2020 December 14

   Ian Cooper recently photographed two small beetles at Colquitz River Park, identified for us by Charlene Wood as staphylinids (rove beetles).  The first is a bit too dark to identify safely below Family level. 

Rove beetle (Col.: Staphylinidae)  Ian Cooper

   The second (below) is in the genus Stenus, which, according to a Web reference, is reputed to be the largest genus in the Kingdom Animalia, with a reputed 56,000 species.   Charlene writes:   Stenus sp. are very cool, large eyed, rove beetles adapted to live at the edge of water margins. They can propel at high speeds across the surface of water by expelling “stenusol” from the tip of their abdomen, changing the surface tension and making them pretty fantastic predators in this situation. They also have a very long extendable labrum with sticky pads for grasping prey. 

Rove beetle Stenus sp. (Col.: Staphylinidae)  Ian Cooper

   And here, from the same place, is an immature male linyphiine spider, just possibly (Dr Bennett) a species of Neriene

Possibly Neriene (Ara.: Linyphiidae – Linyphiinae) Ian Cooper

2020 December 13

     Jeremy Tatum writes:  My recent plea for a photograph of a genuine Silverfish Lepisma saccharinum brought an interesting response from Libby Avis in Port Alberni. 

     First, two photographs of a Silverfish Lepisma saccharinum from 2020 August 26.   Note that the Silverfish has much shorter cerci and epiproct (the things at the tail-end!) than other lepismatids.

Silverfish Lepisma saccharinum (Thysanura: Lepismatidae) Libby Avis

Silverfish Lepisma saccharinum (Thysanura: Lepismatidae) Libby Avis

   Next – Ctenolepisma, from 2012.  The genus Ctenolepisma was formerly regarded as feminine, but it has now been declared to be neuter.  Therefore, writes Jeremy Tatum,what I have been calling C. longicaudata on this site is now to be called C. longicaudatum.  However, this photograph below may be a different species, namely   C. lineatum.   Notice the four rows of pale dots.   I think (not sure) that longicaudatum may have a longer abdomen) than lineatum, and possibly longer legs, too.

 I should probably sometime  (if I can find the time) go through earlier photographs of Ctenolepisma on this site, and see if we can determine which of the two species they are.

Ctenolepisma (probably lineatum) (Thysanura: Lepismatidae) Libby Avis

   As for English names,  originally “The” Silverfish  was Lepisma saccharina (now saccharinum), and “The” Firebrat was Thermobia domestica.  Other species in the family are called variously by different authors  either adjective silverfish or adjective firebrat.

   But we haven’t finished yet.  On 2020 October 29, Rick Avis found the interesting creature below in the Avis’s yard.   A blind and colourless three-pronged bristletail in a related Family,  Nicoletiidae:

Thysanura – Nicoletiidae      Libby Avis

Thysanura – Nicoletiidae      Libby Avis

   The photograph below shows the three caudal (tail) appendages.  The middle one is called the epiproct.  The outer two are cerci. 

Thysanura – Nicoletiidae      Libby Avis

Classification:  None of the creatures shown or mentioned in this posting are classed today as insects.  They are not in the Class Insecta:

I believe it goes something like this

Phylum:     Arthropoda

  Subphylum:    Hexapoda

      Class:                  Entognatha

            Subclass:          Zygentoma

                    Order:            Thysanura

                         Families:       Lepismatidae,  Nicoletiidae

The Order Zygentoma are “Three-pronged Bristletails”.     “Jumping Bristletails” (Microcoryphia), and “Two-pronged Bristletails” (Diplura) are different Orders.

  Variations on this are to be found in the literature.  For example, some authors treat Zygentoma as an Order, and do not use the word Thysanura.

2020 December 11

    Jochen Möhr sends a further collection of Operophtera from Metchosin yesterday.  Jeremy Tatum and Jochen agree on the probable identifications as labelled below.

