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Fantastic Fly Friday, the Anastrepha Fruit Fly

Posted on March 6, 2026 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island One comment

Today I have a beautiful Fruit Fly (Genus Anastrepha) to show you. I found this specimen when visiting Tulum, Quintana Roo, MX in late January. The place we stay in Tulum has a swimming pool virtually no one ever uses. I love this place so much because I almost always have the pool entirely to myself. Everyone else is at the beach!

However, this particular pool is not maintained so well. More often than not, the filtration system isn’t turned on. I spend the first 15 minutes or so walking around in the pool to skim off all the bugs with a cup I bring from our room.

Unfortunately, my efforts to communicate, in broken Spanish, a request for a pool skimmer to the maintenance workers was a total failure. Probably they secretly referred to me as loco el bicho señora, or something like that. My Spanish is terrible. If you know me well though, finding bugs in the pool is literally one of the reasons I love staying at this place. I have my own vacay niche! Surveying for entomological diversity found in the pool.

There were more than a few bugs for me to “save,” that had landed on the water surface. Some, like this fly, had unfortunately already expired. I skimmed them all out, photographed them, then uploaded my observations onto iNaturalist. I even resuscitated a few that I thought were dead. Toilet paper or tissue paper “beds” work pretty well for drying them out in a pinch.

I collected these photographs because I really appreciated the cool picture window patterns on the wings. This is one characteristic of fruit flies. This is also a female specimen as you can see from the longish posterior appendage, her oviscape. Last week, I tried to create a space away from social media to decompress, so I sketched her (to the best of my ability) and used my colored pencils to bring her to life. Probably I did not get all her bristles in the right places. On flies, bristles are diagnostically quite important. I’m not quite there with my artistic rendering, but it was a relaxing activity.

In spite of their unique and beautiful wing patterns, fruit flies are often considered agricultural pests. Probably they wouldn’t be a pest except that we have these giant industrialized agricultural operations to feed more people than the planet should ever support, and probably, we artificially enable populations of various pests to explode because we are creating extra habitat for them. Fortunately, some targeted biocontrol and Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) has been effective enough to move producers away from utilizing harmful and unsustainable methods of chemical control, although I imagine some operations continue to apply pesticides.

This particular fruit fly is in the Genus Anastrepha. I haven’t really attempted going beyond genus level to identify this one to species. Anastrepha ludens, however, is a name that pops up often in literature from studies in Mexico and California. Anastrepha is a genus in the Family Tephritidae and I believe there are over 200 species of Anastrepha fruit flies in the Americas.

If you are interested in reading more about this genus, I would start off sending you to the 1963 study by Foote and Blanc, referenced below. I am currently waiting on a text I ordered from Abe Books on fruit flies, and will be doing additional reading once it arrives.

One interesting taxonomic tip I can leave you with: Tephritidae are true fruit flies. Those small flies that get into the bananas on your counter or into your rotting compost that many folks refer to as fruit flies aren’t fruit flies at all. They are vinegar or pomace flies, a completely different family called Drosophilidae.

Find out more when you follow me on Fantastic Fly Fridays!

References and Further Reading

Arias OR, Fariña NL, Lopes GN, Uramoto K, Zucchi RA. 2014. Fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae) from some localities of Paraguay: new records, checklist, and illustrated key. J Insect Sci. 1;14:224. doi: 10.1093/jisesa/ieu086. PMID: 25525098; PMCID: PMC5634125.

Baker, A. C. (Arthur Challen). 1944. A Review of studies on the Mexican fruitfly and related Mexican species. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x030450595&seq=3

Bugguide.net. 2026. Anastrepha ludens. Bugguide.net. https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/71452

Greene C. T. 1934. . A revision of the genus Anastrepha based on a study of the wing and on the length of the ovipositor sheath. (Diptera: Tephritidae) . Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash . 36 : 127 – 179 .

Foote, R. H. and F. L. Blanc. 1963. The Fruit Flies or Tephritidae of California. Bulletin of the California Insect Survey 7: 1-117, 118 figs., 104 maps, colored frontis

Norrbom A. L. 2004. . Anastrepha Schiner (Diptera: Tephritidae) . http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/Diptera/tephriti/Anastrep/Anastrep.htm .

Stone A. 1942. . The fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha , pp. 112. United States Department of Agriculture, Miscellaneous Publication 439 .

A Hexapod of Hexapods

Posted on March 5, 2026 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

My short post for the day brings you these interesting little critters that are technically not insects. Taxonomically, they are Arthopods (Phyla) in the Subphylum Hexapoda. If you’re into Etymology, “hex” = 6, and “pod” = foot or leg.

