1109_1004 Woodland Skipper
Alfalfa is a common crop in my area, supplying high protein winter feed for livestock; honey bees love it, too. It self-seeds and thrives in my garden, where I always allow a few patches to mature. Here, a late summer flower head has attracted a Woodland Skipper butterfly.
According to my guide to prairie wildflowers, they are "typical legume flowers... with a prominent keel, borne in a tight raceme... the pistil is held in the petals of the keel and must be released or 'tripped' by foraging bees or other pollinating agents if seed is to develop." This is an introduced plant from Europe, "now so common it is considered wild." To this I will add that the local fields of alfalfa are largely left unsprayed, and so alfalfa honey from this part of the world is considered very pure. We have two commercial honey producers in Val Marie (pop. 100), and at least one other who keeps bees and pulls honey for his personal use.
Thanks to Ethan Winning for the ID on this attractive little visitor. Checking the range map, I found that the Woodland Skipper is indeed found as far north as extreme southwestern Saskatchewan - ie. where I live.
Photographed in my backyard garden in Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2011 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
1109_1004 Woodland Skipper
Alfalfa is a common crop in my area, supplying high protein winter feed for livestock; honey bees love it, too. It self-seeds and thrives in my garden, where I always allow a few patches to mature. Here, a late summer flower head has attracted a Woodland Skipper butterfly.
According to my guide to prairie wildflowers, they are "typical legume flowers... with a prominent keel, borne in a tight raceme... the pistil is held in the petals of the keel and must be released or 'tripped' by foraging bees or other pollinating agents if seed is to develop." This is an introduced plant from Europe, "now so common it is considered wild." To this I will add that the local fields of alfalfa are largely left unsprayed, and so alfalfa honey from this part of the world is considered very pure. We have two commercial honey producers in Val Marie (pop. 100), and at least one other who keeps bees and pulls honey for his personal use.
Thanks to Ethan Winning for the ID on this attractive little visitor. Checking the range map, I found that the Woodland Skipper is indeed found as far north as extreme southwestern Saskatchewan - ie. where I live.
Photographed in my backyard garden in Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2011 James R. Page - all rights reserved.