One of the earliest flowers to bloom on the prairie, pasque flowers—named for their tendency to bloom at Easter time, at least in certain regions—cater to the earliest-emerging pollinators, like queen bumblebees, miner bees, and the bee-look-alike syrphid flies. The dense hair on the plants helps trap in heat, as do the flowers as they open to track the sun through the day and close to safeguard the gathered heat at night. When cold snaps and late spring snowstorms hit, the flowers are like a cozy cabin for the pollinators—the insects can force their way through the petals into the warm interior where a feast of nectar and pollen awaits, fortifying them with the heat and energy needed to fly to the next flower. The pasque flower is the state flower of South Dakota.