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.

April 30

2017 April 30

 

   Thomas Barbin made some interesting observations in the Highlands on April 28, of a pair of jumping spiders “not wasting any time” as Mike Yip would have delicately put it.  And the female was multitasking – eating a third jumping spider at the same time as enjoying the company of the male.  Here is a photograph of one of the spiders, kindly identified by Catherine Scott.

 

 Jumping spider Evarcha proszynskii (Ara.: Salticidae) Thomas Barbin

 

Ken Vaughan photographed a few insects in the wind today.   The first is a bee fly.  We don’t know whether it is the European Bombylius major or the native B. aureus.  If anyone can help us with this, please do get in touch.  jtatum at uvic dot ca

 

Bee fly Bombylius major/aureus (Dip.: Bombyliidae)  Ken Vaughan

Honey Bee Apis mellifera (Hym.: Apidae)  Ken Vaughan

Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae)   Ken Vaughan

 

Val George sends a photograph of the underside of a California Tortoiseshell that was near the Observatory this afternoon, April 30.  The only other butterflies were two Sara Orangetips.

 

 

California Tortoiseshell  Nymphalis californica (Lep.: Nymphalidae)  Val George