Within the Hexapod group, you will find 3 smaller groups of these wingless organisms: Protura, Diplura, and Collembola. These are Collembolans, the springtails. This particular group of Springtails is in the family Entomobryidae, and I believe most of the species you see here are Entomobrya clitellaria forma albocincta, a name revision suggested per Frans Janssens as found on Bugguide.net https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/272565 There is one Globular Springtail (Ptenothrix beta) that shows up at about 00:43 and the large Slender Springtail showing up about 2:44 is a different species of Entomobrya (Entomobrya triangularis).

I didn’t really want to deep dive much into taxonomy though. Mostly, I wanted you to enjoy watching them as I did. I suspect they are all together here in this varied group to share the food resource, which looks like bird poo to me.

If you watch the video, I think you’ll see the group isn’t always a Hexapod of Hexapods either. At some points, there is a Quartet of Hexapods and at others, you’ll see an Octad of Hexapods. They are quite cute when they thump their antennae in an attempt to move their dining partners enough to edge up to the buffet.

Thanks for reading (and watching)! 🙂

References

Murray, A. 2026. Entomobryomorpha. A Chaos of Delight. https://www.chaosofdelight.org/all-about-collembola-entomobryomorpha

Widenfalk, L. A., H. P. Leinaas, J. Bengtsson, and T. Birkemoe. 2018. Age and level of self-organization affect the small-scale distribution of springtails (Collembola). Ecosphere 9(1):e02058. 10.1002/ecs2.2058 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1002%2Fecs2.2058

Bee Banter, part 1 – Honey Bees vs. Native Pollinators

Posted on February 20, 2026 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

The importance of Supporting Ecological Diversity

*Hemaris thetis* moth nectaring at Catmint *(Nepeta sp*.)

With spring around the corner, I thought it might be a good time to write up a post about bees. For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been a San Juan Island resident now for over 17 years. When I was finishing my Masters Degree in Entomology and Nematology, I was required to take bee keeping as part of my advanced Apiculture coursework.

I won’t lie, I did enjoy the bees. I had one of the hives under a bedroom window, and it smelled so wonderful to open that window and smell the bees in the house. In my studies, I learned a lot about social insects. The other thing I learned was bee keeping sure is an expensive endeavor.

Why? Well mostly because the bees had to be replaced every year after they died over the winter from starvation. They didn’t always starve, but in the 6 years or so of keeping bees on the island, I think my longest surviving hive lasted about 4 seasons. That one, I can assure you, only lasted that long because I fed them sugar water. I was feeding the bees a quart of sugar water at least twice a day. They had all of that, and I never took any honey from my hives. All the costs added up. They also sting.

In my experience, I concluded honey bees weren’t exactly the best pollinators here either. As I spent more and more time in my study of insects and moved to a property with an old orchard (plums and apple trees), I saw the insects doing most of the pollination were flies. We have some incredibly cool species of flies too! At night, the insects pollinating these trees included many moths. Just an FYI, flies and moths are particularly attracted to the color white (same color as early flowering fruit trees).

Honestly, I am not much of a food gardener, but I do love watching for insects in our garden and observing the relationships that exist. Not just between the insects and the plants, but also the relationships between different species of insects (and I’ll lump spiders in here too).

Every year, I watch our resident chickadees and nuthatches glean insects off twigs and branches. Nature’s pest control. The little tree frogs gobble bugs off garden plants. Those same frogs are also food for a species of female mosquito. Yes, you might detest mosquitoes, but even mosquitoes are pollinators. Go out at night with a flashlight and look at those fruit tree flowers!

Culex territans mosquito feeding on tree frog

Even now, in February, I watch our year round, Anna’s hummingbirds zip along eaves of our home taking spider webbing to glue their nests together. They also eat many small bugs like fungus gnats and other small flies, even spiders!

If you just take a moment to look closely, there are many varied relationships between species at all trophic levels going on around us that have evolved to work in balance in our island ecosystem. Native species usually have multiple roles in the ecosystem. Some are pollinators, but also pest predators. Others we may consider pests, but they are also predators of pests. Most are food for some other organism in the food chain. Remember too, that just as we are healthier with a diverse diet, other organisms also stay healthy from sourcing nutrients from an assortment of food. When we lose diversity, we all suffer. We need a complex working ecosystem, and that comes from nature!

Some of our island native bee pollinators include bumble bees, sweat bees, alkali bees, blood bees, orchard bees, leaf cutter bees, nomad bees, digger bees, fairy bees, and others. These bees may not produce honey, but they are pollinators of immensely great value.

Golden Furrow Bees Subgenus Seladoniaa member of Furrow Bees Genus Halictus

In fact, research over the past decade is illuminating just how critical these native bees and other native pollinators are for biodiversity. Biodiversity that is disappearing from our world due to habitat loss, land use changes, agricultural practices, and competition over resources with non-native species (like honey bees). You don’t have to take my word for it though. The Washington Native Bee Society and the Xerces Society will give you similar information.

