Insects

(Insectum)

Ants

Ants are perhaps the most successful of all insects. There are approximately 8,800 species of ants in the world. With about 580 species in North America, of these, 83 are found in B.C. In most areas of the world, ants are among the most dominant Insects. But it is not in terms of diversity where they dominate, but rather in numbers; in many areas, they make up a large portion of the overall insect population. Read More….

 

 

Bees

The Bee is capable of seeing ultraviolet light, which is invisible to humans. The bee can navigate by ultraviolet light, which even penetrates cloud cover. The Honey bee can use the sun as a reference point to communicate to other bees a location. They occur on all continents except Antarctica. They are most frequent in hot, arid habitats. There are about 3,500 species of bees in North America. Read More….

 

 

Beetles 

Polyphaga is by far the largest suborder, containing 85% of the known species. Perhaps the single most important factor in the success of these insects is the development of the elytra or armoured forewings that are leathery and hard. They are not used in flight but are a sheath that covers the more delicate flying wings when they are not in use. Read More….

 

 

Butterflies 

Most butterflies prefer flowers that are pink, red, purple, or yellow and that are open all day, so plant these colours in your garden to attract them. Most butterflies fly during the day, and at night they sleep in the grass or on the underside of a leaf. Butterflies can’t hear, but they can feel vibrations of the slightest kind. Female butterflies are bigger and live longer than males. Vancouver Island has quite a few butterflies that live here, they bring such beauty to our island. Read More….

 

 

Bristletails 

Most bristletails (Archeognatha) can be found in wooded areas where they are most likely to be seen under the bark of trees, or hiding along the rocky shores of streams and creeks, quite often, they can be found along the ocean shore as well, just above the upper tide line on our island beaches. They are nocturnal and are most likely to be seen at night, feeding on a variety of foods such as algae, lichens, mosses, or decaying plant matter. Read More….

 

 

Caddisflies

Did you ever look down into a pond and see a bundle of sticks moving about? This is the house of a small caddisfly larva. The debris that makes up the material of the caddis worm’s house is glued together with strands of silk. This silk comes out of an opening in the lower lip of the animal. Read More….

 

 

 

Centipedes and Millipedes

Centipedes and millipedes can be found all over Vancouver Island. Centipedes can easily be distinguished from millipedes by counting the number of pairs of legs arising from most body segments; millipedes have two pairs, while centipedes bear one pair per segment, with the first pair of legs being modified into fangs. Read More….

 

 

Crickets

Our local Crickets are medium to large insects. Like their relatives, the grasshoppers and katydids. They have rounded heads, antennae that are long and thin, and their wings bend down on the sides of their body. They often look flat, or at least the top of their body looks flattened. Most are brown, but some are black, and conehead crickets are green.  Both males and females have ears, but they are on their legs! They are smooth, round structures on their lower legs.  Read More….

 

 

Damselflies

Their lifecycle usually lasts one year, although some species can live for two years. The damselflies mate while attached to weeds or on shorelines. The female then climbs farther down into the weeds and dips her body into the water to lay the eggs. Once her eggs have been laid, she crawls back to the top to mate again. Read More….

 

 

 

Dragonflies

Dragonflies are a large predatory insect generally found around lakes and streams, they are quite common on Vancouver Island. Dragonfly larvae are aquatic. The dragonfly larvae or nymph is capable of producing a painful bite for humans, so don’t attempt to catch them in your hands. Read More….

 

 

 

Flies 

True Flies are always listed as 2 words separated, like house fly or crane fly, while others are listed as 1 word, like dragonfly or damselfly. The compound eyes are usually large, often occupying most of the head. Mouthparts are modified and combined into a sucking proboscis, which is highly variable in structure. Some mydas have mouthparts that don’t function. They do not bite in the true sense, but puncture the skin of their victims and suck blood. Read More….

 

 

Grasshoppers

They have biting and chewing mouthparts and oversized hind legs that are modified for jumping. Most have a general ability, especially in males, to make loud noises when jumping or gliding. The order can also make sounds that are used for communication. These sounds are often the most important characteristics for separating closely related species. Creating sound is done by striking the abdomen with a ridge on the inside of the hind femur, and others can make a snapping noise with their hind wings in flight. Read More….

