Today we celebrate our flora. The first Spotted Orchid of the year was noted on the Cloonlarge Loop yesterday. Many more will hopefully follow. Yes, we have NATIVE wild orchids here.

This beautiful flower has an amazing design. The colour can range from white and pale pink to purple. Notice the distinctive darker pink spots and stripes on their three-lobed lips. The flowers are densely packed in short, cone-shaped clusters. Perfumed flowers like this are particularly attractive to day-flying moths. Again we see everything in nature is connected.

Kilteevan Tidy Towns(adult and junior) were delighted to be invited  to this event  on May 17th in Roscommon Arts Centre  We were  pleased to see all the good work being carried out in the county to address Biodiversity Loss and Climate Change. It was rewarding to see Kilteevan Tidy Towns work acknowledged also.

Today we celebrate Brimstone Butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni)

This beautiful butterfly is not very common in Ireland but we have it here in Kilteevan. 

The leaf like, lemony/ lime butterfly is a joy to behold. Note the pointed wing shape. Brimstone hibernates during the winter.

The larvae feed on leaves of Alder Buckthorn which is found on moist acid soils and wetlands. After years of searching we eventually found the Alder Buckthorn on the Loop. Everything in nature is connected.