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.

2023 April 23

 

2023 April 23

St George’s Day

 

   Last year Ian Cooper found caterpillars of the Grey Hairstreak butterfly on the flowers of Mentha along the Galloping Goose Trail near Harriet Road.  Jeremy Tatum took one of them for rearing.  Photographs of the caterpillar are to be found on the Invert Alert posting for 2022 September 29, and of the pupa, 2022 October 5.  The adult butterfly emerged today, and was released by Jeremy and Ian where the caterpillar was found.  Below is a “studio” photograph of the underside by Jeremy.   After release, Ian managed to get photographs of the underside and upperside in a more natural setting, also shown below.

 

 

image.png

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Jeremy Tatum

image.png

  Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Ian Cooper

 

 

image.png

Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Ian Cooper

      Val George photographed the moth below at his Oak Bay house this morning:

 

image.png

Sabulodes aegrotata  (Lep.:Geometridae)   Val George

 

 

Here are some photographs taken by Ian Cooper yesterday at Colquitz RiverPark.

 

image.png

Globular Springtail, possibly Ptenothrix palmata (Collembola

– Symphypleona – Dicyrtomenidae) 

Ian Cooper

image.png

Globular Springtail, possibly Ptenothrix palmata (Collembola

– Symphypleona – Dicyrtomenidae) 

Ian Cooper

image.png

Springtail – Orchesella cincta (Coll.: Orchesellidae)  Ian Cooper

 

 

image.png

Lauria cylindracea (Pul.: Lauriidae)   Ian Cooper

image.png

Deroceras panormitanum (Pul.: Agriolimacidae)   Ian Cooper

image.png

Armadillidium vulgare  (Isopoda: Armadillidiidae)   Ian Cooper

image.png

Philoscia muscorum (Isopoda: Oniscidae)   Ian Cooper