Museum, University of Nebraska State
University of Nebraska State Museum: Museum Notes
Date of this Version
1993
Document Type
Article
Citation
University of Nebraska State Museum, Museum Notes, Number 85, August 1993.
Abstract
Nebraska is a crossroads of butterfly diversity. Many species reach their distributional limits in Nebraska. The 100th meridian, which runs through central Nebraska, appears to be a good distributional limit for many species. In short, eastern Nebraska contains butterflies similar or identical to those found in most of the eastern United States, central Nebraska has both eastern and western butterflies, and western Nebraska has a butterfly fauna more like the Rocky Mountains or Black Hills. Over 200 species of butterflies have been recorded in Nebraska, which is a higher number than most of our neighboring states. Some of our butterflies are restricted to specific habitats and specialized foodplants. For example, the Western Black Dash Skipper, Euphyes conspicuus buchholzi, is currently known from only one location in the state, a spring-fed marsh in northeastern Nebraska, where its larvae feed on sedges. Other butterflies, like the Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, are cosmopolitan and feed on thistles, sunflowers, and even soybeans at times.
Naturally, all species cannot be treated in a publication of this size, but selected examples will give readers an indication of Nebraska's diverse butterfly fauna.
Included in
Archival Science Commons, Entomology Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, Physical and Environmental Geography Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons
Comments
Copyright © 1993 University of Nebraska State Museum