Announcing Shelter Island’s spring on the wing

Spring on Shelter Island announces itself in many quiet but dramatic ways, especially with the appearance of butterflies and bees.

A walk through Mashomack will give you a close-up view of these silent heralds of the season.

According to naturalists, butterflies and bees are cold-blooded, so don’t really emerge until the weather warms up and they become active.

It’s also when their food supplies become more abundant, with flowers blooming to provide the nectar and pollen the insects need to thrive.

And spring brings the time to reproduce, with mating and egg-laying in the warming world.

Check out the beauties flitting here and there at Mashomack, with all trails open now until January.