Thomas Barbin

Tapinocyba dieteichi - a tiny denizen of the moss in Vancouver Island’s forests. The first photo is of its left palp. I didn’t measure it, but I think the height is around 0.2mm. In Crosby & Bishop’s 1933 description they list the male’s length as 1.5mm. #Arachtober #Linyphiidae #Tapinocyba

Apparently Dirksia cinctipes fluoresces very brightly! As if it needed even more evidence for why it is the best Cybaeid. #Arachtober #Cybaeidae #Dirksia #spider

Taracus carmanah!!! Known only from its type localities and specimens. Somehow we found one individual during a bioblitz last weekend. These are the first photos of a live individual, and is the first individual seen alive! Still buzzing from this find. #arachtober #harvestmen #opiliones

I love how creative people get with firefly photos. We don’t have them where I live. I hope to one day see them and try emulating some of the incredible photos I’ve seen over the years

Selenopidae (I think?) and Salticidae (Platycryptus/Balmaceda). Both found under the same rock and both with similar cryptic colouration. Cool to see similarities between distantly related species that occupy the same habitat. Jalisco, Mexico. #Selenopidae #Salticidae #iNaturalist #Arachnid

When you see a Dark-eyed Junco that you’ve seen before it’s Deju vu

A couple of arthropods out on the sand in the evening. I went for one very short stroll at night while in Mexico. Would have loved to spend more time seeing what comes out at night. A wolf Spider (maybe Schizocosa) feeding on a beetle. And my first Solifuge. #iNaturalist #Lycosidae #Solifuge

Exciting to see a bucket-list spider while in Mexico! An Ogre-faced Spider that I think must be an Asianopis sp. it also looks like there might only be one species present in Mexico? If that is the case this should be Asianopis aurita. #Asianopis #iNaturalist #Spider

A funky Pholcid from Mexico. I had no idea that there were Cellar spiders with weird heads. Weird heads are one of my favourite features a spider can have. Modisimus sp. #Pholcidae #CellarSpider #iNaturalist

I was thrilled to find this Habronattus cambridgei hopping through leaf litter in Mexico. #Habronattus #Salticidae #iNaturalist

Never miss a chance to get face-to-face with a harvestman. This is the stunning subspecies Algidia viridata ssp. bicolor, endemic to New Zealand!

Just a rock

Went for a morning walk with Winnie and we saw an eagle swimming

A Sagebrush Sheep Moth (Hemileuca hera) on Mount Kobau in the Okanagan. What a great place to be for bugs! #Lepidoptera #Moth #iNaturalist

Some sleeping bees on a foggy morning at the beach. Coelioxys up top and Ammophila below them. #Hymenoptera #Macrophotography #Macro

A couple of cute little Neon pixii. Male and female. #Neon #Salticidae #Jumpingspider

Two more Phidippus comatus shots. This guy was much more cooperative for photos than I am used to for male salticids. Lots of pausing between movements allowing for quick focus stacks. #Salticidae #Jumpingspider #Phidippus

A male Castianeira walsinghami #spider #Arachnid

A Schizocosa sp. Wolf spider I found a few days ago. I was excited to find him because there aren’t any official records of this genus where I live. I figure it is probably Schizocosa mccooki based on habitus. #Lycosidae #WolfSpider #macrophotography

A female Synageles venator. Introduced, but still love to see them. Mimicry is one of my favourite things. I didn’t get any good photos of it, but they hold out their second pair of legs like antennae while moving around. #Salticidae #JumpingSpider #Synageles

A couple of recent Habronattus oregonenesis males. The second guy was wandering around in a semi-display pose. I’m guessing there was a female around that I spooked and he was trying to refind her. Or maybe it was a competing male. #Habronattus #Salticidae #Jumpingspider

A tiny Polyxenus millipede on the underside of some dry Douglas fir bark. #Millipede #iNaturalist #macro

Zora hespera on arbutus bark. I found this guy in some arbutus leaf litter today.

A Cuckoo Bee (Epeolus olympiellus) photographed last summer. One that I forgot about and just stumbled across on my phone this evening! #CuckooBee #Bee #Hymenoptera

Sleeping Coelioxys bees. I was first introduced to these bees and their sleeping behaviour by @ibycter.bsky.social at a local beach here on Vancouver Island #bee #Hymenoptera #macrophotography

An alien-like Western Tiger Beetle larva (Cicindela oregona) waiting at the entrance of its burrow for prey. One of my favourite photos I have taken! #iNaturalist #Coleoptera #TigerBeetle #macrophotography

I was pretty blown away by the size of this Square-legged Camel Cricket (Tropidischia xanthostoma). Must be up there for the largest insects we get on Vancouver Island. It seemed to be living in the space between large boulders beside a river. #iNaturalist #Orthoptera

A couple of Ceratinops inflatus males. I found them by sifting moss in a mature Douglas fir forest. #Linyphiidae #spider #iNaturalist

A Pompilid wasp dragging a juvenile Habronattus ophrys that it paralyzed back to its burrow. #Pompilidae #wasp #salticidae #Habronattus

Bathyphantes brevipes I caught this male out of the air while it was ballooning a few days ago. #Linyphiidae #Spider

Laphria sp. Robberfly hanging out on a manzanita leaf on a summer evening. Not often I get to photograph these as they are quite flighty! #flyfriday #Asilidae #Diptera #Robberfly

Cybaeopsis wabritaska I found a population of these spiders on a seep overhanging the ocean #spider #Amaurobiidae

Ghost Spider (Anyphaena sp.) and the Small-headed Fly (Acrocera sp.) that emerged from it. In the second photo you can see it beginning to split open the spider’s abdomen. #spider #diptera #parasitoid #macrophotography

A couple of photetic mites sitting on a Snail-eating Beetle’s head (Scaphinotus angusticollis) #Coleoptera #Beetle #macrophotography

Omus audouini with a decapitated ant head latched on to its antenna. This beetle is quite rare and extremely range-restricted in BC. I was thrilled at the opportunity to find and photograph some last summer. #Coleoptera #Beetle #macrophotography

A feast about to happen: the very rare and critically endangered Kangaroo Island Assassin Spider showing off her impressive mouthparts, whilst carrying around her 8-legged prey 🕷️🧪 #invertebrate #conservation #biodiversity #spider #australia

A Banded Alder Borer (Rosalia funebris) with the sun setting in the background. Always a treat to see one of these big beetles! #Coleoptera #LonghornBeetle #Beetle

Following up the Hexura piecea photos with Vancouver Island’s only other mygalomorph - Antrodiaetus pacificus These spiders live in a silken retreat with a turret-like entrance. #Mygalomorph #iNaturalist #Spider

Hexura picea from the SW coast of Vancouver Island #Mygalomorph #macrophotography #iNaturalist