iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

I’ll end with this guy I found recently. I have no idea who he is. I’m hoping I’ll get to look at him under the microscope within the next few days. #EccentricErigoninae

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

I had no idea at the time that this guy had a weird head-horn. A species I would love to get better photographs of. Metopobactrus pacificus #EccentricErigoninae

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Erigone aletris seems to be the only species of Erigone I encounter. But I wonder if that’s more reflective of my inability to identify them 😂 #EccentricErigoninae

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Tapinocyba are a bit more subtle in their #EccentricErigoninae heads, but still modified with pits. First two are Tapinocyba dietrichi, the second two are an undescribed species

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

By far the most common #EccentricErigoninae I encounter is Ceratinops inflatus. It’s overall the most common Linyphiid I see. But that’s biased towards my search methods

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Walckenaeria in the tricornis group. I’ve flip-flopped between calling them W. occidentalis and W. columbia. I think W. columbia is more likely #EccentricErigoninae

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

#EccentricErigoninae are what I live for! Still haven’t seen some of our weirdest males available in BC, but I have found some real characters! Pelecopsis scultpa:

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Here’s the habitat where he was found. Deep, dry leaf litter on sand.

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Another photo of Habronattus cambridgei from Mexico. What a fantastic spider! #Habronattus #Salticidae #iNaturalist

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

A male Phidippus comatus!! I put in some serious hours to find this guy. I had found a handful of females before, but finally found a subadult male earlier this month. He just emerged as an adult and is absolutely incredible! #Salticidae #JumpingSpider #Phidippus

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Looks like they are salticid mimics?? Or some kind of spider

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Just some nice Habronattus males. I fell very fortunate to be able to find these fancy guys in BC. #Habronattus #Salticidae #jumpingspider

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

A male Pocadicnemis pumilis marching across a leaf. These guys have some mild head weirdness going on. #Linyphiidae #Spider #iNaturalist

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

A tiny Trogloneta walking across a leaf. These little ones are ~1mm long. In BC we have Trogloneta paradoxa. Apparently just south in Washington there are a few undescribed species, so it is possible they range up here too. #Trogloneta #spider #iNaturalist

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Scironis sima. The smallest mature Linyphiid I have encountered so far (~1mm long). Also probably the only live photos of this species. #Linyphiidae #spider #iNaturalist

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

A Thread-waisted Wasp (Prionyx canadensis) sleeping on Wild Garlic as the moon rises in the background. #Prionyx #Sphecidae #Hymenoptera

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