. An index of higher taxonomic names, genera, species, and common names is included." Pohl et al. 2015.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283619363_Checklist_of_the_Lepidoptera_of_British_Columbia_Canada