June 2022 • Nebraskaland 25
fl owers, catching insects as they moved from blossom to
blossom. The whole circle of life was playing out in front of
me on this "worthless weed."
Eventually, I had to get back to my real job, but I returned to
the same patch of gumweed in the early evening to continue
photographing the incredible diversity and abundance of
invertebrates. Between the 10 minutes earlier in the day and
about 45 minutes in the evening, I ended up with reasonable
photos of 14 species of animals. The actual diversity of
species using the fl owers was much higher, though, since
most hopped, dropped or fl ew away before I could take their
picture.
My photographic inventory included two types of fl ies,
two beetles, two butterfl ies, a moth, a grasshopper and a
tree cricket that were all feeding on pollen and nectar. I
also photographed three kinds of wild bees, including one
kleptoparasitic species that lays its eggs in the nest of other
bees. In addition, I got photos of two types of spiders, one
using a web to catch prey and the other — a crab spider —
ambushing anything that came within range of its long front
legs. When I found the crab spider, it was feeding on a wasp
it had just caught, which became the 15th species on my list.
As all this was happening, I was surrounded by gorgeous
Sandhills prairie that stretched to the horizon in three
directions and the stunning Niobrara Valley just to the north.
The light was wonderful, and the wind was nearly calm. It was
a perfect opportunity to explore and photograph a huge and
spectacular place. Instead, I spent my time crawling around
in a patch of "weeds" the size of a couple of pickup trucks and
was completely enraptured. If you turn the page, you can see
the 14 invertebrate species I photographed that day.
N
Chris Helzer is the director of science for the Nature
Conservancy in Nebraska.
A gray hairstreak
butterfl y visits
a patch of
gumweed at
Chris Helzer's
family prairie
south of Aurora.
nanza!
Photos and story by Chris Helzer
