Invertebrate Alert – Page 2 – Victoria Natural History Society

2025 January 16 evening

2025 January 16 evening

Here are some pictures taken by Ian Cooper at Colquitz River Park before dawn on January 13.

Globular springtail Ptenothrix sp. (Coll.: Dicyrtomidae) Ian Cooper

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

VERY small Harvestman Protolophus sp. (Opiliones: Protolophidae) Ian Cooper

Note: This tiny harvestman was minute! Less than 1 cm, including the radius of its legs. It was almost indiscernible from the rockface it was paused on.

Linyphiid spider, possibly Neriene sp. (Ara.: Linyphiidae) Ian Cooper

Nematoceran fly (Dip.: Tipulidae or Trichoceridae) Ian Cooper

Common Chrysalis Snail Lauria cylindracea (Pul.: Lauriidae) Ian Cooper

Dr Heather Proctor’s “best guess” [which , writes Jeremy Tatum, doubtless means pretty certain!] is that the mites in the photograph are earth mites in the Family Penthaleidae.

2025 January 16 morning

2025 January 16 morning

No Invertebrate Alerts were posted on January 14, 15.

Here are some photographs from Ian Cooper’s January 13 photoshoot, taken near the 9 km observation area in View Royal.

Dusky Arion Arion subfuscus (Pul.: Arionidae) Ian Cooper

Folding Door Spider Antrodiaetus pacificus (Ara.: Mygalomorphae) Ian Cooper

Forest Spider Pimoa altioculata (Ara: Pimoidae) Ian Cooper

Elongate-bodied springtail Tomocerus sp. (Coll.: Tomoceridae) Ian Cooper

Fungus Gnat (Dip.: Mycetophilidae) Ian Cooper

Necrophilus hydrophiloides (Col.: Agyrtidae) Ian Cooper

2025 January 13

2025 January 13

No Invertebrate Alert was posted on January 12.

Jeremy Tatum writes: A few days ago (see January 7) I got a surprise by finding a nice noctuid moth – a Girdler Moth Dargida procincta. Libby Avis writes that: “Powell and Opler say the adults fly most of the year in the US, except for December and most of January, so that one may be less surprising given the mild winter.” Yesterday, continues Jeremy, I got another surprise of an unexpected winter noctuid. The handsome moth shown below emerged from a pupa that I had reared from caterpillar last year. Thanks to Libby for identifying it as a Great Brocade Eurois occulta. This is even less likely to be seen as an adult in winter than a Girdler Moth. Libby has never seen an adult before June, and Bug Guide says: “One generation per year; overwintering larvae become active in April, feeding until pupation occurs in June or July; adults emerge and lay eggs in late summer; eggs hatch in fall, and partially-grown larva overwinters.”

However, South, writing in 1907, says: It feeds in the autumn…. Usually it hibernates when small, but when kept indoors and fairly warm it can be induced to complete growth, and attain the moth state in October or later, sometimes even earlier.

So, although I didn’t knowingly “induce” it, it must have pupated early in the fall, instead of hibernating as a caterpillar as it should have done. I show the moth below. The caterpillar is shown on October 31, where I had originally mislabelled it as a Lesser Yellow Underwing Noctua comes.

Great Brocade Eurois occulta (Lep.: Noctuidae) Jeremy Tatum

2025 January 11

2025 January 11

Here’s a selection of creatures photographed by Ian Cooper in View Royal last night.

Soldier beetle larva (Col.: Cantharidae) Ian Cooper

Jeremy Tatum writes: This could easily be mistaken for a moth caterpillar. Indeed, I did so myself once, and would probably have done so again if Ian hadn’t pointed out that this is a soldier beetle grub.

Possibly a juvenile Cybaeus sp. (Ara.: Cybaeidae) Ian Cooper