June update - Invertebrates

I saw quite a lot of invertebrates (butterflies, beetles, flies, bees, spiders, and one millipede) in June.  Most are not yet properly identified.  I will try to do so later in the field season.  Until then, just enjoy the diversity of invertebrates seen here in Gunnison National Forest.

Unknown sulphur butterfly.

Giant Eastern Crane Fly and other thoughts

So the second day of teaching assistant training came and went. It wasn't as helpful as the first day I found because a lot of the materials were repeated (at least twice). The most useful point was probably how to handle the icebreakers, especially on the first day, or what to do when the students are not as responsive as you like them to be. It seems that Trent puts a lot of emphasis on providing a good learning atmosphere for the undergraduate students. I wonder if the graduate students in UBC went through similar trainings as well.

Anyways, that was yesterday. Today I mainly stayed in my office, finishing up paperworks, meeting other graduate students, etc. However, the most interesting thing that happened today was probably finding this cool-looking (but dead) crane fly outside the building.


It wasn't too difficult to find the identity of this distinctive critter. It is a Giant Eastern Crane Fly (Pedicia albivitta) with the distinct patterns on its wings. In my field guide, it strangely points out that they have very long and brittle legs, which I thought was a no-brainer (unless the legs are even more fragile compare to other crane flies).

I checked out some of the other graduate students' offices and they had amazing wildlife photos, drawings and artwork on their desks while my (and my office-mates) had empty desks. So I decided to pin this insect as a memorable first insect pinned here in Ontario (actually it is my first pinned insect ever).

Quite a memorable day, I suppose.

Bees, Tulips, Eagles, Flycatcher(!) and Blossom

It is such a nice day today. Perfect day to go bike-riding.

Look at the view! Only a few clouds in the horizon.

Insects at South Dyke Sharing Farm

Another nice day today to head out and check out what critters I can find over at South Dyke Community Garden/Sharing Farm.

Sky-watching from the garden.

Phantom Cranefly (from Ontario)

I still have several unidentified critters from the past summer in Ontario, mostly insects. I was just surfing online and found the identity to one of them - Phantom Cranefly (Bittacomorpha clavipes).

If I remember correctly, this was taken on one of my off-days going to Head Lake.

Cranefly and Seal all in one day

A cranefly was discovered in our kitchen wall this morning. I am not sure what species it is but it sure looks cool up-close, especially the interesting looking antenna. I'm quite surprised that this individual is still surviving past the harsh winter conditions.

Needing to return some library books, I went to the Steveston branch. While I was there, I walked along the Fraser River and to the wharf to see what I could find.

It was a quiet day. Not many people and animals, and the sidewalks were icy and slippery. But I did encounter this pair of Great Scaups, or so I think according to this comparison between Grater and Lesser Scaups.

I think I also saw one female Common Merganser and one Bufflehead along the Fraser River, but both were too far away for me to take a picture proof.

Another bird I saw today was Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula). The males can be distinguished from the Barrow's Goldeneye because of a white round spot on each side of its face (compare to the white crescent in Barrow's).

I saw the above species in the wharf, where all the fishing boats usually sell their catches. There was also this seagull that kept circling around in the sky and diving down on this particular spot in the water. At first, I didn't pay much attention thinking it was hunting for small fishes or something. But then I saw a dark shape appear and dive down into the water again! Could there be a Steveston Monster!?

Nope. It was a lone seal! It poked its head up a couple of times before the gull attacked (or played) the seal again. Such a cute-looking animal but I wonder why it was so close near these fishing boats. Perhaps, they threw out some of their unsold fishes and that attracted the animals? Otherwise, it is terribly dangerous for it to be so close to frequent-running boats.

As you can tell from the pictures, it was getting late, so I headed back home. But not before I took these interesting pictures of neon-light reflections on the water surface.