Eli Weber is spending his summer doing moth surveys at NU’s Cedar Point Biological Station below Lake McConaughy in Keith County. He has found two species previously not documented in Nebraska. The first is “The Mutant” (Anarta mutata).
Richard Rosche listed this moth in his 1988 NE Moths listing without providing details. So, without other documentation we’d listed this species as “dubious/possible”. Upon reviewing Eli’s record Mark Brogie discovered that we had found that moth and misidentified it as “The Netmeg” (Anarta trifolii) at the Niobrara Valley Preserve last summer. A. mutata is restricted to the western United States, with Nebraska and Kansas sightings being the easternmost records, while A. trifollii is found throughout North America, North Africa and Europe. Mark Brogie offered the following illustration on how to separate the two species, the key being the shape and color of the orbital spot, rounder and yellowish in The Nutmeg and oblong and brownish in The Mutant. The middle specimen has been amended to A. mutata on BugGuide.
Eli’s second finding was the “Gray Dagger” Acronicta grisea.
This moth is found primarily in northern and western North America, presumably at cooler climes. Larvae are reported to feed on woody vegetation but prefer Willows and Birches when available.
Upon researching this moth I found that Mark Brogie had found this moth previously in Chase Co. (Champion) in June of 2015. So once again Eli’s findings are the second record of a species for the state. But without his drawing our attention to the species they would have not been looked into. I’ve added them to our spreadsheet and will upload it to the website shortly.
Thank You Eli!!