Tag: ecosystem

Bombylis major: Bee-fly mimic

On By Mike and Christy2 Comments

An early arrival as the first spring wildflowers spring is Bombylis major a bee-fly mimic. Bomblyis is about 1/2-3/4 inches long and fuzzy as a cuddly teddy bear. At first thought you might think that probosces is quite the stinger but it is harmless and used to collect nectar.

These guys move very quickly from flower to flower early in the spring and seem to be gone by July which coincides with the decrease ins spring wildflowers.

Gotta love these little guys with the long proboscis, spindly legs and fuzzball bodies pollinating the spring flowers.

Yellow Bells:Fritillaria pudica

On By Mike and Christy13 Comments

In addition to the Glacier Lillies carpeting the forest floor these small Yellow Bells, which are also in the Lilly family, have kept us company this spring. The plants are only 10-30cm tall and usually contain a single flower. They grow scattered in patches both in open areas as shown below and in more forested areas as well.

The bulb of yellowbells is edible, raw or cooked. It can also be dried for later use. Since it is rich in starch, it is best used in the autumn, however, many tribes picked them in May and boiled them alone or with bitterroot. The raw bulb tastes like potatoes, when cooked it tastes like rice. It can be eaten as a vegetable or be added to soups etc. Several tribes used them for food. The green seedpods can be eaten, boiled as a wild green, but are said to be bitter.

We found flowers that ranged from the typical yellow to some that were a deep orange.

A small treasure that springs from the ground and one to look forward to again.

Wabbit

On By Mike and Christy12 Comments

wabbit

Spring time is Rabbit time. Last weekend we saw plenty of healthy rabbits roaming the sagebrush and grasslands of the Arapahoe Wildlife Refuge as well as plenty of Hawks looking for an easy meal. Luckily for this guy he stayed on guard and was reluctant to stray too far from the cover of the sage.

Simply Spring

On By Mike and Christy3 Comments

A morning walk springs to life as fresh new leaves and vibrant colors paint the still brisk morning air.

The surprise of the day was a Dragonfly lurking about on wild roses trimmed short by the deer. Not much prey for this little predator so early in the season but don’t worry the bugs will come.

And even the coniferous trees were getting in on the action this morning.

Nothing fancy today….simply spring.

First Leaves

On By Mike and Christy10 Comments

Along the creek with buds just breaking out a trees first leaves of spring were not leaves at all.

It appeared that sap was flowing and attracting Comma Butterflies (Polygonia comma) of either the Eastern, Satyr or Hoary varieties to these willows just a few weeks ago. In addition to sap the leafless Pussy Willows further up the road were providing an early spring meal of pollen and nectar for the pollinators as well.

The namesake comma, or little c,is visible on both of these guys above.

… and the star of the show and a beautiful lift leaf on any plant.

And after a meal full of nectar a well balanced butterfly diet should include a little mineral as well. This Comma is engaging in a behavior known as puddling which I have observed over and over again but first read about on Piotr Naskrecki’s blog the Smaller Majority in an article entitles What Butterflies Like.

Anyway those first leaves of spring were not leaves at all.