2018 January 17

   From time to time on this site we have had to debate and discuss the finer details of how to distinguish between the European Winter Moth Operophtera brumata and the native Bruce’s Winter Moth O. bruceata.  Just when we thought we were mastering the topic, Bill Katz got a photograph at Goldstream Park recently of a third species of Operophtera ­- the much less common – and native – O. danbyi.

Danby’s Winter Moth Operophtera danbyi (Lep.: Geometridae)  Bill Katz

   Some of our skilled contributors have been contributing some photographs of very tiny mites and springtails recently.  These each used to belong to single Orders:  Acari for the mites and Collembola for the springtails.  Both of these groups are now thought to have evolved from more than one ancestral group and are now split into several Orders.  Dr Heather Proctor has been advising me on current mite taxonomy, so I’m going to try to find time (it may take me a little while) to relabel the Orders on the several mite photograph captions on this site, so there’ll be some unfamiliar Order names appearing.  I shall try to continue with our present format of following each animal’s scientific name (genus and species) with Order and Family in parentheses.   While I have usually abbreviated Order names to three-letter abbreviations, I’ll write the unfamiliar mite and springtail Orders in full.

2018 January 16

   Our viewers are certainly doing their best to keep this site open during the bleak midwinter!  First, a photograph of another overwintering noctuid moth, Lithophane baileyi, from Jochen Moehr in Metchosin.  The last entry in this site for this species was on October 29.

Lithophane baileyi (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

   Next, a remarkable series of tiny springtails, and a tiny snail, from Thomas Barbin in and around his Highlands garden.  Springtails used to be the Order Collembola, but apparently Collembola is now promoted to Subclass, containing several Orders.  I am trying to keep consistent and up-to-date on this site and in its Index!  In the title under each photograph I generally print the genus and species in italics.  Then, in parentheses, the Order – usually abbreviated to three letters, but written in full for the springtails – and the Family (-idae).

Hymenaphorura cocklei (Poduromorpha:  Onychiuridae)  Thomas Barbin

Left:  Ptenothrix sp. (Symphypleona: Dicyrtomidae)

Right: Sminthurinus elegans (Symphypleona: Katiannidae)

Thomas Barbin

Vesicephalus occidentalis (Symphypleona: Katiannidae)  Thomas Barbin

Vesicephalus occidentalis (Symphypleona: Katiannidae)  Thomas Barbin

   And even as I am processing the pictures above, in comes another one – this time an unknown noctuid or erebid caterpillar found on Sidney Island Spit by Ian Cruickshank.

Unknown caterpillar (Lep.: Noctuidae or Erebidae)  Ian Cruickshank

Unknown caterpillar (Lep.: Noctuidae or Erebidae)  Ian Cruickshank

2018 January 15

   Jochen Moehr sends a photograph of a noctuid moth from Metchosin.  Jeremy Tatum writes:  This one beat me, but Libby Avis identifies it as a dark specimen of Orthosia praeses  – one of the earliest noctuids to appear in the early weeks of the year.  Other early noctuids to look out for are Egira hiemalis and Eupsilia tristigmata. Also Scoliopteryx libratrix (formerly a noctuid but now an erebid) and the geometrid Phigalia plumogeraria. 

Orthosia praeses (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Moehr

   And what about butterflies?  Can we expect to see any soon?  For very many years the Red Admiral was never believed to stay in the British Isles during the winter – they either died or flew south, similar to our situation here.  However, in recent years Red Admirals – either as adult insects or as caterpillars – regularly spend the winter in southern England.  This year already there have been records of caterpillars (January 7) and adults (January 10) in Sussex.  Might it be worth looking out for them here?  We might also expect (or at least hope) to see Mourning Cloaks, except that last year was not a good year for them.

2018 January 8

   Scott Gilmore writes from Lantzville:  I spent a long time exploring about a square foot of my backyard on Saturday (Jan 6th) and found more things than I have had a chance to identify yet or even deal with the photographs. The first is a mite from the family Erythracaridae.   I really think it should be called the Candy Cane Mite. The second is a new snail for me, Lauria cylindracea, a European import. And the last is a family of beetle I have never seen before, the Primitive Carrion Beetles, family Agyrtidae. This is Necrophilus hydrophiloides and I found them inside a decomposing squash.

Candycane Mite (Acari: Erythracaridae)  Scott Gilmore

Candycane Mite (Acari: Erythracaridae)  Scott Gilmore

Candycane Mite (Acari: Erythracaridae)  Scott Gilmore

Lauria cylindracea (Pul.: Pupillidae)   Scott Gilmore

Necrophilus hydrophiloides (Col.:  Agyrtidae)  Scott Gilmore

Scott also sends photographs of three spiders.  It’s a bit tricky to identify them, but thank you Robb Bennett for having a go!  Robb has the first two to genus and probably species.  He writes that the third one is a linyphiine linyphiid.  For those unfamiliar with the jargon, this means that it belongs to the Family Linyphiidae, and, within that, to the Subfamily Linyphiinae (sheet-web weavers).

Eratigena (probably agrestis) (Ara.:  Agelenidae)  Scott Gilmore

Xysticus (probably cristatus)  (Ara.: Thomisidae) Scott Gilmore

Ara.:  Lyniphiidae – Lyniphiinae      Scott Gilmore