Melissodes microstictus Small Long-horned Bee

Try Googling a bit on your own and you might find some pretty cool statistics about how native bees are actually better pollinators than honey bees, AND that their pollination services can yield larger, healthier fruits (like blueberries and strawberries for example). Competition over resources and displacement of native bees due to honey bee keeping isn’t limited to our island or our state. It’s been something happening world wide where honey bees are used for agricultural practices, whether for pollination or honey production. The encouraging news is that supporting native pollinators is gaining momentum. I’ve compiled a resource list for you to look at, read, and share if you are inclined.

If you are still dead set on setting up a honey bee hive, I’m happy to walk you through it. I can give you a list of everything you’ll need, provide the cost of all those supplies, and advise you on how not to get stung, why you should never eat a banana near your bee hive, what problems you can anticipate with pests and pathogens, and how to avoid losing your bees due to swarming. I will also tell you that if you set up a honey bee hive, you must file and register your colony with WSDA per state law. Hopefully, you will make your way to the same conclusion as I have. It’s cheaper and also ethically responsible to support native pollinators and conserve habitat in your own yard for pollinator diversity. It’s also quite fun and rewarding to watch and learn about native bees and the bugs you probably never even knew existed.

References and Further Reading

Anderson, H. L. D. (2024). Nocturnal moth communities and potential pollinators of berry agroecosystems in British Columbia (T). University of British Columbia. Retrieved from https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0447737

Brast, C. 2024. Where are all the Bees? Bugging You From San Juan Island. https://buggingyoufromsanjuanisland.com/category/bees/

Brast, C. 2022. Musings on the complicated topic of native pollinators, food production, and climate change. https://buggingyoufromsanjuanisland.com/2022/08/17/musings-on-the-complicated-topic-of-native-pollinators-food-production-and-climate-change/

Brast, C. 2025. Fantastic Fly Friday. https://buggingyoufromsanjuanisland.com/2025/04/11/fantastic-fly-friday/

Dlugo, J. 2022. Seven Native Bees to Know in Washington State. Washington Native Bee Society. https://www.wanativebeesociety.org/post/seven-native-bees-to-know-in-washington-state

Hatfield, R. And M. Shepherd. 2025. Want to save the bees? Focus on habitat, not honey bees. Xerces Society. https://www.xerces.org/blog/want-to-save-bees-focus-on-habitat-not-honey-bees

Hatfield, R., S. Jepsen, M. Vaughan, S. Black, and E. Lee-Mäder. 2018. An Overview of the Potential Impacts of Honey Bees to Native Bees, Plant Communities , and Ecosystems in Wild Landscapes: Recommendations for Land Managers. 12pp. Portland, OR: The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. https://www.xerces.org/publications/guidelines/overview-of-potential-impacts-of-honey-bees-to-native-bees-plant

KEARNS, C. A. 2001. North American dipteran pollinators: assessing their value and conservation status. Conservation Ecology 5(1): 5. [online] URL: http://www.consecol.org/vol5/iss1/art5/

MacInnis, G, Forrest, JRK. 2019. Pollination by wild bees yields larger strawberries than pollination by honey bees. J Appl Ecol. 56: 824– 832. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13344

Mallinger, R.E. and Gratton, C., 2015. Species richness of wild bees, but not the use of managed honeybees, increases fruit set of a pollinator-dependent crop. J Appl Ecol. 52: 323-330. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12377

Angelella GM, McCullough CT, O’Rourke ME. 2021. Honey bee hives decrease wild bee abundance, species richness, and fruit count on farms regardless of wildflower strips. Sci Rep. Feb 5;11(1):3202. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-81967-1. Erratum in: Sci Rep. 2021 Aug 17;11(1):17043. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-95368-x. PMID: 33547371; PMCID: PMC7865060. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7865060/

Page, Maureen L., and Neal M. Williams. 2023. “ Honey Bee Introductions Displace Native Bees and Decrease Pollination of a Native Wildflower.” Ecology 104(2): e3939. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3939

Lorenzo Pasquali, Claudia Bruschini, Fulvia Benetello, Marco Bonifacino, Francesca Giannini, Elisa Monterastelli, Marco Penco, Sabrina Pesarini, Vania Salvati, Giulia Simbula, Marta Skowron Volponi, Stefania Smargiassi, Elia van Tongeren, Giorgio Vicari, Alessandro Cini, Leonardo Dapporto. 2025. Island-wide removal of honeybees reveals exploitative trophic competition with strongly declining wild bee populations. Current Biology. 35(7) : 1576-1590.e12,
ISSN 0960-9822, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.02.048 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982225002623

Thomson, D. (2004), COMPETITIVE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE INVASIVE EUROPEAN HONEY BEE AND NATIVE BUMBLE BEES. Ecology, 85: 458-470. https://doi.org/10.1890/02-0626

Why You Should Appreciate Native Plants: Ocean Spray Insights

Posted on June 25, 2025 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

For the past few years, I have observed one of our native shrubs to see what pollinators are visiting. Calscape has recorded Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor) as a host plant to approximately 14 species of Lepidoptera. Yet, I have actually never seen a single pollinator visiting the cascades of snowy white, delicate blossoms. I’ve also heard from a handful of local folks on San Juan Island. They say Ocean Spray is “invasive” and should be brush-hogged. According to them, it’s a “fire hazard.” This view is disturbing to me. I felt it important to find concrete evidence of this native plant’s value in our ecosystem.

