2022 December 7

CHANGE OF ADDRESS:   Contributions (photographs or observations) to Invertebrate Alert should now be sent to
tatumjb352@gmail.com   and no longer to  jtatum@uvic.ca   

   Ian Cooper writes:  Here are some of this morning’s photos from Colquitz River Park in Saanich and the Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal. Not a great haul on this occasion. This was partly due to the scarcity of visible critter activity I saw, which was odd, given that it was relatively mild out. Perhaps the volume of fresh fallen leaves on the ground in Colquitz River Park was obscuring some, if not many, critters from view.  Elsewhere, recent ‘brush clearing’ apparent along the Galloping Goose trail in View Royal was another factor. Much of the previous lush green ground cover and smaller bushes along the sides of the trail had been razed to stubble near the 9 km marker, which is my normal go-to destination to scout for critters to photograph. It was distressing, frankly. I go to this site often and have an affinity for the creatures in that stretch of habitat but, for example, I couldn’t locate any of the Pimoa altioculata  spiders I’d seen and photographed in the leaf litter previously, such was the disturbance.

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  We hope it is understood that while we cannot absolutely agree on 100 percent accurate identifications of all creatures shown on this Invertebrate Alert Site, we believe that the great majority – including those on today’s posting – are correct with a high degree of probability.  We always welcome help from knowledgeable viewers – especially if you think we may have occasionally, like Homer, nodded.

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

Brown field slug  Deroceras panormitanum (Pul.:
Agriolimacidae) Ian Cooper

Long-jawed Orb Weaver Metellina sp. (Ara.: Tetragnathidae) Ian Cooper

Unidentified linyphiid spider (Ara.: Linyphiidae)  Ian Cooper

Globular springtail, probably Ptenothrix sp.

(Collembola – Symphypleona –Dicyrtomenidae)

Ian Cooper

Probably root-maggot fly, female (Dip.: Anthomyiidae)  Ian Cooper

2022 December 6

  CHANGE OF ADDRESS:   Contributions (photographs or observations) to Invertebrate Alert should now be sent to
tatumjb352@gmail.com   and no longer to  jtatum@uvic.ca   

   Aziza Cooper sends a photograph of Alucita montana from her Saanich apartment:

2022 December 5

  CHANGE OF ADDRESS:   Contributions (photographs or observations) to
Invertebrate Alert should now be sent to
tatumjb352@gmail.com   and no longer to  jtatum@uvic.ca

Jeremy Tatum writes:   Apologies to contributors for
making this necessary change; if you have recently sent a contribution in the
last few days to the old address, it will probably be OK, and there is no need
to re-send it, but the old address will become invalid in the very near
future.  A number of details (way beyond my computer expertise) had to be attended to in order to make the change, and I would like to thank the staff at the UVic Help Desk and the VNHS Webmaster Adam Taylor for their help in making the change.

   Jochen Möhr sends a photograph of a Winter Moth from Metchosin.

Winter Moth Operophtera brumata (Lep.:Geometridae)
Jochen Möhr

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