Early snow melt was cited as the reason for two linked effects on the environment: decreased number of flowers and decreased butterflies. Butterflies depend on the nectar of flowers to live and produce eggs resulting in fewer butterflies. This in turn affects the pollination process for flowers and a vicious cycle begins. Lower snow packs and frosts also damaged caterpillars lowering numbers again. I found this quiet depressing.
That's funny. I just heard an story about a freakishly large butterfly migration through Ottawa this year. Here's the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2012/04/19/ottawa-big-butterfly-spring-migration.html
This article was about the Colorado Rocky Mountains, I'll take a look at that other article thought!
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