Operophtera occidentalis (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Operophtera occidentalis (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Operophtera occidentalis (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Operophtera occidentalis (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Operophtera brumata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

   Springtails used to be lumped within a single Order – Collembola.  Collembola is now a Class (or to some authors a Subclass), divided into three or four Orders.

Above:  Orchesella villosa (Coll: Orchesellidae)

Below left:  Ptenothrix sp. (Coll:  Symphypleona – Dicyrtomidae)

Ian Cooper

2020 December 10

   Winter is fast approaching, yet there are still lots of invertebrates around, and even a butterfly is not impossible.  Ron Flower saw two Honey Bees and a bumble bee (probably Bombus vosnesenskii) at Swan Lake on Sunday, and Ian Cooper is finding an amazing array of creatures in Colquitz Creek Park:

Sphenophorus sp. (Col.: Curculionidae)  Ian Cooper

   Thanks to Scott Gilmore for the identification of this beetle.  Apparently they are popularly (but not on this site!) called “billbugs”.

Elongate-bodied springtail Tomocerus sp. (Collembola – Entomobryomorpha – Tomoceridae)

 Ian Cooper

Dark-bodied Glass Snail Oxychilus draparnaudi (Pul.: Daubebariidae)  Ian Cooper

Lauria cylindracea (Pul.: Lauriidae)  Ian Cooper

   Yesterday, Jochen Möhr wrote from Metchosin:  This morning, the abundance of Operophtera continues.  There were 25 critters on the wall.  I would boldly call 21 of them O. brumata, and at least two occidentalis, and two look like in between.

Here are our best attempts at identification of seven of them:

Operophtera occidentalis (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochem Möhr

Operophtera (maybe occidentalis) (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Operophtera occidentalis (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Operophtera occidentalis (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Operophtera (maybe occidentalis) (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Operophtera brumata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Operophtera brumata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

2020 December 8

An earwig, and slugs galore from Colquitz River Park, by Ian Cooper:

Male Common Earwig  Forficula auricularia (Derm.: Forficulidae)  Ian Cooper

Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)  Ian Cooper

Deroceras reticulatum (Pul.: Agriolimacidae) Ian Cooper

Arion sp. (possibly circumstriptus) (Pul.: Arionidae)  Ian Cooper

   Robert Forsyth comments:  The hole in the top of the mantle (not the pneumostome, which is on the side, but not clear here) would seem to be a wound (failed predation, or perhaps disease). There are slugs (Hemphillia spp.) with an area of the dorsal mantle ‘cut away’ to expose a flat shell, but this isn’t one of them. This Arion is somewhat reminiscent of Arion circumscriptus, but I wouldn’t say for certain.

 Top:  Deroceras reticulatum (Pul.: Agriolimacidae)

Bottom:  Oxychilus draparnaudi (Pul.: Daubebariidae)

Ian Cooper

Possibly a young Limax maximus (Pul.: Limacidae)  Ian Cooper

   We are continuing to make efforts to distinguish between the Western and European Winter Moths, Operophtera occidentalis  and O. brumata.  Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:

This morning, 13 Operophtera, 9 I would call brumata, and 4 occidentalis.  I attach the images of 7 of them, which I was able to reach with the tripod-mounted camera.

Jeremy Tatum writes:   I agree that the first two may be occidentalis, though without any huge degree of certainty.     I would call the remaining five brumata, but again without any pretence of certainty.

We’d encourage moth-ers to try to get some good photos of winter moths at the Goldstream Park Nature House.  Some of them there look like very obvious occidentalis.    Amazingly, I haven’t seen any of either species at my Saanich apartment building for some weeks.

Operophtera (probably occidentalis)  (Lep.: Geometridae)   Jochen Möhr

Operophtera (probably occidentalis)  (Lep.: Geometridae)   Jochen Möhr

Operophtera (brumata?)  (Lep.: Geometridae)   Jochen Möhr

Operophtera brumata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Operophtera brumata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Operophtera brumata (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Operophtera (brumata?)   (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr