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.

September 25

2106 September 25

  

Ken Vaughan sends a picture of  Alucita montana.  The larval foodplant of this tiny moth is the flowers of Snowberry.

Alucita montana (Lep.: Alucitidae)  Ken Vaughan

Annie Pang sends a photograph of Araneus diadematus from Gorge Park, September 24.

 

Araneus diadematus (Ara.: Araneidae)   Annie Pang

 

Annie also sends a picture of a Twenty-spotted Ladybird, a ladybird with the unusual habit of feeding upon powdery mildews.

 

Twenty-spotted Ladybird Psyllobora vigintimaculata (Col.: Coccinellidae)  Annie Pang

 

Thomas Barbin sends photographs of slugs from Sombrio Beach, September 21.

 

Pacific Banana Slug Ariolimax columbianus (Pul.: Arionidae)  Thomas Barbin

Pacific Banana Slug Ariolimax columbianus (Pul.: Arionidae)  Thomas Barbin

Yellow-bordered Taildropper Prophysaon foliolatum (Pul.:  Anadenidae)  Thomas Barbin

   Liam Singh sends a picture of a sexton beetle with a large load of mites.  Sexton beetles often (usually) carry large numbers of mites, and apparently both the beetle and the mites gain an advantage from this symbiotic relationship.  You can read (and possibly believe!) an explanation at

https://www.nps.gov/band/learn/nature/symbiotic.htm

 

 

 Sexton beetle Nicrophorus sp. (Col.: Silphidae),  with

mites Poecilochirus (Mesostigmata: Parasitidae)

Liam Singh

 

 

Jeremy Tatum sends photographs of two caterpillars from Iron Mine Bay, September 25.   The first was on Salmonberry.  The second was on Western Hemlock.

 

 

Habrosyne scripta (Lep.: Drepanidae – Thyatirinae)  Jeremy Tatum

 

Panthea virginarius (Lep.:  Noctuidae)   Jeremy Tatum

 

September 23

2016 September 23

 

   Welcome to the first full day of Fall.  The equinox was at 1:44 PDT yesterday, but today is the first full day.

 

The mystery of Mike Yip’s swarming insects (see yesterday’s posting) is now solved, at least to Family.  Mike got a close up picture of one, and it is an ant.

 

Ant (Hym.: Formicidae)  Mike Yip

Aziza Cooper writes: Two Variegated Meadowhawks were in Beacon Hill Park, yesterday, Sept. 22. Also there were three large metallic green dragonflies which wouldn’t perch for a photo. I saw just one Cabbage White butterfly in two hours.

 

Variegated Meadowhawk  Sympetrum corruptum  (Odo.: Libellulidae)  Aziza Cooper

 

Jody Wells comments that when an insect lands on his arm, it might want to be photographed.   Here is a caddisfly on Jody’s arm.

 

Caddisfly (Trichoptera)  Jody Wells

The one below one was on Jody’s truck.  Thanks to Jeremy Gatten for pointing out that it is a Western Conifer Seed Bug, and not an assassin bug as originally posted.

 

Western Conifer Seed Bug Leptoglossus occidentalis (Hem.: Coreidae)
Jody Wells

Val George sends pictures of grasshoppers.  The first from Island View Beach, September 15.  The other two from Uplands Park, September 22.

 

Carolina Grasshopper, also known as Mourning Cloak Grasshopper

Dissosteira carolina (Orth.: Acrididae)

Val George

Red-winged Grasshopper Arphia pseudonietana (Orth.: Acrididae)   Val George

Pink Grasshopper Trimerotropis fontana (Orth.: Acrididae)  Val George

 

September 22

2016 September 22

 

   Jeremy Tatum sends this picture of a wasp at his Saanich apartment, September 22.  Thank you, Sean McCann, for the identification.

 

Wasp Vespula pensylvanica (Hym.: Vespidae)   Jeremy Tatum

 

Rosemary Jorna sends photographs of two moths from Kemp Lake Road.  Rosemary writes:  I rescued the first moth in the Kemp Lake Area Sept 21 2016  from a pond  on Kemp Lake Road . It took about 10 minutes to dry  It has finished drying off and took off a couple of minutes later after beating its wings so fast they were a blur. . When I crossed the road to home the second moth was resting on the driveway.

