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 29

2020 September 29

 

   Ian Cooper sends photographs of a millipede from the Galloping Goose Trail, September 27.  We don’t know a great deal about millipedes, but Ian’s suggestion for the Family of his animal looks about right.

 

Flat-backed millipede (Polydesmida: probably Eurymerodesmidae)   Ian Cooper

 

Flat-backed millipede (Polydesmida: probably Eurymerodesmidae)   Ian Cooper

 

   Ian sends a photograph of a pair of flies (probably crane flies, Tipulidae) in copula.   We don’t yet know the species, but we’re working on it!

 

Probably Tipulidae   Ian Cooper

 

   And a syrphid, kindly identified for us by Dr Jeff Skevington as a species of Cheilosa:

 


Cheilosa sp. (Dip.: Syrphidae)  Ian Cooper

 

 


Cheilosa sp. (Dip.: Syrphidae)  Ian Cooper

 


Cheilosa sp. (Dip.: Syrphidae)  Ian Cooper

 


Cheilosa sp. (Dip.: Syrphidae)  Ian Cooper

  And another miscellany of invertebrates to enjoy:

 

Two Scaphinotus angusticollis in copula (Col.: Carabidae)  Ian Cooper

 


Scaphinotus angusticollis (Col.: Carabidae)  Ian Cooper

 



Arion rufus (Pul.: Arionidae)  Ian Cooper

 


Ariolimax columbianus (Pul.: Arionidae)  Ian Cooper

 

   Jochen Möhr’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

 

1 Drepanulatrix sp

3 Dryotype opina

2 Ennomos magnaria 

1 Lithomoia germana 

1 Pleromelloida cinerea 

1 Tetracis sp.

 


Tetracis (pallulata/jubararia ?) (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

 

plus one more from yesterday:

 


Triphosa haesitata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr