Chris Helzer sent me a skipper picture Wednesday which he had correctly ided as Peck’s Skipper (Polites peckius). He’d taken the pic at a Nature Conservancy tract south of Alda and he commented that they were not uncommon there. As I had not yet sighted that skipper this year and it was only an hour’sContinue reading “Platte River Bottom Lands – Alda to Wood River”
Author Archives: hpahaska
Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Plant Sale
I got an e-mail this morning with a link to the plants they have available to buy. They have a lot of hard to find plants. If you are not a member I would encourage you to join. Happy Shopping!! https://arboretumplants.org/ They have a Senna (Cassia species) available that will attract the Sleepy Oranges featuredContinue reading “Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Plant Sale”
If you plant it they will come
For the upteenth (ok probably about 10th) straight year Sleepy Oranges (Abaeis nicippe) have found their way to my yard. Drawn by the presence of their larval hostplant Wild Senna (Cassia marilandica) they have become annual visitors, arriving each year in late spring from their home range in more southern climes. Not being widely sold,Continue reading “If you plant it they will come”
Niobrara Valley Preserve Trip #1
Monday, June 1 Jen and I left Elm Creek for the Niobrara Valley Preserve located in Brown, Keya Paha and Cherry counties, arriving there about 10:00 am. As promised, the weather was warm, with temps already in the mid 80’s. Mainly we were looking for spring flying Duskywings (Erynnis sp.) whose larvae feed on oakContinue reading “Niobrara Valley Preserve Trip #1”
Western Nebraska Spring Trip
After a week of watching the weather forecast, Monday Jen and I and the dog drove out to Chadron to try to locate as many of the spring flying butterfly species as we could before they vanished. We had been waiting for a couple of good days in succession and the forecast Sunday night wasContinue reading “Western Nebraska Spring Trip”
Return to Box Elder/Jeffry Canyon WMAs – Three new species and a “midden”
After being stuck on 23 species for the year for 12 days due to the cold snap and still stinging from being shut out at the Scotia Chalk Mine I made another trip to Lincoln county to check out Box Elder WMA for third time this year. It took till noon for the morning cloudsContinue reading “Return to Box Elder/Jeffry Canyon WMAs – Three new species and a “midden””
Happy Jack Peak/Scotia Chalk Mine
On Sunday May 17 Jen and I headed north to the Scotia Chalk Mine/Happy Jack Peak to meet our friends Pat and Diane Miller and Jon Nikkila to search for Fulvia Checkerspots (see May 6 entry) and any oak feeding Duskywings (see May 10 entry). The Chalk Mine is located in Howard county a coupleContinue reading “Happy Jack Peak/Scotia Chalk Mine”
Butterfly Gardening
If it’s not to late and you haven’t already purchased all your plants for the year you might consider some plants that attract and sustain our native butterflies and pollinators. There are several great resources for our state. The first is a NebGuide by Steve Spomer and Kim Todd titled “Butterfly Gardening.” It is availableContinue reading “Butterfly Gardening”
The Oak Feeding Duskywings
In Nebraska there are three Duskywings whose larvae feed on oaks, these being Juvenal’s (Erynnis juvenalis), Horace’s (E. horatius) and Sleepy (E. brizo). Two, Juvenal’s and Sleepy, fly only in the spring while Horace’s has three flights – spring, mid and late summer. They rarely stray far from oak trees and so their distribution inContinue reading “The Oak Feeding Duskywings”
Eastern NE Anglewings (Polygonia sp.)
There are three species found in eastern Nebraska – Polygonia interrogationis, P. comma and P. progne. They differ from most other butterflies in that they overwinter as adults and often prefer rotting fruit or tree sap over flower nectar. These three species are quite similar in appearance and while there can be several color phases or forms the descriptions belowContinue reading “Eastern NE Anglewings (Polygonia sp.)”