An Investigation into the Nocturnal Moth Community within the Central Platte River Valley with a Focus on Erebidae and Sphingidae Species

Abstract

Numerous conservation and surveying efforts have been aimed toward assessing and documenting pollinators in decline, including bees and butterflies, across North America. However, less knowledge and study have been geared toward the often overlooked and seldom inventoried nocturnal moth species, which also provide important ecosystem services such as pollination. As a diverse group of pollinators, prey, and defoliators, moths are not represented adequately in ecological research. The purpose of our study was to identify the species of moths present on Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust Inc. (Crane Trust) properties, which are located within the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) in Nebraska. We conducted an investigation that included 17 sites with various landcover types, land-use histories, and anthropogenic disturbance levels over a six-week period between June 8 and July 20, 2022 and on September 19 and 20, 2022. In an effort to attract a wide variety of species, we used a UV light trap and a fermented fruit lure to attract moths and surveyed 30 minutes to 5 hours after civil twilight. Our UV light trap was successful in helping us capture and identify 235 nocturnal moth species including 12 species newly recorded in the state of Nebraska. Our fermented fruit lure was not as effective and attracted only six moth species, all of which were detected at our light trap. Our findings contribute to the understanding of many species’ ranges and are an indication of the great diversity of moths present within the CPRV. A full examination of the differences in species composition and richness between landcover types, land-use histories, and anthropogenic disturbance levels would be a worthwhile task. However, it would require further research that would involve multiple visits to each site and a survey period that extends from early June through late September to obtain species presence data that is more representative of the entire moth community.

Keywords: Central Platte River Valley, Inventory, Erebidae, Lepidoptera, Light Trap, Macro Moth, Nebraska, Nocturnal, Pollinator, Sphingidae, Western Prairie Fringed Orchid