 

Moths

Moths are found all around the world and are closely related to the more colourful butterfly. However, moths are nocturnal animals and are more pastel-coloured to blend into the darker surroundings of night. As with their butterfly cousins, moths are known to play a vital role in the pollination of plants as they flutter between them. Those plants that flower during the night rely solely on moths and bats to pollinate them. They are the second most important pollinator after the bees. Read More….

 

Net Wing Flies

The most commonly seen Net net-winged flies are the green lacewings or the brown lacewings. The green lacewing is sometimes known as the golden-eyed lacewing. They have a long, delicate antenna, a slender greenish body, and copper-coloured eyes. It is worldwide in distribution and can be found near grasses and shrubs. The lacewing is also known as a stink fly because it emits a disagreeable odour as a protective device. Read More….

 

 

Termites

There are several species of termites in the Pacific Northwest, they are all damp wood termites. They are much larger than the subterranean types that are common across North America. These winged, damp wood creatures can be up to 25 mm long, including their wings, and the soldiers can be up to 20 mm long. They have a large head with huge mandibles. The nests have no worker termites, instead, the young immature ones do all the work. Read More….

 

 

True Bugs

The word bug is used to describe any of the insects, as well as many other creatures like spiders, ticks or mites, but the only true bugs are those belonging to the order Hemiptera. Hemiptera means half wing and refers to the characteristics of the forewings of this order. The forewings are thick and leathery near the base and membranous near the tip, and they fold flat over the insect’s back, covering the hind wings, which are used for flying. Read More….

 

 

Wasps

The wasp is a medium-sized flying insect that can be found all around the world. The wasp is known for its black and yellow markings, not unlike some bees. It is found in all parts of the world, on every continent, with only the polar regions being exempt. There are about 75,000 species of wasps worldwide. Read More….

 

 

 

Worms

It seems strange to think of earthworms as immigrants. After all, they seem to be everywhere, performing their lowly task of working the soil. It seems impossible that they could not always have been here, and yet, in many parts of North America, there were no worms until they were transported here from Europe and elsewhere by yet another invasive species, the humans. At least since the end of the last ice age, for the most part, North America has been an earthworm-free zone. Read More….

 

 

Entomology, or the study of Insects, is a fascinating science – one most often ignored by amateur naturalists.

People love to watch feathered birds and hear their wonderful songs, or observe soft, cute & furry little mammals. They marvel at our majestic, large land mammals, and those at sea, which inspire whale-watching tours by the thousands. Then you have the insects, with their hard bodies and bulging eyes, wavering antennae, and 6 legs – looking very much like little aliens! It’s no wonder that they’re not on most people’s favourite lists.

If you stop to watch them, though, you can learn just how fascinating they are. Although some insects transmit deadly diseases or can sting with powerful poisons, most are of great benefit to us. From bees, who give us honey, pollinate plants, & help provide us with food. From silkworms that give us silk, to garden insects that create soil to grow our food. There are many, many ways that insects help us.

Ants are perhaps the most successful of all insects. There are approximately 8,800 species worldwide. With about 580 species in North America, of these, 83 are found in B.C. In most areas of the world, they are among the most dominant Insects. But it is not in terms of diversity where they dominate, but rather in numbers; in many areas, they make up a large portion of the overall insect population.

Most people have encountered them in a negative context, such as discovering them in your home. They can be serious pests in some areas. However, they are a key factor in ecosystem function, and their removal would seriously alter its ability to function, and many other organisms would be impacted negatively.

They are also a staple food for many birds, such as woodpeckers, and they are an important dietary component for black bears. For example, ants and their larvae are the main food source eaten by bears during the early spring. Bears will search for them actively during this period. On Vancouver Island, black bears depend on them throughout late summer and fall when the berry crop is poor.