Well, the other evening, I documented the first pollinator I’ve ever seen visiting these blossoms. There is a gorgeous Ocean Spray out our bathroom window. I noticed movement in the upper portions of the shrub. It wasn’t windy, so something else was causing the movement. I went out later, around 9:00 pm, to investigate the cause of the disturbances. Can you guess what I found? Bumble bees!

I also experienced annoyance from another buzzer. A Cattail mosquito, Coquillettidia perturbans (say co-KEE-luh-tih-dee-uh PURR-tuh-binz) promptly discovered my bare arm. It slipped its hypodermic proboscis into my epidermis with effortless precision, a precision superior to any medical professional’s injection. I didn’t feel it at all.

Cattail mosquito (Coquillettidia perturbans)

I would describe the bites from these mosquitoes as a very mild annoyance. I didn’t have any after-reaction at all. It was certainly not anything like the bites from some of the other insects I’ve experienced here, especially not thrips. I’m definitely not a thrips fan! You can read about thrips here in case you’re interested. https://buggingyoufromsanjuanisland.com/2021/06/29/public-health-alert-and-some-free-advice/

Getting back to the other buzz in the Ocean Spray. The buzz I was so happy to discover is the bumble bee (Bombus flavidus ssp. flavidus). I didn’t make the identification to subspecies on my own. That was with the help of a fellow named John Ascher on iNaturalist. If you’re curious about his work, you can learn more here: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/podcast/pollination-podcast/137-john-ascher-problem-measuring-bee-decline

Bombus flavidus ssp. flavidus

Bombus flavidus is a species of Cuckoo Bumble Bee, and one of the most widespread species in the world. These bees don’t have a worker cast like other species of bumble bees. They find nests of other bumble bees to occupy and invade these nests. The host bumble bee workers then rear the offspring of the cuckoo bumble bee along with their own offspring.

I hope my discovery leaves you curious about what pollinators visit Ocean Spray in your yard. My next goal is to make nighttime observations. I want to see what is visiting the flowers while they are still in bloom. I suspect they have nocturnal pollinators. If you find any, I hope you’ll report your findings with me. 🙂

To see more of San Juan Island’s invertebrates, please join and follow me on iNaturalist – https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&user_id=cyndibrast&verifiable=any . If you have never used iNaturalist, try it out! I love it because it’s a way to connect with other entomologists. It also helps me organize my findings into appropriate categories for referencing when I want to look something up.

You can also find my bug observations on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.brast.bormann or join one of the bug groups I help admin: Bugs of the San Juan Islands at https://www.facebook.com/groups/3594158544144419 or Pacific Northwest Bugs at https://www.facebook.com/groups/904079732957442/

Also, please don’t go crazy with the brush hog. Nature loves messy. Humans cause fires. We can do much on that end to prevent them by changing our behaviors and being more careful. Scraping the earth bare and/or parking out your parcel to be “fire wise” is actually not kind to nature. We need to protect habitat for the wild things, not eradicate it. Even mosquitoes have a role in the food web.

Thanks for reading!

Bombus flavidus ssp. flavidus

References

Brast, C. 2021. IT’S ALL CONNECTED! KNOW YOUR ECOSYSTEM – BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS LOVE OCEAN SPRAY (HOLODISCUS DISCOLOR). Bugging You From San Juan Island. https://buggingyoufromsanjuanisland.com/tag/holodiscus-discolor/

No author. 2024. Fernald Cuckoo Bee Bombus flavidus. Bumble Bee Atlas and the Xerces Society for Insect Conservation. https://www.bumblebeeatlas.org/pages/bombus-flavidus

No author. No date. Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor). Calscape – California Native Plant Society.

Mayer, M. 2021. Cuckoo Combo: Re-Classification Makes Bombus flavidus World’s Most Widespread Bumble Bee. Entomology Today. https://entomologytoday.org/2021/04/28/cuckoo-combo-reclassification-bombus-flavidus-worlds-most-widespread-bumble-bee/

Murray, T. 2024. Species Coquillettidia perturbans. Bugguide. Iowa State University. https://bugguide.net/node/view/26971

Discovering the Golden Paper Wasp: A Native Treasure

Posted on May 12, 2025 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

The other morning when I was watering our garden, I spied the most beautiful creature I’ve seen in a long time, a Golden Paper Wasp (Polistes aurifer). In fact, in sixteen years of living on San Juan Island, I have only seen one colony of these wasps (April 14, 2024) at the San Juan County Land Bank’s Mount Grant nature preserve. These wasps are native to North America and once considered a subspecies of Polistes fuscatus. However, P. aurifer has a western geographic distribution ranging from BC-CA to AB-MT-w.TX; ne. Mexico (Bugguide.net).

Polistes wasps build open faced nests suspended by a petiole in varied sites. Some select relatively exposed areas under eaves of structures or in shrub-type vegetation, while others utilize more protected cavities such as abandoned rodent burrows or hollow trees. Most often, the ones we see are the non native European paper wasp species (Polistes dominula), that seem very comfortable establishing their nests under the eaves of our homes.

It is believed the more frequently observed (P. dominula) are displacing native Polistes aurifer, but since it is more difficult for scientists studying insects in natural or wild habitats, most formal observations have taken place utilizing sites associated with man-made dwellings (Liebert, 2004). Liebert published a short communication in Insectes Sociaux (2004) where she describes finding ground nesting colonies of this species at an observation site in California, and concludes that the “displacement” theory may be overstated. However, given the loss of natural areas due to habitat loss/conversion, a decline in populations of the native P. aurifer (I believe) would more accurately be attributed to humans. Humans also unfortunately resort to wasp spray to eradicate nests around their homes without understanding that most nests pose minimal or no risk to human comings and goings.

Polistes wasps (native and non-native) are generally considered to be beneficial insects. They are pest predators, capturing and dismembering caterpillars to feed larvae they are rearing. In Eastern and Southern regions of the U.S., some species of Polistes wasps exert significant pressure on the cotton bollworm and the tobacco hornworm, both pests of considerable economic significance.

If you spy one of these Western natives, you’ll know immediately because they have the most beautiful golden brown or caramel colored eyes!

Thanks for reading. 🙂

Polistes aurifer

References

Bohart, G. E. 1942. Notes on Some Feeding and Hibernation Habits of California Polistes (Hymenoptera, Vespidae). Pan-Pac. Ent. 18(1): 30-31. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/piru_pubs/15/

Buck, M., Marshall, S.A. and Cheung D.K.B. 2008. Identification Atlas of the Vespidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata) of the northeastern Nearctic region. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification No. 5: 492 pp. (PDF version).
Published on 19 February 2008. With 3 Tables and 1073 Figures.

Bugguide. 2023. Polistes aurifer. Bugguide.net. https://bugguide.net/node/view/24972

Liebert, Aviva. (2004). Ground nesting in the paper wasp Polistes aurifer (Hymenoptera, Vespidae). Insectes Sociaux – INSECTES SOC. 51. 99-100. 10.1007/s00040-003-0714-0.

p.s. I found another (naturally deceased) individual in our barn/shop, so perhaps we have had these around and I’ve just been missing them.

Your Garden’s Guardian: A Soldier in Miniature (Silis sp.)

Posted on May 8, 2025 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

This tiny little friend (approx. 6mm) sporting a red collar is a soldier beetle in the family Cantharidae. It is in the Genus Silis, but there are so many species, that I will just leave it at the genus level for now.

Silis beetles are quite cosmopolitan in distribution, associated with wooded areas and leaf litter, and active daytime fliers in early summer.

Adults are typically found on foliage and flowers. Primarily, they are pest predators, feeding on insects, but also serve as pollinators, feeding on nectar and pollen. Silis species are known to prey on aphid populations infesting trees, plants, and shrubs, so gardeners can appreciate them as a “friend.”

Silis beetles can also attack other groups of invertebrates, feeding on small soft-bodied specimens or consuming their eggs. However, the ecology of some species is remains to be investigated. While Fender (1973) found the larvae would eat earthworms and are mostly carnivorous in the soil, little else is known about the feeding habits in this stage. (Pelletier and Hébert , 2014).

The etymology of the nomenclature for the genus (Silis) comes from Σίλας in Greek. It is derived from the Latin name Silvanus, meaning “forest” or “wood,” and a contraction of the Greek form Silouanos, a transliteration of Silvanus. Silis or Silas is also associated with the Roman god of the countryside, Silvanus, a god who was worshipped by those who lived in wooded areas or worked with wood. Even older than the etymology is this tidbit. Silis beetles are quite ancient. Fairly recent research has identified specimens of the genus discovered in Baltic Amber (Parisi and Fanti, 2019).

While I have now scooped a few out of our pool, thankfully in time to save them from drowning, some of them (perhaps the ones I’ve rescued) are also finding me. I have had them on my clothing and peeping in the door at me!

Thanks for reading!

