INVERTEBRATE ALERT
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 2

2020 November 2

 

    Beetles, a bug,  and a caterpillar, by Ian Cooper, from Colquitz River Park.  Thanks to Scott Gilmore for the beetle identifications.

 


Nebria brevicollis (Col.: Carabidae)   Ian Cooper

 


Strophosoma melanogrammum (Col.: Curculionidae)   Ian Cooper

 


Strophosoma melanogrammum (Col.: Curculionidae)   Ian Cooper

 


Himacerus major (Hem.: Nabidae)  Ian Cooper


Noctua pronuba (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Ian Cooper

 

November 1

2020 November 1

 

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  This is the first moth that has come to the light outside my Saanich apartment building for weeks –

 


Sabulodes aegrotata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jeremy Tatum

October 30

2020 October 30

 

   Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:

 

This morning after a very stormy full moon night:

1 Drepanulatrix sp.

1 Epirrita autumnata 

 


Drepanulatrix sp.  (Lep.:  Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

October 29 afternoon

2020 October 29 afternoon

 

   Jochen Möhr’s moths in Metchosin this morning:

 

1 Drepanulatrix sp.

2 Epirrita autumnata 

 


Epirrita autumnata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

October 29 morning

2020 October 29 morning

 

   Ian Cooper sends photographs of two spiders from Colquitz River Park.   These are small spiders, of which there are many species that are difficult to distinguish and often need microscopic examination, so I have put a “probable” on the labels.  Dr Bennett comments: I ‘ll go out on a limb and say that the first is a female Linyphantes (a linyphiid) – there are  bunch of west coast species and all very hard to tell apart.  The other one might be a Metellina but I’m unsure. Would need to see the specimen to tell for sure.

 

Female probable Linyphantes sp. (Ara.: Linyphiidae)  Ian Cooper

 

Probably Metellina segmentata (Ara.: Tetragnathidae)  Ian Cooper

 

Probably Metellina segmentata (Ara.: Tetragnathidae)  Ian Cooper

   Ian also sends another close-up photograph of the slug Limax maximus.  We believe the longitudinal line on top of the head may be distinctive of this species.

 


Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)  Ian Cooper

 

   Jochen Möhr reports just four Epirrita autumnata from his house in Metchosin yesterday morning.