2020 October 29 afternoon

   Jochen Möhr’s moths in Metchosin this morning:

1 Drepanulatrix sp.

2 Epirrita autumnata 

Epirrita autumnata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

2020 October 29 morning

   Ian Cooper sends photographs of two spiders from Colquitz River Park.   These are small spiders, of which there are many species that are difficult to distinguish and often need microscopic examination, so I have put a “probable” on the labels.  Dr Bennett comments: I ‘ll go out on a limb and say that the first is a female Linyphantes (a linyphiid) – there are  bunch of west coast species and all very hard to tell apart.  The other one might be a Metellina but I’m unsure. Would need to see the specimen to tell for sure.

Female probable Linyphantes sp. (Ara.: Linyphiidae)  Ian Cooper

Probably Metellina segmentata (Ara.: Tetragnathidae)  Ian Cooper

Probably Metellina segmentata (Ara.: Tetragnathidae)  Ian Cooper

   Ian also sends another close-up photograph of the slug Limax maximus.  We believe the longitudinal line on top of the head may be distinctive of this species.

Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)  Ian Cooper

   Jochen Möhr reports just four Epirrita autumnata from his house in Metchosin yesterday morning.

2020 October 27

Jochen Möhr’s moths and caddisflies from Metchosin this morning:

2 Epirrita autumnata 

2 Halesochila taylori

and a beautifully marked moth, identified by Libby Avis as Mythimna unipuncta.

It is indeed a beautifully marked moth, with English names White-speck Moth or American Waiscot, but whose caterpillar in North America is the notorious armyworm.  Libby writes from Port Alberni:  There was a large caterpillar outbreak in the Alberni Valley in 2017. Some farmers were badly affected, but the population appears to have died down considerably since then. We’ve seen four adults in the last two weeks and only three others earlier in the summer.

See photograph of caterpillar and account of a massive oujtbreak in Courtenay in the 2017 September 10 posting of Invertebrate Alert.   (Currently page 210)

Mythimna unipuncta (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jochen Moehr

2020 October 26

   Ian Cooper sends a photograph of a more typical Limax maximus than the dark specimen shown in yesterday’s posting.  Both from Colquitz River Park October 16. The white dots on the tail are not part of the slug.  They are probably tiny droplets of moisture reflecting the illumination.

Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)  Ian Cooper

   Since the variation in colour of this species has caused us some trouble in identification, we are thinking that maybe the short longitudnal line (dark in the middle, pale on either side) along the back of the head of this slug may be characteristic (and hence useful for the identification) of Limax maximus:

Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)  Ian Cooper

    Ian photographed this beetle yesterday at Colquitz River Park.  In a similar vein, the tiny yellow dagger mark starting at the scutellum and extending on to the pronotum may be a characteristic mark (among others!) of Plectrura spinicauda:

Plectrura spinicauda (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Ian Cooper

Plectrura spinicauda (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Ian Cooper

   Ian writes:  This delicate fly was minute! Perhaps 4 mm and almost translucent. It showed up as I was gently moving leaf litter aside in hopes of spotting critters among the detritus.

Unidentified (Diptera – Nematocera)   Ian Cooper

Springtail  Orchesella villosa (Coll.: Orchesellidae) Ian Cooper

   Ian  managed to get a video of the springtail crossing a rock:   https://tinyurl.com/y5nppzsc

The fly below is quite tiny.  Probably Drosophilidae, known these days as “vinegar flies”.

Unidentified (Dip.: probably Drosophilidae)   Ian Cooper

2020 October 25

   Jeff Gaskin reported a Cabbage White from Maddock Avenue, and Kirsten Mills saw one at Panama Flats, both on October 22.

Another collection of miscellaneous animals from Colquitz River Park photographed October 16-22 by Ian Cooper:

Dark-bodied Glass Snail Oxychilus draparnaudi (Pul.: Daubebariidae) Ian Cooper

Grey Field Slug Deroceras reticulatum (Pul.: Agriolimacidae)  Ian Cooper

   The next one is a very dark slug – darker than is usual for Limax maximus.   But we can’t think of anything better, so that’s probably what it is.  If anyone thinks we are wrong, please do let us know.   It has been given a variety of English names:  Leopard Slug, Giant Garden Slug, Great Grey Slug, etc.

Probably Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)   Ian Cooper

   The woodlouse below is Porcellio certainly; almost certainly P. scaber.

Porcellio scaber (Isopoda: Porcellionidae)  Ian Cooper

   Quick! –  What is the insect below?   Well, of course you all knew that it’s not an insect at all, but it is a springtail of the Family Entomobryidae.

Orchesella villosa (Coll.: Orchesellidae)  Ian Cooper