INVERTEBRATE ALERT
This blog provides an informal forum for terrestrial invertebrate watchers to post recent sightings of interesting observations in the southern Vancouver Island region. Please send your sightings by email to Jeremy Tatum (tatumjb352@gmail.com). Be sure to include your name, phone number, the species name (common or scientific) of the invertebrate you saw, location, date, and number of individuals. If you have a photograph you are willing to share, please send it along. Click on the title above for an index of past sightings.The index is updated most days.

2023 October 19

2023 October 19

  There are still a (very) few Cabbage Whites around.   Wendy and Gerry Ansell report one from Martindale this afternoon, and Jeff Gaskin found one in the Burnside/Gorge neighbourhood.

Jochen Möhr sends photographs of moths from Metchosin.  We start with photographs of two thorn moths, Tetracis sp.  The more photographs I see of Tetracis pallulata/jubararia, writes Jeremy Tatum, the less confident I am in identifying them.  I label each of them “probably” – but they could both be wrong!

Tetracis (probably jubararia)  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Tetracis (probably pallulata)  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Thera juniperata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Thera juniperata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

 

Val George reports a Tetracis from the Goldstream Nature House, October 18, unfortunately out of camera range.  He did manage, however, to photograph an Autumnal Moth there:

Epirrata autumnata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Val George

 

2023 October 18

2023 October 18

   Jeff Gaskin writes that he and Kirsten Mills have been seeing the occasional Cabbage White on most days, including today, when there was one in the Burnside/Gorge neighbourhood.  Kirsten also saw a possible Vanessa sp. on October 16, so it is still worthwhile to keep a look-out for butterflies.

2023 October 17

2023 October 17

Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin that he had two Tetracis at his home last night – one more heavily spotted than the other, so possibly one was T. jubararia and the other T. pallulata – but unfortunately both out of camera reach.  He did, however. manage to photograph the moth below – a species shown only a very few times previously on this site.

Philedia punctomacularia (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

 

2023 October 16

2023 October 16

   Jochen Möhr sends the following photographs from Metchosin this morning:

Epirrita autumnata (Lep.:Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Tetracis (probably pallulata) (Lep.: Geometridae  Johen Möhr

Thera juniperata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr


Udea profundalis (Lep.: Crambidae)  Jochen Möhr

2023 October 15

2023 October 15

   Although this has been a good year for West Coast Lady, we haven’t yet received any reports this year for American Lady.  I say “yet” because there is still time.  However, one turned up yesterday in the Scilly Islands, off the SW coast of England.

 

Jochen Möhr found six different moth species at his Metchosin home this morning.  We thank Libby Avis for her great help with the identifications.   The first one is a Tetracis pallulata or T. jubararia.  Libby cautions us to be wary against too confident identification of these two species.  For what it’s worth, Jeremy Tatum thinks that, for the heavily speckled and fairly dark specimen below, pallulata may be more likely than jubararia – but this is by no means certain.

Tetracis pallulata /jubararia   (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

 

Autumnal Moth  Epirrita autumnata  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

 

Acleris rhombana (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Jochen Möhr

 

Udea profundalis  (Lep.: Crambidae)  Jochen Möhr

 

Juniper Carpet Thera juniperata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

 

Xanthorhoe defensaria  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

 

Jochen also sends an earlier and hitherto unlabelled photograph from his files – now identified as Brown House  Moth.

Hofmannophila pseudospretella (Lep.: Oecophoridae)  Jochen Möhr