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.

2022 December 27

2022 December 27

 

   Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:  After a moist night with temperatures around
+9 degrees C, this morning a dozen Operophtera near the light, some dead in the rain, some out of reach of the tripod-mounted camera.  Here are pictures of some of them.

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  The question is:  Are they European Winter Moths O. brumata, or our native Western Winter Moths O. occidentalis?   In my (not infallible!) judgement, two are almost certainly brumata, two are almost certainly occidentalis, and I’m not sure of the other two.

 

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Operophtera brumata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

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Operophtera brumata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

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Operophtera brumata/occidentalis? (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

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Operophtera brumata/occidentalis? (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

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Operophtera occidentalis (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

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Operophtera occidentalis (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr