5-31 Maiden Pink, Whorled Loosestrife, Tortoise Beetle

5-31 Maiden Pinks are common and eye catching. There are 12 different pinks listed in my field guide.

Whorled, AKA Four-leaved, Loosestrife is one of 11 loosestrifes listed.

An aptly named Tortoise Beetle proved as eye catching as most flowers. John

5-30 Dwarf Bush Honeysuckle, Small Sundrops

5-30 Dwarf Bush Honeysuckle, the only honeysuckle with toothed leaves, is opening its pale yellow trumpet-shaped flowers.

Small Sundrops, a diminutive member of the primrose family whose bright yellow flowers are open by day, can be seen in sunny woods and fields. John

5-29 Carpenter's Square, Frostweed, Maple-leaved Viburnum, Orange Hawkweed

5-29 Carpenter's Square, AKA Maryland Figwort, is opening a few of its drab little flowers.

The showy yellow flowers of Frostweed, AKA Rockrose, are opening. Each lasts but a single day.

Maple-like leaves and clusters of small white flowers mark Maple-leaved Viburnums.

Orange Hawkweed, AKA Devil's Paint Brush, is referred to as "a troublesome weed of fields and pastures" however a Sweat Bee made no such judgments. John

5-28 Common Speedwell, Blue False Indigo, Cow Vetch, Little Wood Satyr butterfly

5-28 Common speedwell - one of 11 Speedwells found in our area - has started its flowering.

Blue False Indigo is a garden escape that flourishes on river banks and gravel bars.

Cow Vetch - yet another alien species - drapes one-sided racemes of violet flowers through fields and roadside tangles.

The handsome brown butterfly called the Little Wood Satyr is common where woods meet old fields. John

5-27 Ox-eye Daisies, Lesser Toadflax, Black Locust, Bristly Locust

5-27 Ox-eye Daisies - alien but beloved - are dotting roadsides and fields.

Lesser Toadflax is almost exclusively found in railroad ballasts - and is probably overlooked by most.

Clusters of creamy white pea-like flowers spangle Black Locusts - an introduced species in New England.

The clusters of large pink pea-like flowers on Bristly Locust - a species often introduced for erosion control and land reclaimation - are also currently open. John

5-26 Yarrow, Multiflora Rose, Alsike, Blue Flag Iris, Bittersweet Nightshade

5-26 Yarrow, AKA Milfoil, is a common white - or pink - flower of fields and roadsides.

Once widely cultivated, Multiflora Rose is now a troublesome invasive escape.

The sweet smelling pink flower heads of alsike Clover, an alien escape, are open.

Blue Flag Iris is coloring marshes and wet meadows.

The dangling violet, shooting star-shaped flowers of Bittersweet Nightshade drape moist thickets. John

5-25 Porcupine, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Yellow Iris, Eastern Tailed Blue butterfly

5-25 A Porcupine grazing roadside clover turned its defensive side to the camera.

Birdsfoot Trefoil has opened terminal clusters of bright yellow pea-like flowers.

Yellow iris is a garden escape found on stream banks and in marshy aeas.

Eastern Tailed Blue are among the many butterflies that are airborne. John

5-24 Black Swallowwort, Pale Beauty moth, Alternate-leaved Dogwood, White-winged March Flies

5-24 Highly invasive Balck Swallowwort, AKA Dog-strangle Vine, is opening its unique little flwoers.

The moth known as the Pale Beauty is airborne.

Alternate-leaved Dogwood, AKA Pagoda Tree, is now in flower.

Mating swarms of White-winged March Flies bob harmlessly over fields and along forest edges. Although somewhat annoying these flies don't bite. John

5-23 Red Baneberry, Lesser Stitchwort, American Bladdernut, Canadian Swallowtails, 6-spotted Tiger Beetle

5-23 Short racemes with numerous long white stamens mark Red Baneberry.

Lesser Stitchwort is a delicate plant of fields and meadows.

American Bladdernut's drooping racemes of white flowers will eventually produce this shrub's inflated pods or 'bladdernuts.'

Canadian Swallowtails are among the many butterfly species that are on the wing.

Fiercely predacious 6-spotted Tiger Beetles can be seen on foot paths and hiking trails. John

5-22 False Solomon's Seal, Swamp Saxifrage, Hoary Alyssum, Sand Spurrey

5-22 The frothy white flower plumes of False Solomon's Seal drape through roadside tangles.

The flowers of Swamp Saxifrage are described as being greenish-white. The plant likes wet feet.

Dry fields and waste places are home to Hoary Alyssum, a member of the mustard family.

Tiny pink flowers growing in dry sandy places make the identification of Sand Spurrey relatively simple. John

5-21 Pineapple Weed, Bunchberry, Water Avens, Eastern Black Swallowtail

5-21 Barnyards, roadsides and fields are home to Pineapple Weed.

Bunchberry, AKA Dwarf Cornel, - a dogwood family member - favors cool woods and bogs.

Water Avens, AKA Purple Avens, can be seen in swamps and wet meadows.

An Eastern Black Swallowtail was busily laying eggs on Queen Anne's Lace. John

5-20 Clintonia, Mayapple, Oak Drops, Blue Taodflax

5-20 The greenish-yellow flowers of Clintonia, AKA Bluebead Lily, are at their peak.

The single white flower of Mayapple, AKA Mandrake, dangles below large umbrella-like leaves.

The strange cone-like inflorescences of Oak Drops are parasitic on tree roots, usually oak.

In sandy dry soils the tiny flowers of Blue Toadflax can be seen - by those with sharp eyes. John

5-19 Common Hawkweed, Yellow Goatsbeard, Ragged Robin, Red Osier Dogwood

5-19 Common Hawkweed is lifting its yellow flowers over fields and waste places.

Yellow Goatsbeard is just starting its flowering.

Ragged Robin, AKA Cuckoo flower, can be either pink or white and has a ragged apppearance.

Wet places and shores are home to Red Osier Dogwood. There are 9 dogwood species that can be found in Vermont. John