Bumblebees (members of the aptly named Bombus genus) are laying their first clutch of eggs. Like honeybees (genus Apis), they are social insects and they eat nectar. Unlike honeybees, a single queen will command a colony of fewer than fifty individuals, often in an abandoned mouse nest. They are important pollinators. There are more than 250 species worldwide.

Showy orchis (Galearis spectabilis) shows it's showy flowers to bumblebees, moths and butterflies for just a couple of weeks right now. The rest of the warm months it is a small nondescript leafy plant, growing from bulbs like a lily. Spring flowers can be confusing, but the showy orchis is the only one with a two-tone, lavender-and-white color scheme, and it grows only in deciduous woods. Orchis blooms at the same time as yellow lady's slippers (Cypripedium parviflorum), a beautiful sight in marshes and moist woods.

The latecomer veery (Catharus fuscescens) is just now building a nest that looks far too big for it's size, which is smaller than a robin. This cinnamon brown member of the thrush family is a common victim of the switcheroo. Brown headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) often lay eggs in the large nest while mother veery is foraging on the ground, as thrushes do. Cowbird chicks will be raised, fed, and defended from predators, often at the expense of veery chicks.

Not all New England bats hibernate here. Migrators, including the red bat (Lasiurus borealis) return this week, their arrival possibly synchronized with the hatch of moths. Red bats copulate in flight in the fall—sounds exciting—but egg fertilization is delayed until the spring, and females are pregnant all summer long.

Starflower (Trientalis borealis) blooms. Endangered or threatened in several US states, it grows around the northern part of the world (hence the borealis). It's seven petals earned it a place in Northern European witchcraft and therefore New England witchcraft, where the number seven is special. Look for it in shady woodlands.

The brown thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), our only thrasher east of the Mississippi, returns this week. Another common victim of the parasitic cowbird, both male and female thrashers incubate, and they will defend a nest like few other songbirds; they have been known to draw blood with their attacks on humans, dogs and cats. Brown thrashers have hundreds, perhaps thousands of songs, many of which imitate other species.

Some old weather lore gains credence when science looks into the matter. Example: the Almanac admonition, "Swallows fly high, clear blue sky; swallows fly low, prepare for a blow." As it turns out, low barometric pressure (a sure indicator of worsening weather) makes insects, and therefore swallows, fly closer to the ground.

The party's over. Black flies (many species, mostly Simulium and Prosimulium genera) menace the north woods for the next six weeks or more. Males feed on nectar; females on the blood of mammals. They have a habit of swarming, causing an economic effect on tourism in New England. In Canada livestock weight loss and even death have been attributed to the little insects. At least half of their larvae (clinging to rocks in running water) are eaten by trout, amphibians, and other insect larvae. Government eradication programs fare poorly since breeding adults can disperse dozens of miles. Wet weather over the next month will increase the severity of the inevitable summer mosquito problem. Depending on the water temperature, the first major hatch of mayflies, the Hendrickson, will in turn trigger the emergence of swarms of fly fishermen.

Marsh marigolds in bloom. Apple trees are showing pink buds
The new shoots of Japanese knotweed are edible when less than 8 inches tall, perhaps the best use for this invasive, non-native plant. Yellow warblers are here: look for an all-yellow body, with wing feathers edged in yellow, singing "sweet sweet sweet shredded wheat."

Male ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubrid) return, a week or two before the females. They head south earlier, too, migrating as soon as August.

Venus, the Evening Star, shines bright white in the west-northwest. It's now almost as high as it's going to get in 2026. And to the upper left of Venus the second brightest planet, Jupiter, appears.