Lower Loup NRD and Nebraska Forest Service staff have identified a rare butterfly in the Lower Loup NRD Arboretum in Ord.

While working in the Arboretum on the morning of July 11, 2022, District Forester Rich Woollen and LLNRD Information Specialist Alan Bartels noticed a large black and orange butterfly fly by that didn’t look familiar. The insect landed, and it was immediately apparent that despite its coloration and similar size, that it was not a monarch butterfly. Bartels was able to gently capture the insect. Woollen shot some smartphone photos for identification purposes.

Bartels used the images to rule out what the butterfly was not, ultimately believing that the winged visitor was a female regal fritillary butterfly. Entomology experts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln confirmed Bartels’ identification.

The regal fritillary has been a candidate for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act since 2013. Associated with tallgrass prairie, meadows and pastures, habitat destruction has led to the extirpation of this species from many states where it was once common. Its survival depends on uninterrupted tracts of native grasslands. Even though it is much less common here than in the past, Nebraska is considered a stronghold for the species. Male regal fritillary butterflies live about one month and die two weeks after mating. The females live approximately one month.

“I believe it is always worthwhile to slow down and take time to observe nature,” Bartels said. “When we do, our appreciation for wild things and our increasingly rare wild places increases. Nebraskans are fortunate to live and work in a state with so much natural beauty. I hope people will explore our Arboretum in Ord and the rest of the Lower Loup NRD.”