Terry Mason reached out to inform me that he has sighted two butterflies in Custer County that had not yet been recorded there, these being an Olive/Juniper Hairstreak and several Snout Butterflies.
Larvae of the hairstreak feed on cedars so this species should eventually be found in every county. But being very local, small (easily overlooked) and uncommon after spring they remain unreported from about 40 counties.
Juniper Hairstreak, Custer Co., NE, 5-28-2024 Terry Mason
Snout Butterflies (named for their peculiar body shape) are southern strays that appear and breed (larvae feed on Hackberry trees) in the state. It has now been reported from 51 counties. We see at least one in our yard nearly every year. So in time we should be able to gather records from the remaining 42 counties.
These two “new” finds bring Custer County’s species total to a respectable 69.
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.
Giant swallowtail butterfly caterpillar. The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve, 2 July 2024, Chris Helzer
Abbreviated Underwing, Niobrara Valley Preserve, Brown County, NE, 2 July 2024, Jonathan Nikilla
Sorry for the dearth of posts. We were gone for a bit in June and then I came back and messed up my mapping software. So am in the catchup mode. Back in early June (the 8th) Christian Jacobs photographed a Nessus Sphinx (Amphion floradensis)in Kearney (Buffalo County) where it had not been previously recorded. I’ve lived in Buffalo County for nearly 50 years and had not seen one so either they are not that common or I’ve not been paying attention. Larvae feed on grape (Vitis sp) which is widespread in Nebraska. So it could be found anywhere in our state. Check your records and be on the lookout for this species (found in only 17 counties). Let us know what you find (nebraskabutterflies@gmail.com). A thank you and congratulations to Christian!!
Nessus Sphinx, Kearney, Buffalo County, NE., 6-8-2024, Christian Jacobs
We are excited to announce a new feature on the NebraskaLepiodoptera.com website that allows you to access lists of butterflies found in each of Nebraska’s 93 counties. This feature will allow you to see what butterflies have been found in a county where you live or plan to visit. This feature (County Butterfly Lists) can be found on the “Experience Nebraska Butterflies” drop down menu. Clicking this link takes you to a map and a listing of all 93 counties. Selecting the county of your choice will pull up a page listing Nebraska butterfly species (scientific and common names) a column indicating if the species has been found in that county, and another column indicating the source of that record. A source typed in boldface in this column indicates that there is locality data available for that record. There are also literature records dating back to 1880 (see Cherry County). When literature is cited the author and publication date are listed. We stand on their shoulders!
We hope users will find this feature useful. If you have any comments or new records to submit let us know at nebraskabutterflies@gmail.com.
On May 26 Dr. Jacob Cooper (assistant biology professor at University of Nebraska at Kearney) photographed a skipper along a wooded section the Dannebrog Bike-Hike trail adjacent to Oak Creek just west of Dannebrog in Howard County. After posting it to iNaturalist it was determined to be a male Zabulon Skipper – an identification I concur with (carefully examine the dorsal wingtip differences of the between Zabulon and Hobomok Skippers). This skipper is most often found in southeastern Nebraska, becoming increasingly rare to the north and west. It is most often found associated with woodland margins and is double brooded, with flights peaking in May and August, So this was a great find.
Zabulon Skipper (male), Howard County Nebraska, 26 May 2024, Jacob Cooper
In an interesting sidebar Jonathan Nikkila and myself traveled to Dannebrog on Saturday, arriving late in the morning hoping to possibly find a late flying Zabulon for Jonathan’s photo gallery. The previous afternoon/evening Howard County had received in excess of 4-5 inches of rain. Oak Creek, which runs adjacent to the bike-hike trail and then through Dannebrog, drains roughly 50 square miles to the west. When we arrived at the site in late morning we took the trail through the oak woodland but found our way blocked by standing water near the end of the trail. So we retraced our steps only to find the previously dry trail blocked by water nearly a foot deep (and still rising). So we waded across the “flooded” section of trail, got back to our vehicle and made our way east through Dannebrog on Hwy 58 to survey wetlands to the east. About two hours later we got an alert on our phones that Hwy 58 was closed in Dannebrog as Oak Creek had continued to rise, overflowed its banks and flooded their downtown. Fortunately our timing (luck) that day had been good and we avoided being stranded or being put in harm’s way. But a lesson learned was to be aware of weather events upstream, even if they happened the previous day.
