While browsing through iNaturalist recently I came across two additional county records. The first was a Common Sootywing from Thayer County Common Sootywing (Pholisora catullus) from Thayer County, NE, USA on May 24, 2023 at 01:26 PM by dave21779 · iNaturalist. This common species has now been found in 89 counties. Let’s find it in the remaining four this summer.
The other find was a bit more interesting. Several summers ago, Rachel Hall photographed a skipper in Polk County that would not cooperate and strike a pose that would make it easily identifiable. Northern Broken-Dash (Polites egeremet) from Marsha’s Woods on June 29, 2021 at 10:52 AM by Rachel Hall · iNaturalist. The hint of orange on what you could see of the forewing caught my eye. After viewing the photo Dr. Matthew Brust (Chadron State College), Steve Spomer (UNL) and myself reached a consensus agreement that it was a Northern Broken Dash, so named for the stigma that is separated (broken) on males of the species as illustrated below. This was a great find. In Nebraska the species is usually found near woodland margins/openings. It often flies with Little Glassywing and Dun Skippers, both of which closely resemble it and make identification even more difficult. Great find, Rachel!!
