Butterflies and Moths

June 04, 2021 by Karlissa Koop in Designs and Art

Another summer, another chance to get out and find some cool bugs!

A few years back, I made a checklist of butterflies and moths in the Fort St John area (where I live). There are actually hundreds of species of butterflies and moths in our area - far too many to put on a brochure - but it covers some of the species I’ve come across.

I also created some colouring pages, and fact cards, just for fun.

Feel free to download, print, and use any of these materials!

What kinds of butterflies and moths live around you?

Fsjcritters

December 07, 2020 by Karlissa Koop in Designs and Art

For the last few years, I’ve been casually working on a series of designs for a project I called “fsjcritters.”

The goal of fsjcritters was to draw attention to often-overlooked animals and habitats in the Fort St John area, using visuals like brochures, cards, and infographics.

My hope was that I would learn to embrace the wildlife where I live, instead of always wishing I lived somewhere else.

I believe I’ve succeeded in that. Though I consider the designs less responsible for my change of attitude than my husband, who loves many local critters and has inspired me with his passion!

So, I’ve decided to officially end this project.

As a part of saying “farewell” to fsjcritters, I’ve decided to create a condensed, ‘sampler’ version of my designs over the years.

Does this mean I won’t be creating any more designs about local wildlife? I might yet. I’ve just found myself making other types of designs lately. Designs I’ll hopefully be sharing on my website before too long.

More Moths!

October 15, 2018 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Life

I’ve been having fun discovering more about local moths, and thought it’d be worth giving an update!

Yes, Moth Week is long over; in fact, there’s a thin layer of snow on the ground and a chill in the air, warning of the looming return of winter. However, I’ve still managed to make some interesting discoveries in the last month or two.

One is the moth below.

Yes, that is a moth! Years ago when I took the photo, I wasn’t sure what it was. It was cool, and a bug, so worth photographing. But recently, I sent the photo below to BAMONA for identification.

This is a Linden Looper Moth (Erannis tiliaria), sometimes called a Winter Moth because of how late in the year they emerge as adults. I did a little research and discovered that the moth in the second photo (just above) is the male. And the weird bug in the first photo? It’s the female!

Yes, in some moths the females have no wings. She lays her eggs near where she grew up as a caterpillar - likely not far from where her mother laid her eggs. The males have wings so they can seek out the grounded females.

Another cool discovery I made is this species, the Cow Parsnip Borer Moth (Papaipema harrisii).

This one is special to me because my sighting of this species is the first verified sighting for it on BAMONA! It makes me proud that I could contribute it.

If you enjoy taking photos of bugs, and want to learn about the bugs you’ve found, I recommend getting an account with BAMONA (Butterflies and Moths of North America). It’s a simple way to participate in scientific research.

Want to find out more about some of the other moths I’ve photographed? I’ve finished putting together the beta version of a brochure called “A Few Butterflies and Moths of Fort St John.” I’ll be handing out these first copies to my ‘test audience,’ so I can get a good grasp on how best to improve the brochure for the second printing.

In addition, I printed a guide to local bats, which I’m excited to see arrive! Yes, it’ll hopefully be here just in time for Bat Week (the last week of October).

You can find out more about my local animal projects on my fsjcritters and fsjmoths pages.