Soldier Beetle (Genus Silis) looking in our door at me!

References

Bugguide 2025. Genus Silis. Iowa State University. https://bugguide.net/node/view/11961

Green, John Wagener. 1966. Revision of the Nearctic species of Silis (Cantharidae: Coleoptera). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 4th Series, 32, 447–513. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/52839

Pelletier, G., Hébert, C. 2014. The Cantharidae of Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification No. 25. February 28, 2014. Available online doi: 10.3752/cjai.2014.25

Parisi, F. and Fanti, F. 2019. On the first Silis Charpentier, 1825 from Baltic amber (Coleoptera, Cantharidae), Foss. Rec., 22, 119–123, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-119-2019

Canary thorn moth, (Neoterpes trianguliferata)

Posted on April 28, 2025 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

I found the most beautiful creature at my moth light this morning. It is the Canary Thorn Moth (Neoterpes trianguliferata ). I was surprised to see anything there given the drop in temperatures we’ve had the past few days. After a few photos, I got too close and he flew out of the open barn area into some grass, struggling a bit in the wind, so I was able to carefully coax him back into an egg carton to shelter the day back undercover and out of the rain.

If you’re wondering about the egg carton, I use these in my moth light set up to give the moths a secure place to hide when they settle down under the light for the night. The egg cartons are in a 5 gallon bucket. I have the “low end” set up, so no major investments in equipment. Anyone could do this at home. It’s fun to “moth” and see what species live around us. If you’re interested, shoot me an email and I’ll coach you on getting set up yourself. For the record, all of my specimens are photographed with respect and care, and allowed to live free. I do not take specimens for pinning. I definitely believe they are here to be admired in the wild, not in a glass case.

More about this species:

Neoterpes trianguliferata is a species of Geometrid moth that ranges from southern British Columbia to southwestern Alberta, south to Colorado, Utah, and California. The hostplants for larvae (the caterpillars) are Currants and Gooseberry (Ribes). I’ve linked information for some of the native host plants below in the reference section.

Larvae are twig mimics. Pupae sleep through the winter wrapped in a leaf, another reason to “leave the leaves” and refrain from burning or bagging and discarding the leaves around your home. You could inadvertently impact overwintering species like these and others. Adults are approximately 14-20mm (forewing length). You will see adults in flight between April-June in our area. From what I have been able to find as to the etymological meaning of the name, Neoterpes may translate to “new delight” and trianguliferata refers to the triangle-shaped markings on the forewings. It was indeed a delight to see this beauty today! A bit of sunshine on a rainy spring day.

Canary thorn moth (Neoterpes trianguliferata)

References

Bressette, Dana Kelley. no date. Coast Black Gooseberry, Ribes divaricatum. Native Plants PNW. https://nativeplantspnw.com/coast-black-gooseberry-ribes-divaricatum/

Bressette, Dana Kelley. no date. Red Flowering Currant, Ribes sanguineum. Native Plants PNW. https://nativeplantspnw.com/red-flowering-currant-ribes-sanguineum/

Bugguide.net. 2023. Species Neoterpes trianguliferata – Hodges#6860. Bugguide. Iowa State University. https://bugguide.net/node/view/114007

Moth Photographers Group. Neoterpes trianguliferata (Packard, 1871). Mississippi State University. https://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=6860

Nelson, Dan. 2021. Neoterpes trianguliferata. 10,000 THINGS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Adventures of a Recreational Naturalist. http://10000thingsofthepnw.com/2021/08/08/neoterpes-trianguliferata/

April 7, 2025 – A Million or More

Posted on April 7, 2025 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

I woke up this morning feeling like my head is going to explode. Migraine sufferers will identify. The throbbing continues, regardless of whatever you might throw at it. I managed to get little Olivia to the vet by 09:40 to get her spay stitches out and our vet cleaned her ears. She had a lot of wax buildup and came home with some antibiotic ear drops to ward off any potential infection that might be developing. Olivia is our latest rescue cat. She’s a sweet little Tortie Persian. Age 2. It’s been a delight to have her sharing our space and she’s made fast friends with our other two resident kitties (Herman and Nimbus).

Olivia the cat

After I got back home from town, I went back outside to walk around the yard a bit hoping the cool air would calm down my headache. I wandered over to look in the above ground pools we have for water catchment. One is in the shade and the other is in the sun. It’s pretty cool how they each have their own mini ecosystems going on.

Hypogastrura sp. Springtails and a millipede raft

The shaded pool was the active one today. It was literally covered with a million or more of these teeny aquatic springtails. Initially, I believed the species to be Podura aquatica in the family Poduridae, but someone has suggested a different family (Hypogastruridae) altogether as a possibility. I may have to revisit my ID. Springtails or Collembola are tiny hexapods. The ones in my photo looked to be approx. 1mm in size. The blue-ish ones you see in the photo are mature specimens and the pinkish/orange ones are juveniles. I believe this could be a mating aggregation (Sánchez-García et. al, 2018). *** note *** Updating ID to family Hypogastruidae (Genus Hypogastrura) after looking at these under a microscope and seeing they have a reduced furcula (the little appendage on the back end that helps them jump).

