2021 March 20

   More creatures from Ian Cooper:

Male sheetweb spider (Ara.: Linyphiidae)  Ian Cooper

Next:  Two springtails from different Families, or perhaps different Orders

Left: Orchesella villosa (Coll.: Orchesellidae)

Right: Elongate-bodied springtail, Tomocerus sp. (Coll.:  Entomobryomorpha – Tomoceridae)

Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber (Isopoda: Porcellionidae) Ian Cooper

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

 Banana slug – Ariolimax columbianus (Pul.: Arionidae) Ian Cooper

Banded Garden Snail – Cepaea nemoralis (Pul.: Helicidae) Ian Cooper

Banded Garden Snail – Cepaea nemoralis (Pul.: Helicidae) Ian Cooper

   …and here’s another view of yesterday’s harvestman at dinner.  Dr Philip Bragg writes:  This species has been recorded eating dipteran larvae before, as well as collembola, aphids, lepidopteran larvae, ants, isopods, small snail and bird droppings.

Probably Protolophus agrestis (Opi.: Phalangiidae) Ian Cooper

2021 March 19

   More photographs by Ian Cooper from Colquitz River Park and the Galloping Goose Trail in View Royal yesterday morning, March 18.  We start off with an extraordinary wingless hymenopteran kindly identified for us by Claudia Copley as Polyaulon canadensis.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  I know nothing about the natural history of this unusual insect, although it is classified in the Family Ichneumonidae, most (all?) of whose members are parasitoidal on other invertebrates.

Polyaulon canadensis (Hym.: Ichneumonidae)   Ian Cooper

Polyaulon canadensis (Hym.: Ichneumonidae)   Ian Cooper

   Ian writes:  I finally got to see the mature resident trapdoor spider of the large burrow entrance spotted some days ago that I was so excited about.

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

Possibly Neriene sp. (Ara.: Linyphiidae) Ian Cooper

Harvestman probably Protolophus sp. (Opi.: Phalangiidae)

feeding on a larva of some sort

Drone Fly Eristalis tenax (Dip.: Syrphidae)  Ian Cooper

   Rosemary Jorna sends photographs of a bumble bee from her Kemp Lake area garden, March 18.   We are grateful to Gordon Hart, who, while pleading that he is not an expert, answered our request to have a go at identification.  He comes up with probably Bombus sitkensis

Probably Bombus sp. (Hym.: Apidae)  Rosemary Jorna

Probably Bombus sp. (Hym.: Apidae)  Rosemary Jorna

Probably Bombus sp. (Hym.: Apidae)  Rosemary Jorna

2021 March 17 afternoon

   Scott Gilmore photographed this springtail, Isotoma viridis, from his backyard in Lantzville yesterday (March 16).  Frans Janssens confirmed the identity of the beast.

Springtail Isotoma viridis (Coll.: Isotomidae)  Scott Gilmore

   Ian Cooper writes:  Here are some pre-dawn photos from Colquitz River Park and the Galloping Goose trail 9km site, March 16 2021. It got quite chilly that night.

Drone Fly Eristalis tenax (Dip.: Syrphidae)  Ian Cooper

   Ian writes:  This larva appeared to be feeding on rust-colored lichen growing between the small cracks and crevices in the tree’s bark. It was tiny.  Maybe 6 mm. The bristles on its head look as though they are dusted with what I assume are lichen spores.     Later:  Jeremy Tatum writes:  This larva was finally identified (see March 26) by Dr David Wagner, Charlene Wood and by Ian himself, as the larva of a soldier beetle (Cantharidae).

Soldier beetle larva (Col.: Cantharidae)  Ian Cooper

Soldier beetle larva (Col.: Cantharidae)  Ian Cooper

2021 March 17 morning

   Butterfly!   Jeff Gaskin reports that Kirsten Mills saw a Cabbage White in Brentwood Bay on March 16.  There have been two previous reports (February  9 and  March 5) of Cabbage Whites this year – both premature emergences, one in a kitchen and one in a greenhouse.  Depending on what you think “counts”, this may be the first butterfly that “counts” this year!  Invert Alert merely records the occurrence.

2021 March 16

More creatures found by Ian Cooper at night along the Galloping Goose Trail and Colquitz Creek Park.

Probably Clubiona sp. (Ara.: Clubionidae) Ian Cooper

Eratigena sp. (Ara: Agelenidae) Ian Cooper

Harvestman (Opiliones) Ian Cooper

   Ian writes:  The harvestman above appeared to be cleaning / preening itself between the blades of grass.

Harvestman, probably Protolophus (Opi.: Phalangiidae)  Ian Cooper

Three-banded garden slug – Ambigolimax valentianus (Pul.: Limacidae) Ian Cooper

Young Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae) Ian Cooper