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Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/946863
MARCH 2018 • NEBRASKAland 23 those occur in Nebraska," said Neil Dankert, an expert on Nebraska butterflies who lives in Kearney. "Nebraska is 10th in the nation in butterfly diversity, and if moth diversity correlates with butterfly diversity we could also be in the top 10 in moth diversity." Dankert explained that mountainous states generally have the greatest Lepidoptera (the order including moths and butterflies) diversity. Mountains have wider gradients of elevation, precipitation and soils which in turn support more diverse plant communities. "Generally higher plant diversity supports higher moth diversity," said Dankert. He said that for an area to support a varied moth fauna it must provide food for both caterpillars (leaves and other plant parts) and adults (nectar). In addition, the caterpillars of most moth species usually feed solely on a single or closely related group of plants, their host plant(s). There are countless moth "specialist feeders" found in Nebraska, including the leadplant flower moth, Virginia creeper sphinx, phragmites wainscot and yucca moth. These moths survive only in habitats sustaining their host plants. For example, the yucca moth lives only in dry, sandy or silty prairies with yucca. The caterpillars of "generalist moths" feed on a larger variety of plants, and these species are normally more common and have wider distributions. Nebraska's potential for high moth diversity stems from the variety and relative intactness of our native plant communities, ranging from deciduous woodlands in the east to pine woodlands in the west to prairies statewide. Dankert believes one potential hotspot for moth diversity is the deeply-incised Niobrara Valley east of Valentine. Here, on the river bluffs, western outliers of deciduous woodlands intermingle with western pine woodlands and remnant birch forests from glacial times. Also, Sandhills prairie and mixed-grass prairie cover the south and north bluff tops, respectively, and wetlands and riparian woodlands occur along the river and feeder streams. The area is home to nearly 600 plant species, with most found on The Nature Conservancy's 56,000-acre Niobrara Valley Preserve. On the preserve, Dankert has collected 86 butterfly species. That is nearly half of the 206 species recorded in the state, including some that have not been seen in more than 50 years and are likely extirpated, and others that are rare waifs or migrants. Panhandle escarpments, primarily the Wildcat Hills and Pine Ridge that include pine woodlands, several prairie types, badlands and deciduous trees in seepy draws, may also support a rich moth fauna. Because the caterpillars of many moths feed on deciduous trees, especially oaks, another hotspot might be the 3,000-acre, richly-wooded Indian Cave State Park located on the Missouri River bluffs in Nemaha and Richardson counties. In similar woodlands at Hitchcock Nature Center in the Loess Hills above the Missouri River in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Loren and Babs Padelford of Bellevue caught 122 species in a single night of mothing this past July. The Padelfords, like Brogie, were avid birders before they delved into moths in 2010. Much of their mothing has been at Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods nature centers near Omaha. In 2017, they caught and photographed 362 moth species in Nebraska. In 2013, the Padelfords attended the first Mothapalooza conference, "a celebration of the rich and stunningly beautiful world of moths," at Shawnee State Park in Ohio. The annual event attracts 250 participants for presentations on moths and other pollinators, nights of mothing, and field trips. "If we held a similar event in Nebraska we might attract 10 people," said Babs. "Some states have more moth enthusiasts and therefore a more thoroughly documented moth fauna." In Iowa, for example, two dedicated self-taught lepidopterists, Frank Olsen of Cedar Rapids and Jim Durbin of Marion, have collected and identified nearly 1,800 moth species during the past 15 years. At present, roughly 2,200 species are known from the state. "Each year we still identify about 100 new state records," said Durbin. "Occasionally we find a moth never before reported anywhere, a species new to science." "A reasonable guess is that Iowa is home to about 2,500 moth species," said Durbin. Most of the larger species have been identified and Durbin believes that many of the new finds will be small, nondescript "micromoths," some of which can be less than an eighth of an inch in length. Durbin can identify many micromoths, but some he must send to experts for identification. Olsen and Durbin are considered Iowa's authorities on moths. "We became the experts because until recently we were the only ones collecting and identifying moths in the state," said Durbin. "In the last 10 years, more Iowans have become interested in moths and are collecting and documenting species." Unlike Iowa, most regions of Nebraska have never been surveyed for moths, and there is no formal list of species found in the state. If tallied, the moths identified by Brogie, the Padelfords and a few others may total about a thousand species. "I would expect Nebraska to at least equal and likely well exceed Iowa in moth numbers," said Dankert. "We have more butterfly species than Iowa and our landscape is more diverse." In other words, there are well over a thousand moth species in Nebraska waiting to be documented. A few will likely be species new to science. What the state needs is more people like Brogie and the Padelfords who are interested in moths and willing to search for the undiscovered. Without this citizen interest, our moth diversity will remain hidden by the night. ■ The best moth guide for Nebraska is the Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America. The website Butterflies and Moths of North America (butterfliesandmoths.org) contains photographs, range maps and natural history information for many Nebraska moth species.