A couple of new butterfly records have been reported. On October 1 Cathy Prettyman spotted a Texan Crescent on some asters in Washington County. Southern strays have been few and far between in Nebraska this year with this one being an exception. Great find Cathy!! On September 28 Barb Rimel photographed a rare form “americus”Continue reading “Cool New Butterflies!!”
Author Archives: hpahaska
Three More Lepidoptera Records
Another state record and two more county records have been reported. Let’s start with the state record. On September 12 Eric Strehlow found an interesting moth that was attracted to a mercury vapor light. It turned out to be Papaipema beeriana (a Blazing Star Borer). Its larvae bore into and feed in stalks of variousContinue reading “Three More Lepidoptera Records”
Two New Moths for the State
Back on August 11 Colin Croft found Glena nigricaria (sorry, no common name) in the Wildcat Hills south of Scotts Bluff/Gehring. This moth is western in distribution with Colin’s Nebraska record the easternmost in the United States The larvae feed on pines and are cryptically colored to blend in with pine needles (click on theContinue reading “Two New Moths for the State”
More New Moths for the State
Two more moths have been added to our state’s ever growing moth list. The two latest additions come from opposite ends of the state, one from Lincoln and the other from the Scotts Bluff area. On August 11 Colin Croft found a neat Geometer Moth (Glena nigricaria) in the Wildcat Hills south of Scotts Bluff.Continue reading “More New Moths for the State”
More new moth records
Many thanks to contributors who continue to submit moth records. This past week Jen Corman verified a Snowberry Clearwing record from Rock County. That makes 44 counties with records for a species that occurs statewide. More work to do. Good job Jen! Mark Brogie continues to amaze. In the past week he has added twoContinue reading “More new moth records”
New Moth Records
Several new moth records have come in. On July 19 Olivia DaRugna found a Clearwing Sphinx (Hemaris sp) at Ash Hollow State Historical Park. Two Hemaris species are found in the state, widespread H. diffinis (Snowberry Clearwing) and much rarer H. thysbe (Hummingbird Clearwing). After some deliberation it was decided that Olivia’s specimen was H.Continue reading “New Moth Records”
Eastern Tailed Blues from western NE
I was browsing the website the other day when I noticed there were three counties in western Nebraska where Eastern Tailed Blues had not yet been recorded. So I contacted Colin Croft who resides in the area to see if he could remedy this situation. As usual Colin came through, searching his database to findContinue reading “Eastern Tailed Blues from western NE”
Niobrara Valley Preserve 35th annual butterfly count
On July 10th ten individuals gathered at the Niobrara Valley Preserve to conduct the 35th consecutive annual butterfly count. Participants included Neil Dankert, Jonathan and Bennett Nikkila, Jen Corman (NE G&P), and Jojo Morelli, Krystal Church, Sanketh Menon, Kevin Meyer, Paul Stofferahn and Chris Helzer, all of the Nature Conservancy. This year’s count was heldContinue reading “Niobrara Valley Preserve 35th annual butterfly count”
Blaine County Records
Last Sunday (July 9) myself, Jonathan and Bennett Nikkila drove to the Niobrara Valley Preserve to do the annual butterfly count the next day. On the way we stopped at the North Loup River just north of Brewster in Blaine County to stretch our legs and check out some wet highway ditches that have beenContinue reading “Blaine County Records”
Citizen Science Opportunity
I recently received this via email. It is an opportunity to contribute to a USGS research project. Note that no Lepidoptera are to be killed. They are only interested in larger (2″ wingspan) already deceased butterflies and moths. I asked about roadkill (roadside and car grill) and they said those were ok to send in.Continue reading “Citizen Science Opportunity”