Cathy Prettyman was going through some “old” pics recently and came across one of a Funereal Duskywing she took in Washington County back in 2019. Great pic Cathy (and a county record). I cropped Cathy’s pic a bit to bring attention to the white fringe on the hindwing. This species strays north into Nebraska from its home range in warmer southern climes, breeding here on various legumes. While uncommon, it has been recorded from the most populous counties where it is more likely to encounter observers (see map below).
Steve Spomer reported that on April 23 he had a Polyphemus Moth emergence from a cocoon he found at Whitetail WMA in Colfax County (no photo). Larvae of this showy moth feed on multiple woody plants. Adults do not feed. While occurring statewide this moth is most often found in eastern portions of the state. It should be sought at lights near deciduous woodlands.
Most (all?) of you are probably experiencing Nebraska’s fickle spring weather. Several days ago Jessica McGinley found a Snowberry Clearwing braving the elements in Valentine (Cherry County) where it had not been previously reported. Congrats to Jessica for finding the first county record of the 2024 season. This moth is now found in nearly half of Nebraska’s counties (46) but should eventually be found in all 93. Lots of opportunities out there. Check out the distribution maps at nebraskalepidoptera.com and kindly report new county records to nebraskabutterflies@gmail.com. Many thanks to Jessica (and Lori Tomes who assisted in bringing the record to my attention).
Creighton University’s Dr. Ted Burk recently made a presentation about Monarchs and Regal Fritillaries to students of the UNL entomology program about observations he and his students have made while surveying for the two species over the past 20 years or so. Even if you think you know everything there is to know about these two butterflies, I think you will still find some nuggets of new information watching it. Here is the link. Watch it ASAP as they drop the link after it’s been up for a while.
Also, over the past winter Jonathan Nikilla and I have been busy building out a new feature for our website which will show lists of butterfly species that have been reported in each of Nebraska’s 93 counties. It’s not quite ready to roll out yet but we hope to have it available in the not-too-distant future. We’ll let you know when it is up and running.
The other find was a bit more interesting. Several summers ago, Rachel Hall photographed a skipper in Polk County that would not cooperate and strike a pose that would make it easily identifiable. Northern Broken-Dash (Polites egeremet) from Marsha’s Woods on June 29, 2021 at 10:52 AM by Rachel Hall · iNaturalist. The hint of orange on what you could see of the forewing caught my eye. After viewing the photo Dr. Matthew Brust (Chadron State College), Steve Spomer (UNL) and myself reached a consensus agreement that it was a Northern Broken Dash, so named for the stigma that is separated (broken) on males of the species as illustrated below. This was a great find. In Nebraska the species is usually found near woodland margins/openings. It often flies with Little Glassywing and Dun Skippers, both of which closely resemble it and make identification even more difficult. Great find, Rachel!!
Perusing the iNaturalist website one cold winter day I came across two new county records for Peck’s Skippers (Polites peckius) in Nebraska. The first record (a handsome specimen) was found by UNL Associate Entomology Professor Tom Weissling in Nance County. The second record was from Scotts Bluff County where Steven Mlodinow photographed a Peck’s Skipper in Gehring. Peck’s Skipper has now been found in 73 counties and should eventually be found in all 93. Check your old records against the map below to see if you can fill in any more gaps. Let us know at nebraskabutterflies@gmail.com.
Peck’s Skipper, Nance County NE, August 2, 2018, Tom WeisslingPeck’s Skipper, Scotts Bluff County, NE, August 7, 2020, Steven Mlodinow