There were so many of these that it looked as if the surface of the pool had been sprinkled with pepper. I found some in a water dish I had on the ground that were easier to photograph. There were a few rafting on a poor little millipede that somehow ended up in the water. It was still alive, so I fished it out and moved it to a nice damp spot in the soil.

An aggregation of tiny springtails (Hypogastrura sp.)

Hypogastrura sp. springtails

Some species of springtails are semi aquatic, living in fresh water. Others are common in soil and leaf litter where they influence decomposition processes and nutrient availability. Some are arboreal and are abundant in rain forest canopies. There are even springtails living successfully in polar regions (Hopkin,1997 ; Sanchez-Garcia et al, 2018).

Springtails hanging out with a deceased backswimmer (Notonectidae)

Raft of Hypogastrura sp. springtails photographed March 27, 2025 – San Juan Island, WA

Check out the reference list I have attached below for further reading. Some of these are really interesting!

References

Ádám Egri, György Kriska. 2019. How does the water springtail optically locate suitable habitats? Spectral sensitivity of phototaxis and polarotaxis in Podura aquatica. J Exp Biol 222 (9): jeb199760. https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/222/9/jeb199760/688/How-does-the-water-springtail-optically-locate

Bellini, B. C., Weiner, W. M., & Winck, B. R. 2023. Systematics, Ecology and Taxonomy of Collembola: Introduction to the Special Issue. Diversity, 15(2), 221. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020221

Bugguide. 2025. Hypogastrura.

Childs, G. H. 1915. Some observations on the life history of the water springtail (Podura aquatica – 1758). MSc thesis, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Heckman, C. W. 2018. Ecological Strategies of Aquatic Insects. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.

Hopkin SP. 1997. Biology of the Springtails (Insecta: Collembola). New York: Oxford Univ. Press.

Möllerke A, Brasse G, Bello J, Vidal DM, Dettner K, Zettel J, Berg MP, Scheu S, Leinaas HP, Schulz S. 2024. The unique epicuticular chemistry of Collembola – A cross-species analysis. iScience. 27(8):110416. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110416. PMID: 39139403; PMCID: PMC11321324.

Noble-Nesbitt, J. 1963. A site of water and ionic exchange with the medium in Podura aquatica L. (Collembola, Isotomidae). J. Exp. Biol. 40, 701-711.

Ortega-Jimenez VM, Challita EJ, Kim B, Ko H, Gwon M, Koh JS, Bhamla MS. 2022. Directional takeoff, aerial righting, and adhesion landing of semiaquatic springtails. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 119(46):e2211283119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2211283119. Epub 2022 Nov 7. PMID: 36343251; PMCID: PMC9674249.

Silje Marie Kristiansen, Katrine Borgå, Jan Thomas Rundberget, Hans Petter Leinaas, Effects on Life‐History Traits of Hypogastrura viatica (Collembola) Exposed to Imidacloprid Through Soil or Diet, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Volume 40, Issue 11, 1 November 2021, Pages 3111–3122, https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5187

Rusek, J. 1998. Biodiversity of Collembola and their functional role in the ecosystem. Biodiv. Conserv. 7, 1207-1219. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008887817883

Sánchez-García A, Peñalver E, Delclòs X, Engel MS. 2018. Mating and aggregative behaviors among basal hexapods in the Early Cretaceous. PLoS ONE 13(2): e0191669. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191669

Schulz, S., Messer, C., & Dettner, K. 1997. Poduran, an unusual tetraterpene from the springtail Podura aquatica. Tetrahedron Letters, 38(12), 2077–2080. doi:10.1016/s0040-4039(97)00341-9

Silje Marie Kristiansen, Katrine Borgå, Jan Thomas Rundberget, Hans Petter Leinaas, 2021. Effects on Life‐History Traits of Hypogastrura viatica (Collembola) Exposed to Imidacloprid Through Soil or Diet, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Volume 40, Issue 11, Pages 3111–3122, https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5187

Yule, Catherine & Yong, Hoi Sen. (2012). 33. Collembola. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233727118_33_Collembola

Western Thatching Ants (Formica obscuripes)

Posted on March 15, 2025 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

Formica obscuripes, Western Thatching Ant

I went for a walk yesterday on Three Corner Lake Road just to get out of the house. Springtime on San Juan Island has been cold and dreary, but sometimes there’s a moment or two when the sun peeks out, giving a bit of hope that the winter doldrums are coming to an end. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Pacific Northwest, but the Visitor Center’s claim that San Juan gets 247 days of sunshine a year is a stretch. I think they actually count the days when it is overcast and rainy as long as the sun peeks out for just a minute before the clouds darken the day again.

