The Northern Rockies are experiencing one of the largest pine white (Neophasia menapia) eruptions in decades. Pine trees, mostly ponderosas, are filled with billions of white butterflies.

The battle between winter and summer is favoring summer right now. The snowmelt from the Bitterroot Mountains is roaring down each and every canyon, and icicles are beginning to give way to warm sunlight.

While old, haggard, overwintering butterflies have been aloft for weeks, the first new butterflies of the year are appearing, such as this Sheridan’s Hairstreak (Callophrys sheridanii). The buckwheats, its host plant, are just now putting out leaves to be consumed by the tiny caterpillars.

The snow on the talus field creates the water which ultimately reduces the rocks that line the creek bed. We found entertaining compositions in the process.

The accumulation of water swells the canyon bottleneck as it makes its way to the Bitterroot River, and ultimately the Pacific.

This is a quick promo piece Conservation Media put together for an EPA video contest. The film recently won TWO Silver Telly Awards, for Nature/Environment and for Cinematography. It was a lot of fun to make and we were terribly lucky to catch not one, but two acts of wetland predation to show how all the players are connected. We mostly dissected an older relatively unused 10-minute film we made a few years back for Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge. The new editing and shorter length work a lot better here. Enjoy and please leave comments.