2022 December 1

   Bruce Whittington has forwarded, from a friend in Sooke, a photograph of the object below.  It is a cocoon of the Ceanothus Silk Moth Hyalophora euryalus.

Hyalophora euryalus (Lep.: Saturniidae)

2022 November 29

    Ron Flower sends a picture of a bug that he found when he was cleaning out his bird-houses:

Brochymena (probably affinis) (Hem.: Pentatomidae)  Ron Flower

   Cheryl Hoyle sends photographs of a Winter  Moth from View Royal:

Winter Moth Operophtera brumata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Cheryl Hoyle

Winter Moth Operophtera brumata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Cheryl Hoyle

   Val George sends a photograph of a moth from his Oak Bay house, November 27

Erannis defoliaria/vancouverensis (Lep.: Geometridae)    Val George

2022 November 27

   Technical note: Contributors may have noticed that for a long time their photographs were being reproduced on Invert Alert at rather a small size.  In most cases this was a result of a computer problem that I could not overcome.  I seem to have partially solved the problem now, and most photographs will be shown at a decent size. The only problem now is that I cannot see the posting on my computer before I press the Send button, and I have to hope for the best.

  Today: More middle-of-the-night denizens of the Galloping Goose trail in View Royal, photographed by Ian Cooper in the early morning hours of November 25.

Harvestman (Opiliones)  Ian Cooper

Barklouse  Ectopsocus californicus  ( Psocodea –  Ectopsocidae) Ian Cooper

Damsel Bug (Hem.: Nabidae) Ian Cooper

Linyphiid spider, possibly Neriene sp. (Ara.: Linyphiidae)  Ian Cooper

2022 November 26

     Ian Cooper sends more photographs from his middle-of-the night session yesterday morning.  These are four different identified species of woodlice, and two flies, which we despair of identifying.

European Sowbug  Oniscus asellus (Isopoda: Oniscidae) Ian Cooper

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

Common striped woodlouse  Philoscia muscorum (Isopoda: Oniscidae) Ian Cooper

Common Pill Bug  Armadillidium vulgare (Isopoda: Armadillidiidae)  Ian Cooper

Unidentified fly (Diptera – Nematocera)  Ian Cooper

Unidentified fly (Diptera)  Ian Cooper

2022 November 25

    Ian Cooper writes:  I went on a very productive, multi-hour photoshoot overnight (November 25 morning) at Colquitz River Park in Saanich and the Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal. Recent precipitation and mild weather seem to have brought many critters out of the woodwork and leaf litter, some of which I’d not seen in many months. The photo-shoot ended only because it started to rain around 6:00 a.m. in View Royal. Luckily, I had rain gear on, as it rained continuously on the 40-minute ride back to James Bay.

The identifications below are the best that Ian and Jeremy Tatum can come up with.  We make no claim to be experts, but we have given them all some thought and we believe they are all “probably or better” correct.   If anyone disagrees, or can go further, do please let us know.

Linyphiid spider (Ara.: Linyphiidae)  Ian Cooper

Callobius pictus (Ara.: Amaurobiidae) Ian Cooper

Robust Lancetooth Snail – Haplotrema vancouverense (Pul.: Haplotrematidae) Ian Cooper

Emmelina monodactyla (Lep.: Pterophoridae)  Ian Cooper

Scaphinotis angusticollis (Col.: Carabidae)  Ian Cooper

Centipede (Class Chilopoda. Order possibly Lithobiomorpha)  Ian Cooper

The same centipede is shown below, taking an interest in a Porcellio woodlouse for possible dinner

Centipede (Class Chilopoda. Order possibly Lithobiomorpha)  Ian Cooper

Flat-backed Millepede Scytonotus sp. (Class Diplopoda,  Order Polydesmida:  Polydesmidae)

Ian Cooper

  Thanks to Sam McNally for the millepede identification.