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.

2024 November 1 evening

2024 November 1 evening

Jeremy Tatum shows a photograph of a Juniper Carpet moth from his Saanich apartment building this morning.

 

Juniper Carpet Thera juniperata  Jeremy Tatum

 

Here is a close-up of the face of the caterpillar of Noctua comes.  Compare with that of N. pronuba shown on October 23 evening, and reproduced again here.

 

Lesser Yellow Underwing  Noctua comes (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Large Yellow Underwing  Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Ian Cooper

2024 November 1 morning

2024 November 1 morning

Ian Cooper writes:  Here are six more pre-dawn pictures taken on October 31  at *Colquitz River Park and the #Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal.

 

*Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctudae)  Ian Cooper

Yellow-bordered Taildropper Prophysaon foliolatum (Pul.: Anadeniidae)  Ian Cooper

*Arion hortensis (Pul.: Arionidae)  Ian Cooper

 

#Orb weaver, Metellina sp. (possibly M. curtisi) (Ara.: Tetragnathidae)  Ian Cooper

*Harvestmen – Oligolophus tridens  (Opiliones: Phalangiidae)  Ian Cooper

 

*Female European Earwig  Forficula auricularia  (Derm.: Forficulidae)  Ian Cooper

   Compare the shape of the cerci with those of the male shown on October 25 morning

2024 October 31 morning

2024 October 31 morning

Jeremy Tatum writes:  Here is a lateral view of the (by now full grown) caterpillar shown on October 25.  How would you like to find this one in your salad?

 

Lesser Yellow Underwing Noctua comes  (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jeremy Tatum

 

 

Here are some creatures photographed last night at Colquitz River Park, circa 3 – 4 a.m. by Ian Cooper:

 

Winter Moth Operophtera brumata  (Lep.: Geometridae)   Ian Cooper

Bark Louse Probably Graphopsocus cruciatus (Psoc.: Stenopsocidae)   Ian Cooper

Female linyphiine spider (Ara.:  Linyphiidae – Linyphiinae)   Ian Cooper

Woodlouse Hunter Spider  Dysdera crocata  (Ara.: Dysderidae)   Ian Cooper

Common Chrysalis Snail  Lauria cylindracea – (Pul.: Lauriidae)   Ian Cooper

Camel Cricket  Pristoceuthophilus celatus (Orth.: Rhaphidophoridae)   Ian Cooper

2024 October 30 evening

2024 October 30 evening

More pictures from Ian Cooper’s Oct 28 & 29 photo shoots.

European Sowbug – Oniscus asellus (Isopoda: Oniscidae)  Ian Cooper

 

Common Rough Woodlouse  Porcellio scaber (Isopoda: Porcellionidae)  Ian Cooper
plus unknown fly

  

Globose springtail, Dicyrtomina ornata f. saundersi (Collembola – Symphypleona – Dicyrtomidae)
Ian Cooper

 

Springtail – Orchesella villosa (Coll.: Orchesellidae)  Ian Cooper

 

Unidentified male linyphiine spider  (Ara.: Linyphiidae – Linyphiinae)

 

Yellow-bordered Taildropper Prophysaon foliolatum (Pul.: Anadeniidae)

2024 October 30 morning

2024 October 30 morning

More pictures from Ian Cooper’s Oct 28 & 29 photo shoots.
We start with a difficult bug, which Charlene Wood managed to track down to tribal level.  She writes:  “This is a mirid – in the Dicyphini tribe. Elongate with base of scutellum exposed. ”   While we cannot be certain beyond this, it seems probable that this is Dicyphus hesperus.

 

Probably Dicyphus hesperus (Hem.: Miridae – Bryocorinae – Dicyphini)  Ian Cooper

Leptobunus parvulus (Opiliones: Phalangiidae)   Ian Cooper

Araneus diadematus (Ara.: Araneidae) Ian Cooper

 

Common Rough Woodlouse  Porcellio scaber (Isopoda: Porcellionidae)
and Grey Field Slug  Deroceras reticulatum (Pul.: Agriolimacidae)
Ian Cooper

Banana slug  Ariolimax columbianus (Pul.: Arionidae)   Ian Cooper

Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)   Ian Cooper