Primrose

Look out for the first primroses, peeping out on south facing banks. Delicate pale yellow petals deep yellow in the centre converge into a long tube. This contains nectar at the base, which is only accessible to long tongued long-tongued species of bumblebes, bee-flies and butterflies. Bee-flies have two wings but otherwise look like bees. A butterfly whose lifecycle is in tune with primroses is the brimstone butterfly. The male has luminous yellow wings while the female is pale green. They emerge from hibernation now having overwintered as adults and feed on primroses on sunny days. Primroses nó sabhaircín are widely recognised and welcomed as one of the signs of spring – part of our native Irish biodiversity.