2024 October 19 evening

  A week or two ago, Ian Cooper found a tiny (second instar?) noctuid caterpillar and Jeremy Tatum found an equally tiny geometrid caterpillar.  As they gradually grow larger (now mid-grown), writes Jeremy Tatum, I am beginning to guess what they are.  By now, I am fairly sure of both – as labelled below – though we will probably have to wait until the adult moths emerge next year until we are certain.  I have been offering them a variety of foodplants, but have never been sure what they have actually been eating.  Only today did I discover that the noctuid seems to prefer Rumex crispus to other offerings – which bolsters my guess that it is Noctua comes.  The geometrid was found feeding on the flowers of Polygonum aviculare – a most unlikely foodplant for what I nevertheless think the caterpillar is – Neoalcis californiaria.

Lesser Yellow Underwing  Noctua comes  (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jeremy Tatum

Lesser Yellow Underwing  Noctua comes  (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jeremy Tatum

Neoalcis californiaria  (Lep.: Geometridae)   Jeremy Tatum

2024 October 19 morning

Ian Cooper sends photographs of creatures spotted in Colquitz River Park before dawn on Oct 17 2024.
We thank Dr Robb Bennett for help with the spider identification.

Cybaeus sp. (probably signifer, possibly reticulatus)  (Ara.: Cybaeidae)     Ian Cooper

Probably Long-jawed Orb Weaver spider, Metellina sp. (Ara.: Tetragnathidae)   Ian Cooper
Ian writes:  saw several of these, some actively building their webs in the vegetation by the trail.

Slug, Deroceras invadens (Pul.: Agriolimacidae)   Ian Cooper

Ian provides the following notes abstracted from from iNaturalist concerning the name and identification of this slug.

Deroceras invadens – Until 2011, this widely distributed species was known as Deroceras panormitanum, and earlier as Deroceras caruanae or Agriolimax caruanae, but Reise et al. (2011)[2] showed that these names refer to a distinct species of similar external appearance known at that time only from Sicily and Malta. Consequently, although the more widespread species was already well known, it then had to be redescribed under the new name of D. invadens. Genetic evidence has indicated that D. invadens is native in southern Italy.

Springtail, Orchesella villosa (Coll.: Orchesellidae)   Ian Cooper

Common Pill Bug  Armadillidium vulgare – (Isopoda:  Armidillidiidae)   Ian Cooper

Large Yellow Underwing  Noctua pronuba  (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Ian Cooper

2024 October 18

   Jeremy Tatum sends a photograph of the first Winter Moth that he has seen this year.  Winter Moths don’t generally appear before November.  Since 2010, Invertebrate Alert has only four October records, the earliest being October 12.

Winter Moth Operophtera brumata  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

2024 October 17 evening  

   Ian Cooper photographed this harvestman on Monday night, October 14 2024, by the 9 km marker in View Royal.  We thank Dr Philip Bragg for confirming Ian’s species identification.

Leptobunus parvulus (Opiliones: Phalangiidae)   Ian Cooper

Gordon Hart writes:   On a day trip to Mayne Island yesterday (Wednesday October 16), we saw no butterflies, but we did see a couple of large Darners and a lively black cricket, photo attached.  It appears to be a female with a long ovipositor . The wings look vestigial. It ran quickly across a gravel path to hide in the grass.

Fall Field Cricket Gryllus pennsylvanicus  (Orth.: Gryllidae)  Gordon Hart

2024 October 17

No Invertebrate Alert was issued on October 16.

There were still a few Cabbage Whites flying yesterday.  Jeff Gaskin reported at least four in the Burnside/Gorge community;  Aziza Cooper saw one at Bear Hill Road; and Jeremy Tatum saw one flying over Poplar Avenue, near Mount Tolmie.

Aziza photographed this dragonfly yesterday along Bear Hill Road.

Paddle-tailed Darner  Aeshna palmata  (Odo.: Aeshnidae)  Aziza Cooper

Here is a selection of photographs obtained by Ian Cooper by the Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal on the evening of Oct 14 2024.

First is a linyphiine spider.  This is a large group, whose individual species are very difficult to determine from photographs without close examination of a specimen.  However, Dr Robb Bennett writes, cautiously:  I THINK the female  linyphiine MAY be a Microlinyphia.  M mandibulata is the most common.

Linyphiine spider. Just possibly Microlinyphia  (Ara.:  Linyphiidae –  Linyphiinae)  Ian Cooper

Folding-door spider – Antrodiaetus pacificus (Ara. –  Myg.:   Antrodiaetidae)  Ian Cooper

Araneus diadematus  (Ara.: Araneidae)  Ian Cooper

Callobius pictus (Ara.: Amaurobiidae)   Ian Cooper

Ariolimax columbianus  (Pul.:  Arionidae)  Ian Cooper

Limax maximus  (Pul.: Limacidae)  Ian Cooper

Pterostichus sp.  (Col.: Carabidae)   Ian Cooper

 Common Rough Woodlouse – Porcellio scaber (Isopoda: Porcellionidae)   Ian Cooper

Ian photographed this caterpillar last night at Colquitz River Park:

Noctua pronuba  (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Ian Cooper