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 April 20

2023 April 20

Although a few butterflies were reported in March, April so far has been a disaster for
butterflies, with only five individual butterflies reported to Invertebrate Alert so far this month.  Today has been cold, wet and windy, with more of the same forecast for the next few days.   During this period of butterfly scarcity, we are indebted to Ian Cooper for giving us some excellent photographs of little-seen invertebrate creatures with which many of us are not at all familiar, if at all.  Here are some of them from last night.   * Colquitz River Park.   #Galloping Goose Trail, View Royal.

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

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  • #Flat-backed Millepede – Scytonotus sp.(Diplopoda:  Polydesmidae)
       Ian Cooper 
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*Grey Field Slug – Deroceras reticulatum (Pul.: Agriolimacidae)

   Ian Cooper 

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Probably Oligolophus tridens  (Opi.: Phalangiidae – Oligolophinae) 

  Ian Cooper 

2023 April 19

2023 April 19

   Ian Cooper writes:   Here are a selection of the pictures taken yesterday, April 18, or this morning, April 19, at *Colquitz River Park in Saanich and the #Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal.

 

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*Linyphiid spider (Ara.: Linyphiidae)  Ian Cooper

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*Common Striped Woodlouse – Philoscia muscorum (Isopoda: Oniscidae)  Ian Cooper

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#Male Non-biting Midge (Dip.: Chironomidae)  Ian Cooper

 

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#Female Non-biting Midge (Dip.: Chironomidae)  Ian Cooper

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#Grey Field Slug – Deroceras reticulatum (Pul.: Agriolimacidae)

Ian Cooper

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 #Snout mite  (Acari:  Bdellidae)   Ian Cooper

2023 April 18

2023 April 18

 

   Ian Cooper writes:  I went out for a pre-dawn bike ride early this morning (April 18) to see what creatures I might spot at Colquitz River Park (*) in Saanich and the Galloping Goose Trail (#) in View Royal, and I managed to get a few decent pictures.  It rained on the ride back, but luckily I’d brought rain gear with me. Also included is a daytime photo of a beetle spotted crawling along the new Dallas Waterfront Trail near Camas Circle on April 5.

 

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* Clubiona lutescens (Ara.: Clubionidae)   Ian Cooper

 

 

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*Male probably  Neriene sp. ( Ara.: Linyphiidae)  Ian Cooper

 

 

 

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*Female probably  Neriene sp. ( Ara.: Linyphiidae)  Ian Cooper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ground beetle Carabus nemoralis (Col.: Carabidae)  Ian Cooper

 

 

 

 

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#Deroceras panormitanum (Pul.: Agriolimacidae)  Ian Cooper

 

 

 

 

2023 April 17

2023 April 17

 

   Jeremy Tatum shows a photograph of a bibionid fly from Saanich today.  Bibionids flies are sometimes rather inappropriately called March flies, although they typically fly in late April, near to St Mark’s Day, April 25, and the more appropriate name is St Mark’s Fly.  The males of many species of flies have eyes that are larger than the eyes of the females. This is particularly marked in the bibionids.  The individual below is a female – which is also indicated by its dark wings.  The species is probably Bibio xanthopus, although out of caution I shall label it just as a bibionid.

 

 

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Female bibionid fly  (Dip.: Bibionidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2023 April 16 morning

2023 April 16 morning

 

   Jochen Möhr sends photographs of upper- and undersides of two moths at his Metchosin house late last evening.

 

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Hypena californica  (Lep.: Erebidae – Hypeninae)  Jochen Möhr

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Hypena californica  (Lep.: Erebidae – Hypeninae)  Jochen Möhr

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Triphosa haesitata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

 

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Triphosa haesitata  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   The caterpillars of these moths are both highly specialized in their foodplants.   H. californica feeds on Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica, and T. haesitata feeds on Cascara Frangula purshiana.