On June 24 1989 Jim Reiser and myself were out on Nebraska Highway 2 in Sheridan County (2 miles west of Ellsworth). We had found a colony of Ruddy Coppers (one of the more striking butterflies in the state) taking nectar from dogbane along the Burlington Northern railroad right of way. At some point JimContinue reading “Found one time in Nebraska – Leda Hairstreak (Mimistrymon leda)”
Category Archives: Learning About Butterflies
Another Doug Long State Record Pyrisitia nise – Mimosa Sulphur
On July 18 1993 Doug Long found another butterfly never before recorded from Nebraska. In Holbrook (I assume in his yard) he found this Mimosa Sulphur (Pyrisitia nise). I likely would not have given it a second look and passed it off as a Little Yellow (P. lisa). As a small (more “delicate”) butterfly andContinue reading “Another Doug Long State Record Pyrisitia nise – Mimosa Sulphur”
A Doug Long state record Anaea aidea – Tropical Leafwing
On October 26 1996 Doug found this butterfly in his backyard in Holbrook NE. If I recall correctly he said it was on a watermelon rind he had left in the garden to attract butterflies. Well I guess it worked. Most people (myself included) would have thought “Hey, that’s interesting, a Goatweed Butterfly”. (The GoatweedContinue reading “A Doug Long state record Anaea aidea – Tropical Leafwing”
Doug Long – Citizen Scientist Extraordinaire
Back in my student days at Kearney State College the Biology Department sent out newsletters to high school Biology teachers. My academic advisor (Dr. Harold Nagel) had an idea to send out solicitations for students/teachers interested in contributing specimens/data on Lepidoptera species. One of the responses we got was from one of Doug Long’s kids.Continue reading “Doug Long – Citizen Scientist Extraordinaire”
Richard A Leussler – Nebraska’s Greatest Lepidopoterist and Hesperia pahaska
It is of interest that while Richard A Leussler was/is perhaps Nebraska’s most noted Lepidopterist, that was not his vocation. While I was unable to find out much about his early years he was evidently born in St Louis in 1866 and came to Nebraska in 1902 as an executive in the Omaha and CouncilContinue reading “Richard A Leussler – Nebraska’s Greatest Lepidopoterist and Hesperia pahaska”
Fun With Taxonomy/Nebraska’s Type Localities
Hopefully this post finds everyone healthy and well. So we made it to 2021 but it’s still not butterfly season. So to pass the time (and as time permits) I’ll try to put together some interesting tidbits on Nebraska butterflies and the people who have worked with them to share with you. I hope youContinue reading “Fun With Taxonomy/Nebraska’s Type Localities”
White-M Hairstreak
Joanne Langabee and her friend Holly have been doing weekly butterfly surveys at Fonenelle Forest and Lauritzen Gardens for a few years now (three and five years respectively). In doing so they have observed the comings and goings of quite a number of species and gotten a handle on when and where a particular speciesContinue reading “White-M Hairstreak”
Let’s Tag Some Monarchs
Welcome to all the new viewers. Ideally the World Herald article would have been earlier in the year as it has generated a lot of traffic. As you can see I’m at 99 species for the year so a lot has happened already. June and July are when most of Nebraska’s butterflies that have aContinue reading “Let’s Tag Some Monarchs”
The Niobrara Valley Preserve’s Hybrid Butterflies
There are three members of the genus Limenitis found in Nebraska. They are Red-spotted Purple (L. arthemis astyanax), Viceroy (L. archippus) and Weidemeyer’s Admiral (L. weiedemeyeri). When we first began surveying butterflies at the Niobrara Valley Preserve in Brown, Keya Paha and Cherry counties back in 1986 we found all three to be present there.Continue reading “The Niobrara Valley Preserve’s Hybrid Butterflies”
It’s Hairstreak Season
Mid June to mid July is Hairstreak season. A single generation of five hairstreaks (genus Satyrium) found in the state fly only in that time period. They get the name hairstreak from the threadlike extensions on the bottom of their hindwing. It is thought that the orange spot and hairstreak on the hindwings are meantContinue reading “It’s Hairstreak Season”