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 · 04/07/2026

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

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

A great genus! No, this is with the OM 90mm with a 1.4X teleconverter. I love the Raynox and have used it in the past but unfortunately it doesn’t seem to work well with the OM 90mm

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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 · 20/03/2026

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

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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 · 10/03/2026

You know I could see this guy pulling off a backwards hat

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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 · 07/03/2026

It’s wild to me something so fancy and apparently common is unknown to the majority of people!

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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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Reposted by Thomas Barbin

iNaturalist @inaturalist.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

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!

Close-up photographs of a naturally green harvestman (Algidia viridata ssp. bicolor) with a bumpy, textured body that resembles moss or algae. The arachnid's long spiny legs and bumpy body are shown from multiple angles against a blurred green background.

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

It’s looking like this may instead be the undescribed male of Tachygyna coosi! Females are known from the region, so it makes a bit more sense than a species only known from California. Also T. cognata has a similar epigynum to T. coosi, so perhaps the palps are similar too?

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

I collected this spider while playing with my kids at the local playground. I’m glad I did because it looks like it may be a new record for BC/Canada! www.inaturalist.org/observations...

inaturalist.org

Tachygyna cognata

Tachygyna cognata from Gorge -Tillicum Area, Victoria, BC V9A, Canada on January 1, 2026 at 12:17 PM by Thomas Barbin. Taken from playground equipment. Having difficulty with this one. I have bee...

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Thomas Barbin @thomasbarbin.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

True! Can’t forget about the lichen. But definitely nothing else at all here

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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 · 10/08/2025

Absolutely! Would love to see it when finished

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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

Oooo I bet you’ll do some amazing things with that lens

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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 · 18/06/2025

What they lack in flashiness they make up for in eyelashes!

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

This species is a complete mystery to me. I have no idea what they do and where/when they do it. I have beaten a few females out of scotch broom and found a couple under rocks. But I have beaten countless bushes, stared at endless stems and flipped who knows how many rocks without success.

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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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