It was cold and I wasn’t expecting to see any insect activity, so I was surprised to find this long time ant colony with a mass of individuals near the top of the nest. The sun had been out intermittently, so I believe what was happening was the workers were at the surface to warm themselves (thermoregulating). There were a few straggling workers carrying thatch debris (conifer needles) to the nest from the forest. If the weather had been nicer, I would have enjoyed plopping myself into a chair to ant watch for an hour or so. They are quite pretty when you see them up close.

Western Thatching Ants (Formica obscuripes) are native to our region. They seem to like forest edge habitat, and you’ll find the nests situated in areas where there is some clearing to take advantage of the sun’s warmth. These ants are considered general omnivore-predators. They scavenge or prey upon insects and other arthropods for food. Foraging activity takes place both on the ground and on vegetation, including high in trees. Thatch ants also harvest honeydew from aphids and other homopterans as well as from extrafloral nectaries. You can read more about extrafloral nectaries or EFN’s (little nectar producing glands on plants) here https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1774 or check out one of my earlier blog posts about them here https://buggingyoufromsanjuanisland.com/2022/05/17/what-are-extra-floral-nectaries%EF%BF%BC/

Extrafloral nectary on Fruitless Cherry Tree

The ant workers are considered weakly polymorphic, which means they have only slight variations in size and shape within the worker caste as opposed to other species where workers may be monomorphic (all the same size and shape), or strongly polymorphic (a high degree of variability between worker sizes and shapes). You can read more about polymorphism in ants here https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/images/1/1c/Wheeler_1908f.pdf .

Given all the information you’ll find from pest control companies online about these ants and others, you might ask, why or if there is any benefit to having these ants around. The answer is YES! Western Thatching ants are beneficial in ecosystems because they not only aerate the soil with their burrowing practices in nest construction, but they also provide FREE pest control, helping regulate populations of other insects that defoliate forests, fruit trees, and even our vegetable gardens. They also help clean up the environment through scavenging dead animals. There is no need to eradicate these nests and if you get into ant watching, they might provide a bit of intriguing summer entertainment. Pull up your lawn chairs and sit and watch with your friends. As long as you aren’t poking the nest, they are not inclined to bother you at all.

Thanks for reading!

References:

Formica obsuripes. 2025. Bugguide.net. https://bugguide.net/node/view/31269

Formica obscuripes. 2025. AntWiki. https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Formica_obscuripes

McIver, J.D., Torolf, T.R., Cimon, N.J. 1997. A supercolony of the thatch ant Formica obscuripes forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Blue Mountains of Oregon. Northwest science., Vol.71(1), pp.18-29. https://rex.libraries.wsu.edu/esploro/outputs/journalArticle/A-supercolony-of-the-thatch-ant/99900502747101842

A Sedgesitter

Posted on March 13, 2025 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

This was Wednesday’s bug of the day. I’m a day behind writing up my post. Although I have tried to get out for a quick bug search every day, it’s been overcast and/or drizzly here this past week. I was excited to see this little fly hunkered down on a twig of our fruitless cherry tree, the tree that I whacked off as an unwanted upstart for several years before I discovered how interesting it is.

Western Forest Sedgesitter, (*Platycheirus trichopus*), I believe

That tree is a mini ecosystem: floral nectaries that feed the aphids, aphids, slave making ants that have fights to the death (winning) with the carpenter ants that try to invade our home every spring, and the birds that rip the leaves apart trying to get the aphids. Now I can add Syrphid flies to the list!

That’s what this is. A syrphid fly. Syrphid flies eat aphids. It would make perfect sense for this adult to lay eggs on the tree, though I’m not sure what would happen because the ants that farm those aphids are certainly willing to die defending them. I could definitely see the ants overtaking the syrphid fly larvae. Nevertheless, the fly flew off. Somewhere.

I believe this particular fly is the Syrphid fly species Platycheirus trichopus, the Western Forest Sedgesitter. While difficult to ID to species, I did reference the helpful ID guide by fly expert, Even Dankowicz. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19F1qRGpmNDgaGE13M2SMUBlI846JicTOYjIescjVTHw/preview?slide=id.g8918834f0e_0_92

This species, as mentioned earlier is pretty small at only about 6.8-9.4 mm. Geographic distribution ranges from the Rocky Mountains west from Alaska to Mexico (bugguide.net). Adults of this genus are known to feed on the pollen of wind pollinated plants like Willow (Salix sp.) and various grasses (Poaceae), and sedges (Cyperaceae). It is believed they are better adapted to activity in cooler temperatures and that fits with yesterday’s rather gloomy spring day.

Thanks for reading!