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.

November 22

2106 November 22

 

   One would think that the lepidoptera season was just about over – but not a bit of it.  Here is a group of moth ova that Rosemary Jorna found yesterday, November 21, on Hairy Manzanita on Flower Ridge in the Sooke Hills.  It looks as though two of them have hatched recently – maybe the rest will follow soon.

 

Moth ova (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Rosemary Jorna

November 18

2016 November 18

 

   Mike Yip sends a photograph of a caterpillar of a Large Yellow Underwing moth from Neck Point, Nanaimo, November 18.  Just to the left of the caterpillar’s head, viewers may see a small white spot, which I believe may be an aleyrodid bug.  Viewers may also notice a Rock Wren in the photograph.

 

Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae) 

Rock Wren Salpinctes obsoletus (Pas.: Troglodytidae)

Mike Yip

November 15

2016 November 15

 

   Jeremy Tatum writes:   The Cabbage White  caterpillar shown on November 12 pupated on November 14.  The chrysalis is shown below.  It is quite a different colour from the one shown on November 9.

 Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae)  Jeremy Tatum

November 14

2016 November 14

 

   Morgan Davies sends a picture of a beetle that was found during the course of ecological restoration of Ammophila grass on Sidney Island on November 6.  Thanks to Scott Gilmore for the identification.

 

Northern Carrion Beetle Thanatophilus lapponicus (Col.: Silphidae) Morgan Davies

November 12

2016 November 12

 

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  It seems that the caterpillar season isn’t quite over yet.  Yesterday, November 11, I found another Cabbage White caterpillar on Charlock near the MacIntyre reservoir, Island View Road.

 

Cabbage White Pieris rapae (Lep.: Pieridae)  Jeremy Tatum

   And there are interesting moths around, too.  Rebecca Reader-Lee writes:  Here is a moth from last night (November 11) in the North Highlands.

 

Autumnal Moth  Epirrita autumnata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Rebecca Reader-Lee