20 NEBRASKAland • MARCH 2018
the railing below the deck light, left them to settle down, and
would return later to uncover and photograph them.
The night was calm, but cool for August and the mothing
was slow compared to warmer nights. Also, a week earlier
the city had sprayed the neighborhood for mosquitos and
"knocked the moths back some." On good nights, over a
hundred moth species are attracted to Brogie's lights.
About 11 p.m., the grass now wet with dew, the action
picked up. "Different species come to the lights at different
times of night, and some say 2 a.m. is the best time for
mothing," said Brogie. He also sees a progression through
the season as different moth species emerge, the lifespan of
many being only a few short weeks. He starts mothing on
warm nights in March and April and continues until the first
autumn frost. Peak mothing is during the heat of summer.
Brogie knew most moths, at least to family, coming
to the lights and often called out their intriguing names:
"chickweed geometer … a cottonwood dagger … a dart
… an owlet." The largest moth caught that night was
a waved sphinx. We saw no large and spectacular giant
silkworm moths – cecropia, luna or polyphemus. Upon
close inspection, all of the captured moths were interesting.
The bodies and wings of most were intricately patterned or
stunningly colored, their antennae often bizarrely-shaped.
A few moths were shaped like military jets; others were
camouflaged to look like leaves or bark. Brogie has caught
moths that mimic bird droppings, a protective measure
against predators.
At one point, I went into the house and talked with Ellen,
Brogie's wife and also a retired science teacher. "He says
he moths to document new species, but for him it is a whole
Brogie transports captured moths to the railing on his deck where he lets them settle before uncovering and photographing them.
The moths are released and the photos used for identification purposes.
During our night of mothing, Brogie captured the first pondside
pyralid recorded for Nebraska. Its caterpillars are aquatic,
feeding on duckweeds, pondweeds, sedges and other wetland
plants.
PHOTO
BY
ERIC
FOWLER
