2018 February 26

   Ian Cruickshank sends a photograph of a nest of young Silver-spotted Tiger Moth caterpillars overwintering on a Douglas Fir at Rocky Point.  Some of these caterpillars may look a little out of sorts, but they are not.  When the weather warms up a little, as I am told it will do in a few days, they will have a skin-change (ecdysis) and they will look very healthy in their new attire.

Silver-spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa argentata (Lep.: Erebidae – Arctiinae)

Ian Cruickshank

2018 February 24

   Best to stay indoors in this weather.  We can still see a few commensal invertebrates.  Here’s a Common Firebrat  from my apartment building.  If you compare this one with the Grey Firebrat shown on January 26, you can easily see that they are separate species, not just minor colour variations of one species.  The Grey Firebrat has a longer, more slender abdomen and it is a more streamlined creature than the Common Firebrat.  The abdomen of the Common Firebrat is relatively quite short.

Common Firebrat Thermobia domestica (Thysanura:  Lepismatidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2014 February 22

   Jeremy Tatum writes:   Here’s another Tineola bisselliella  (clothes moth!) from my Saanich apartment building.  Recognized by its orange thorax. Not much else around in these cold days!

Tineola bisselliella (Lep.: Tineidae) Jeremy Tatum

2018 February 21

   Over the last couple of years we have accumulated a number of photographs by myself and by Annie Pang of various unidentified tortricid moths which were never posted on Invert Alert.  Thanks to Scott Gilmore, we have now been able to contact Dr Jason Dombroskie, tortricid expert at Cornell University, who has very kindly identified them for us.  Although the photographs below are not strictly “alerts”, because they were taken some time ago and not strictly eligible for an Invert Alert posting, I show them below anyway – one of the privileges of being Moderator!

Acleris forsskaleana (Lep. Tortricidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Acleris rhombana (Lep.: Tortricidae)   Jeremy Tatum

Acleris variegana (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Carcina quercana (Lep.: Tortricidae) Jeremy Tatum

Clepsis spectrana (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Clepsis spectrana (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Tortricid moth (Lep.: Tortricidae – Grapholitini) Anne Pang

Tortricid moth (Lep.: Tortricidae – Grapholitini) Anne Pang

Hedya ?nubiferana (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Hedya ?nubiferana (Lep.:  Tortricidae)   Jeremy Tatum

Olethreutes ?appendiceum (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Jeremy Tatum

Olethreutes electrofuscum (Lep.: Tortricidae) Annie Pang

2019 February 20

   The photograph below was obtained by Gordon Hart at Royal Bay Beach Park, Metchosin, on February 19.  Although we cannot identify the unhappy caterpillar – other than at family level, Noctuidae – it serves as a reminder that caterpillars are to be found at this season, even if it takes the sharp eyes of a pipit to find one.  The caterpillar is in its penultimate instar and, before the unfortunate incident, it was planning to undergo ecdysis soon – as can be seen by the small old head capsule.

Unidentified caterpillar (Lep.: Noctuidae),  and

American Pipit Anthus rubescens (Pas.: Motacillidae)

Gordon Hart