They can affect their environment in many ways. Some species have been shown to surpass earthworms in the amount of soil they transport to the surface. Many species are fierce predators and, as such, can be beneficial. Some species, like thatching ants, can have huge nests, containing many thousands of workers, so they could have a significant impact on forest health by preying on the caterpillars of defoliator moths, at least in B.C.

Many plants have evolved to have their seeds dispersed by ants. Many species farm aphids and their relatives for their honeydew. In return, the aphids are protected from predators and parasites. Ants sometimes actively move aphids from plant to plant like a farmer moving his herds around.

Many utilize dead wood for nest construction. The most well-known of these are the carpenter ants. These large, but often shy and non-aggressive ants construct their nests in decayed logs or standing trees. In a preliminary survey of ants, it was found that deadwood is a preferred nest substrate for most ant species in B.C. on Vancouver Island.

The western thatching ant is a relatively widespread species on Vancouver Island. It is often locally dominant in forest stands with sandy soils. This species can construct impressive thatch mound nests. I have seen these nests get as big as 2 meters across and contain hundreds of thousands of ants.

The odorous house ant is very widespread in North America. Despite its diminutive size, this one can be rather aggressive. Because of its small size, it is easily overlooked. Nests are often found in association with wood, but the majority of their nests are under moss or in soil. They will also nest in any place they can hide in your home, and I have even found temporary nests in electronics like radios and televisions.

The ones most commonly seen are those that occur in and around human dwellings and in cities. Carpenter ants get their name as a result of the habit of many common species to nest in wood, including human dwellings. Most commonly, people notice carpenter ants when they swarm in spring, but since nests can be quite large, workers are also noticeable around well-established nests.

Red ants tend to be less noticeable. They are often reddish, they have a stinger like bees and can inflict painful stings despite their small size. They are usually slower-moving and somewhat more cryptic with small nests, but many are commonly seen in cities where their nest entrances are located in sidewalk cracks and between paving stones.

Some insects are just so beautiful that they can take your breath away; butterflies can have that effect on you. Butterflies undergo a series of physical transformations known as metamorphosis from the time it is an egg right up to adulthood and mating. After mating, the female will lay her eggs on a host plant. The eggs may hatch within a few days or sometimes will not hatch until conditions are just right.

Right after hatching into a caterpillar, it begins to eat the host plant.  The caterpillar moults several times during this stage. It then seeks a safe spot, suspends itself by silken threads and moults one last time, and turns into a chrysalis or pupa. Within days, months, or even longer, depending on the kind of Butterfly, a fully developed winged adult emerges from the chrysalis and the cycle begins again.

Most prefer flowers that are pink, red, purple, or yellow and that are open all day, so plant these colours in your garden to attract them. Butterflies fly during the day, and at night they sleep on the underside of a leaf or some other safe spot. Butterflies can’t hear, but they can feel vibrations of the slightest kind.

They do make the world a prettier place, l love, just everyone else, seeing them fly by, you always stop and look with wonder in your eyes when one is spotted. Female butterflies are bigger and live longer than males.

Butterflies are cold-blooded, and they cannot regulate their body temperature. This means their body temperature changes with the temperature of their surroundings. If they get too cold, they are unable to fly and must warm up to enable their muscles to work properly. Butterflies prefer to fly in temperatures between 18 and 30 °c. If the temperature drops too low, they may seek a warm, sunny spot and bask. Butterflies bask with their wings spread out to soak up the sun’s heat. It’s easiest to photograph them early in the day as they sit still for longer periods, basking in a warm spot.

Insects have an exoskeleton that protects their internal organs, reinforcing them in much the same way as our skeleton supports us. Their body is divided into 3 parts: abdomen, thorax, and head. They have 3 sets of legs that are attached to the thorax. Most insects have 2 pairs of wings also attached to this midsection. The exception to this is the flies, whose 2nd pair of wings have been reduced, and are now used simply as flight stabilizers.

Entomology is something that I’ve always been interested in. There is something very thrilling about watching insects go about their daily activities. The next time you are outdoors, take a moment and look down – you’ll see them, and if you watch them for a few moments, you’ll be amazed!

A message from Bud

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