2018 February 2

   Here’s a Tineola bisselliella from Jeremy Tatum’s Saanich apartment building this morning.

Tineola bisselliella (Lep.: Tineidae) Jeremy Tatum

2018 January 26

   Morgan Davies sends photographs of a noctuid/erebid caterpillar from Sidney Island, January 24.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  I don’t know what it is, though I think it is probably the same one as the one illustrated on January 5.

Unknown caterpillar (Lep.: Noctuidae or Erebidae) Morgan Davies

Unknown caterpillar (Lep.: Noctuidae or Erebidae) Morgan Davies

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  I found this creature in my Saanich apartment building this morning:

Grey Firebrat Ctenolepisma longicaudata (Thysanura: Lepismatidae)  Jeremy Tatum

2018 January 22

      Thomas Barbin writes:  I’ve got two photos of a Western Black-legged Tick Ixodes pacificus I found on January 16. I actually found it inside my house crawling on a sweater I had worn the day before. I’m assuming it came from the Highlands area.

Western Black-legged Tick Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae)  Thomas Barbin

Western Black-legged Tick Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae)  Thomas Barbin

2018 January 21

   Some unusual animals today from Scott Gilmore, who writes:  My son and I went on a walk in the forest yesterday morning (January 20th) and we found a couple of interesting things. The first was another snail species which makes 16 species in Lantzville that I have found now. I am confident it is from the genus Pristiloma, (possibly P. arcticum).  The snail is only a little over 2mm wide.  [Jeremy Tatum writes;  2 mm!  Viewers please note!]

  Robert Forsyth comments:  It could be P. arcticum, but more likely Pristiloma lansingi, although we can’t rule out P. crateris.

  Scott continues:  We also found 3 unknown larvae. They were under the bark of a fallen tree. They are very transparent with dark heads. I have no idea what they might be.

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  I had no idea, either, to start with.  I thought maybe Kingdom Animalia.  But after a bit of searching around I now believe that these larvae are very likely larvae of a fungus gnat (Family Mycetophilidae).   The snail and gnat families are both firsts for this Invertebrate Alert site.

Tightcoil Pristiloma (probably lansingi) (Pul.:  Pristilomatidae) Scott Gilmore

Tightcoil Pristiloma (probably lansingi) (Pul.:  Pristilomatidae) Scott Gilmore

Tightcoil Pristiloma (probably lansingi) (Pul.:  Pristilomatidae) Scott Gilmore

Probably fungus gnat (Dip.: Mycetophilidae) Scott Gilmore

Probably fungus gnat (Dip.: Mycetophilidae) Scott Gilmore

2018 January 18

   Jochen Moehr sends photographs of a moth and a caddisfly from Metchosin, and I am enormously indebted to Libby Avis for the identifications.  Libby writes: The moth is a Hypena, no question and I’m pretty sure it’s one of the darker Hypena californica – pronounced wedge at apex and I’ve also often seen them with a smaller offset dark dot between the orbicular spot and the trailing edge of the wing.

  The caddis fly is a limnephilid and it looks very much like a photo of Scott Gilmore’s on BG which was ID’d as Glyphopsyche irrorata. If you go into Bug Guide: www.bugguide.net and type in the number 1043396 in the search box in the top right, you’ll call it up. Have also attached a photo of one of ours which was confirmed by DNA, but Jochen’s is a bit darker and I think looks closer to Scott’s.

Hypena californica (Lep.: Erebidae)  Jochen Moehr

Caddisfly Glyphopsyche irrorata (Tri.: Limnephilidae)

 Jochen Moehr

Caddisfly Glyphopsyche irrorata (Tri.: Limnephilidae) Libby Avis