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Bug of the Weekend (Plectrura spinicauda)

Posted on March 7, 2026 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island One comment

This unusual looking critter is a Long horned beetle in the family Cerambycidae, sometimes referred to as the Thorn- Tailed Longhorn Beetle because of the spiny projections at the posterior end of its body. The species is Plectrura spinicauda. Etymology for this bug’s binomial nomenclature consists of the generic name, derived from a combination of plektron (Greek for instrument to strike/pick) or plekein (to weave/twist) with oura (Greek for tail), and the species epithet combines from Latin spina (spine/thorn) and cauda (tail), translating to “spiny tail.”

They are native to North America, with a geographic distribution in Western N. America (Alaska-n CA). P. spinicauda is a flightless beetle species with cool wrap around eyes, and as the name suggests, thorny projections at the end of its abdomen. The larvae have been found to develop in Alder, Willow, and Maple. They are important as decomposers and nutrient recyclers.

Author’s note. It is quite common for people to state that wood boring beetles kill trees. This is not necessarily true at all. In fact, most trees that are attacked by beetles are already in a state of decline. Just like humans decline with age or become ill with health problems, so do other things. Nature’s way of handling diseased and dying trees is to send beetles in (all sorts of beetle species) to help with the decomposition process – to recycle waste products and release nutrients back into the environment for other life forms to utilize.

Spraying a tree with pesticides as a preventative from the course of nature only worsens the situation. If you step back to assess the situation, you might ask yourself why the tree is dying. Is it from drought, heat, competition from other nearby trees, did someone weed whack too close to the trunk and cut or scar the bark? Are you running your lawn mower over exposed roots? Is the tree a short-lived species or maybe just entering the sunset of its lifespan?

There are many various reasons for trees to decline and die. Don’t blame the beetles for doing their job. They don’t just clean up the mess, but they feed many other organisms with their own lives. Beetle larvae are wonderful food for woodpeckers and other birds. Birds are in decline. Do something! Care! Get a book at your local library about how to create habitat so you have diversity of life and a healthy ecosystem in your yard space.

Thanks for reading!

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

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

Identifying the Nicocles canadensis Robber Fly

Posted on June 17, 2025 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

It has taken a bit of time to finally sort out genus and species for this very cool Robber fly with beautiful caramel-brown mottled wings I spied the evening of June 6, 2025. It perched on a dried apple mint stem from last season, no doubt scouting the terrain to see what might be on the menu for dinner. Robber flies (Family Asilidae) are predatory. They catch other small invertebrates to eat, paralyzing them with special salivary digestive enzymes and then sucking up the liquified contents through the proboscis (Cannings, 2013).

Getting to an identification beyond Genus for this one has been incredibly frustrating, and complicating the process is the limitation of the key I was using (Wilcox, 1946), which primarily describes male specimens.

Robert Cannings has studied the Asilidae for many years in British Columbia and states this genus “sorely requires systematic attention.” I finally just gave up and reached out to Rob for help. He wrote me and said, “I’m pretty sure this is Nicocles canadensis. It’s a female, and some females are difficult, even when under a scope, because the Wilcox key, which is the best we have for now, deals with them poorly and concentrates on males. Nicocles canadensis is the species in the genus most often seen on BC’s south coast and, I assume, in your area.”

This is the only Nicocles fly I’ve ever found on our property on San Juan. According to Rob’s 2014 publication (linked in the references below) in Canada, ” Nicocles canadensis is restricted to Garry oak savanna and adjacent dry woodland on southern Vancouver Island (Saanich is the type locality),” so I anticipate this may be similar for our neighboring area.

Check out the attached references if you are interested in learning more about Robber Flies in our region.

Thanks for reading!

References

Cannings, R.A. 2014. The Robber Flies (Diptera: Asilidae) of Western Canadian Grasslands. 10.3752/9780968932179.ch7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268524943_The_Robber_Flies_Diptera_Asilidae_of_Western_Canadian_Grasslands

Cannings, R.A. 2013. Robber Flies (INSECTA: DIPTERA: ASILIDAE) Of The Montane Cordillera Ecozone.

