[ValleyNature] Milbert's Tortoiseshell, Honey Bees, flowers - Wolfville

[James W. Wolford]

APR. 20, 2009 - Another Sunny and fairly warm definitely Spring day!   
I walked a bit in Wolfville, and the most abundant flowers were the  
very low and blue SCILLAS? or scilla-lookalikes?  Attending one of  
the extensive bunches of these was a lovely orangy butterfly, a  
MILBERT'S TORTOISESHELL.  I have not seen many of these early Spring  
butterflies, and I had forgotten just how relatively small this  
species is.  Like the Mourning Cloak butterfly, this species and the  
related Compton's Tortoiseshell overwinter as adults and then get  
active in early Spring.

Other flowers seen were some early daffodils and tulips and  
hyacinths, crocuses of course, yellow aconites?, red and silver  
maples, and another small American elm (most of the large Am. elms in  
Wolfville have died and been taken down, victims of Dutch Elm Disease  
fungus from the Old World.

Also it's nice to report that the flowers were attended by LOTS OF  
HONEY BEES!

Cheers from Jim in Wolfville

Jim (James W.) Wolford
91 Wickwire Ave.
Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada
B4P 1W3

phone 902-542-9204
e-mail <jimwolford at eastlink.ca>

"In wildness is the preservation of the world" -- Henry David Thoreau


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