 

Male Vapourer Moth Orgyia antiqua (Lep.: Erebidae – Lymantriinae)   Rosemary Jorna

 Ceranemota fasciata (Lep.: Drepanidae – Thyatirinae)  Rosemary Jorna

   Mike Yip writes:  I was fascinated yesterday as the late afternoon sun revealed an amazing sight I had never seen before. At the top of every tree there were clouds of insects performing their aerial ballets.  Jeremy Tatum asks:  Has anyone any suggestions what they are?  Chironomids?  Mayflies?  Ants?  None of the above?

 

Suggestions, anyone?      Mike Yip

Suggestions, anyone?      Mike Yip

 Suggestions, anyone?      Mike Yip

 Suggestions, anyone?      Mike Yip

 

September 21 morning

2016 September 21, morning

 

Here are some September photographs from Thomas Barbin.

 

Araneus diadematus (Ara.: Araneidae)   Thomas Barbin

Araneus diadematus (Ara.: Araneidae)   Thomas Barbin

Marsh fly (Dip.: Sciomyzidae)   Thomas Barbin

Goldenrod Crab Spider Misumena vatia (Ara.: Thomisidae)  Thomas Barbin

Stink bug Chlorochroa sp. (Hem.: Pentatomidae)  Thomas Barbin

Unidentified fly (Dip.: Anthomyiidae or Muscidae) Thomas Barbin

Ichneumonid (Hym.: Ichneumonidae)  Thomas Barbin

 Spider-hunting wasp (Hym.: Pompilidae)  Thomas Barbin

Stilt bug (Hem.: Berytidae)  Thomas Barbin

Sweat bee (Hym.: Halictidae)  Thomas Barbin

 Sweat bee (Hym.: Halictidae)  Thomas Barbin

Honey Bee Apis mellifera (Hym.: Apidae)  Thomas Barbin


Yellowjacket wasp Vespula sp. (Hym.: Vespidae)   Thomas Barbin

(Sean McCann suggests possibly V. pensylvanica, but can’t be sure.)

 

September 20

2016 September 20

 

   Message from Gordon Hart:

 

Hello Butterfly Counters,

September is rushing by and I did not notice that we have already passed the third Saturday, September 17, the start date for the count running to Sunday, September 25. This is the last count period for the year.

 

There are still a few butterflies to be seen on warm days, although most seem to be Cabbage Butterflies. It will be interesting to see how many other species may be around.

Please use the form at https://www.vicnhs.bc.ca/?p=33 to submit your results. Submit a separate form for each area you count, so I can take the higher number in case of double counting.

 

If you’d like a suggestion about what area to count, send me an email. If you want to be removed from this list or if you know of anyone who would like to be added, please email me.

 

Thanks for submitting your sightings, and happy counting!

 

The monthly butterfly walk is held on the first Sunday of each month. The next walk is on October 2. It will be the last one for the year. We meet at Mt Tolmie summit at 1:00pm and decide on our destination from there. The walk will be cancelled if the weather is cool or rainy. Please check the VNHS calendar for changes and updates.

 

 

 

Kari Nelson sends a photograph of a caterpillar of Nadata gibbosa. 

 

Nadata gibbosa (Lep.: Notodontidae)   Kari Nelson

     Here are several photographs taken by Mike Yip on Mount Cokely in August.  Thanks to Scott Gilmore for identifying the beetle as Lepturobosca chrysocoma.  My little knowledge of Latin and Greek tells me that chrysocoma means golden hairs.  Thanks to Sean McCann for the Hymenoptera identifications.

 

 

Lepturobosca chrysocoma (Col.: Cerambycidae)  Mike Yip

 Aphids  (Hem.: Aphididae)  Mike Yip

Ant Formica sp. (Hym.: Formicidae)    Mike Yip

Bumblebee Bombus vosnesenskii (Hym.: Apidae)    Mike Yip

 Bumblebee Bombus (maybe mixtus)  (Hym.: Apidae)       Mike Yip