Earlier this month (July 2) eleven persons participated in the 37th Annual Butterfly Count at The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve. The day started out cool and overcast, limiting butterfly activity, but by early afternoon the skies had cleared and numbers increased. Despite the slow start 356 butterflies from 33 species were recorded, up from last years 286 individuals and 32 species. Four Nebraska Natural Heritage Program Tier 1 species were found – Two Spotted Skippers (11), Regal Fritillaries (1), Eyed Browns (3) and Monarchs (3) as well as six Tier 2 species – Long Dash Skippers (6), Northern Broken Dash Skippers (19), Little Glassywing Skippers (5), Dun Skippers (9), Coral Hairstreak (1), and Silvery Checkerspot (3).
The season was slightly behind last year as evidenced by the reversal of last year’s Little Wood Satyr/Wood Nymph ratio. Little Wood Satyr’s numbers peak a week to ten days earlier than those of the Wood Nymph. Last year we sighted 13 Little Wood Satyrs and 100 Wood Nymphs. This year the numbers were reversed with 111 Little Wood Satyrs sighted against only 13 Wood Nymphs. Optimal species diversity and count numbers often coincides with peak Wood Nymph numbers so ideally this year’s count would have been held a week later. But who’s to know when coordinating schedules a month in advance.
Jonathan and Bennet Nikkila and Neil and Jennifer Dankert arrived the night before to set up lights to attract moths. Jonathan and Bennett set up a light on a hilltop prairie which attracted an Abbreviated Underwing (larvae feed on leadplant) which had not previously been found in Brown County. Three Saturnid moths (Cecropia, Polyphemus and Io) were also attracted to our lights. Always fun to see those.
In addition to the NENHP species listed above Allyson Frank spotted a Giant Swallowtail larva (a bird poop mimic) on a Prickly Ash. I’d been looking for one of those for years (but evidently not hard enough). Way to go Allyson!!
Many thanks to this year’s count participants, Chris Helzer, David Crites, Kate Glause, Ben Kusiak, Kees Hood, Claire Morical (all of TNC), Allyson Frank (NE G&P), Jonathan and Bennett Nikkila and Neil and Jennifer Dankert.