Cannings, R.A. 1994. Robber Flies (Diptera: Asilidae) new to Canada, British Columbia, Yukon,
and the Northwest Territories with notes on distribution and habitat. J. Entomol. Soc.
British Columbia: 91: 19-26. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/213777

Cole, F. R. 1969. The Flies of Western North America. University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Fisher, E.M., and Wilcox, J. 1997. Catalogue of the robber flies (Diptera: Asilidae) of the
Nearctic Region. Unpublished preliminary draft.https://staff.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Catalog-Nearctic-Fisher-Wilcox-1997-manuscript-copy.pdf

Geller-Grimm, F. 2008. Robber Flies (Asilidae). Internet site at http://www.geller-grimm.de/asilidae.htm

Melander, A.L. (1924) Studies in Asilidae (Diptera). Psyche [1923] 30: 207-19. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1155/1923/83461

Wilcox, J. 1946. New Nicocles with a key to the species (Diptera, Asilidae). Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 40 (1945): 161-165; New York – Lancaster. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/50573094#page/180/mode/1up

Exploring Dry Soils: Nature’s Resilience in Difficult Conditions

Posted on June 10, 2025 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

Globular springtail (Fasciosminthurus quinquefasciatus)

I’m quite fascinated by the rapid colonization of the very dry soil in the strip where our internet fiber cable was installed this past spring. Because disturbed soils can be great for seeding native wildflowers, I threw out several packets of a Pacific Northwest seed blend to see what might grow and I’ve been checking often to see what is coming up. In spite of the very dry weather we are having, there are some lovely Bird’s-eye Gilia (Gilia tricolor) blooming now.

I see some Farewell to Spring (Clarkia sp.) popping up too, though they have not bloomed yet. There are others I have yet to identify. It’s been so hot and dry, I’m hoping the lack of water doesn’t ruin my efforts at re-wilding this spot.

In spite of the dry, cracked earth, there are Andrena sp. mining bees already claiming this strip. There are little holes everywhere.

I also saw one quite unique hole surrounded with round dirt “pebbles,” that looked to have been arranged to mark the entrance.

As I leaned closer to inspect this architectural oddity, I saw something I would never have even noticed without the help of my macro lens. It was a colony of Globular springtails (Fasciosminthurus quinquefasciatus). There were easily about 8 or so. Can you spy the one on one of the “pebbles?”

I was able to get one or two in focus. These springtails are incredibly small – perhaps only 1mm, and recognizable by the 5 transverse bands (jailbird stripes) across the dorsal abdomen. This species is unique among springtails in that while most species require moist habitats to survive, F. quinquefasciatus thrives in arid environments with little to no vegetation in areas with southern or south western exposure.

If you follow closely in the video here, you might notice that the individual I was tracking either pooped or laid an egg on that piece of straw (between the 45 and 55 second mark. I will add some still shots clipped from the video as well.

A personal note ~ While our daily lives are often complicated with work and family obligations, as well as anxieties many of us have about climate change and political uncertainties, taking time to notice the natural world around, even in seemingly uninhabitable habitats can bring a bit of hope. There is life around us. We just might have to sit on the ground and get dirty to see it.

Thank you for reading and thank you for caring about nature.

What’s Biting Me?

Posted on May 31, 2025 by "BUGGING" YOU FROM San Juan Island Leave a comment

I may have used this title before, so I’ll have to double check, and perhaps since I get this query frequently I will go back and edit with a numerical system or something like that.

So in this video, I am receiving a bite from 1) a mosquito? 2) a tick? or 3) a thrips? or 4) a bug?

If you chose option 4, a bug, you are correct. Indeed it is a bug, but not just any kind of bug. It is a bug in that it falls into the insect order Hemiptera (the true bugs). This “bug” is a species named Campyloneura virgula, a type of plant bug in the family Miridae.

It’s not the first time one has bitten me either, though most of my reactive bites on San Juan Island have been from thrips in the summertime when it is super dry and they are looking for moisture. I react badly to thrips bites. My husband says they are so small you can’t even see them. I think he really believes I am imagining them, but hey, I’m the entomologist in our family, right?

They’re not imaginary.

Neither is this biter. You can see the action on my ankle for yourself.

Then read the reference material and watch out for ankle biters in your yard.

References

Thomas J. Henry “First Eastern North American Records of Campyloneura virgula (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Bryocorinae),” Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 114(1), 159-163, (1 January 2012). https://bioone.org/journals/proceedings-of-the-entomological-society-of-washington/volume-114/issue-1/082.114.0101/First-Eastern-North-American-Records-of-Campyloneura-virgula-Hemiptera/10.4289/082.114.0101.short#:~:text=It%20also%20is%20known%20to,(Lattin%20and%20Stonedahl%201984).

Zarrabi Ahrabi, Salar & Şakacı, Zafer & Akyıldız, Gürkan & Gargili, Ayşen & Talay, Şengül & Kar, Sirri. (2024). Human Biting Plant Bug Campyloneura virgula (Hemiptera: Miridae): First Case Report in Türkiye. Clinical and Experimental Health Sciences. 10.33808/clinexphealthsci.1268203. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381681450_Human_Biting_Plant_Bug_Campyloneura_virgula_Hemiptera_Miridae_First_Case_Report_in_Turkiye

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/