Earlier this summer (June 11) Steve Spomer set up some lights in Nemaha County at Indian Cave State Park. Among the insects attracted to his lights was a Hermit Sphinx. The five Nebraska records for this eastern sphinx are the westernmost in North America. Larvae feed on mints and beebalms. A great find of anContinue reading “New Butterfly and Moth Records”
Monthly Archives: July 2026
“New” Moth found in Nebraska
Elizabeth Hilkemann has found another moth previously unreported from the state (her second this year). On June 20 and again on June 26 she found two plume moths she thought looked “suspicious”. She sent them to Dr. Deborah Matthews (a plume moth expert) at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the University ofContinue reading ““New” Moth found in Nebraska”
Never Seen That Before + They Only Come Out At Night
One of the exciting things about setting up lights at night to attract insects is that there is always a good chance you will see something you’ve never seen before. This was the case the evening/early morning of July 2/3 at the Niobrara Valley Preserve in Brown County. As is becoming tradition on the eveContinue reading “Never Seen That Before + They Only Come Out At Night”
2026 Niobrara Valley Preserve Butterfly Count Results
On 10am on July 3 six intrepid counters (Chris and Kim Helzer, Jonathan Nikkila, Carolyn Phillips, David Crites and Neil Dankert) set out on the 39th annual Butterfly Count at the Niobrara Valley Preserve located in Brown, Keya Paha and Cherry Counties. The Helzers, Jonathan and Neil arrived the night before to set up someContinue reading “2026 Niobrara Valley Preserve Butterfly Count Results”