2018 February 5

   Libby Avis forwards to us an exciting message from Greg Pohl:

Hi all;

My co-authors and I are thrilled to announce the publication of our checklist of the Lepidoptera of Canada and Alaska. It’s available as a free PDF download, or to buy as a hardcover book. Here is the link:

https://books.pensoft.net/book/13218/annotated-checklist-of-the-moths-and-butterflies-lepidoptera-of-canada-and-alaska

 sincerely,

Greg Pohl and co-authors:

JF Landry

Chris Schmidt

Don Lafontaine

Jim Troubridge

Doug Macaulay

Erik van Nieukerken

Jeremy deWaard

Jason Dombroskie

John Klymko

Vazrick Nazari

Ken Stead

Scott Gilmore sends photographs of a moth and a beetle from UpperLantzville:

Probably Acleris (maybe schalleriana?) (Lep.: Tortricidae)  Scott Gilmore

Plectrura spinicauda (Col.: Cerambycidae) Scott Gilmore

Plectrura spinicauda (Col.: Cerambycidae) Scott Gilmore

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