It is nearly half–past May and we are all looking for some evidence that there will be a spring this year. Today was sunny and warm, so I headed out to see how nature might have responded.
Some of the evidence is presented below. It is not everything seen today, but is enough to suggest that maybe we have turned the corner on the seasons. The range of blossoms for insects to visit is still not large, so many visit dandelions that proliferated in the last day.
Goslings accompany their parents out onto the Lake.
A stream violet grows in the woods.
The colour of the Western Spring Azure (butterfly) is only apparent when its wings are spread in flight.
A comma butterfly (a Hoary Comma?) lands on a Douglas–fir.
A female flesh fly visits a dandelion.
A bald-faced hornet visits a dandelion.
The bombilius is a bee–mimic fly seen mainly in the early spring.
The first bumble bee (a Bombus bifarius) I have seen this season.