Recently Steve Spomer (UNL) came in contact with an amazing moth enthusiast in Cedar County. It turns out that Eric Strehlow had a childhood interest in insects that was rekindled around 15 years ago. Since that time he has been hugely successful in developing and refining bait traps to attract moths in the oak woodlandsContinue reading “Cedar County Bonanza”
Tag Archives: Moth
Season Summary
Well 2021 ended up being a pretty good year for increasing our knowledge of the butterfly and moth fauna of Nebraska. 30 butterfly county records were found, with one of them being a state record (see the list below). In addition Mark Brogie and Barb and Loren Padelford recorded 31 moths never before found inContinue reading “Season Summary”
Spurge Hawkmoths
Recently (Aug 29) Diane Miller noticed a large number (20+) of big colorful caterpillars on an ornamental spurge in Platte County. After doing some research we decided they were Spurge Hawkmoths (Celerio euphorbiae), European cousins of our abundant (Celerio lineata). Steve Spomer verified our determination. According to Steve (who keeps Sphnix Moth distribution maps forContinue reading “Spurge Hawkmoths”
Master Naturalist Class finds a Sweetheart
Sweetheart Underwing Moth that is. July 23 I had an opportunity to blacklight with the latest class of NE Master Naturalists at Cedar Point Biological Station (which is located below Lake McConaughy in Keith County). Our lights attracted insects belonging to 37 insect Families from 11 Orders (sorry for the taxonomy jargon). Among our moreContinue reading “Master Naturalist Class finds a Sweetheart”
Two More County Records and a Tier 1 Moth Sighting
Jen Corman contributed two county records – a Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus) from Bassett in Rock County this June 27 and a Queen (Danaus gilippus) from Knox County from back in July (9th) of 2018. The Banded Hairstreak is a NENHP Tier 2 species. And then the Bloomfield Scout Troop improvised a light trap withContinue reading “Two More County Records and a Tier 1 Moth Sighting”
Black Witch – Something You Don’t See Every Day
Late last month I received word of a Black Witch sighting in Keya Paha County. On June 20 Teresa Bammerlin discovered an unexpected visitor at her residence which she found to be a Black Witch (Ascalapha odorata). This large moth is a breeding resident in the southern United States and from there southward to asContinue reading “Black Witch – Something You Don’t See Every Day”
Army Cutworm Moth Migration
You may have noticed Millers (aka Army Cutworm Moths – Euxoa auxillaris) in every nook and cranny lately. They are on a migration to higher elevations in Colorado and Wyoming where they will spend the summer before returning in the fall. But did you know that they are bear food? Scientists have determined that GrizzlyContinue reading “Army Cutworm Moth Migration”