Apple blossom ID’s

28th April 2025 

Blossom explosion! Young green sprouts of leaves are near invisible behind walls of flowers on Cherry trees, hawthorn hedges and apples... an abundance not seen for many years. Bounty for pollinating insects which in their turn are now creating bounty for all of us in autumn... and for wildlife too. (see previous posts of winter and early spring feasting - badgers, muntjac, roe deer, squirrels and birds).

The minute the sun breaks through a roof of cloud, our apple trees are abuzz... these photos were taken while standing still by a Bramley bough caught in last beams of sunlight within the space of four minutes, starting at 16:57.

First, a fast flitting thirsty


 

Common Carder Bumblebee (apologies the bee is not quite in focus, but its diagnostic colours, stripes, shape and fluffiness are visible, and that’s what matters!)


Then a quieter, small fly caught my eye - probably some kind of small, narrow Hoverfly. 




Black and yellow striped abdomen, a very pronounced waist... a wasp? No, it’s narrower bodied, paler yellow... a solitary bee, a male Nomada species - there are several similar ones (“hard to nail it down to species”*).

Nomada bees look like wasps, are nomads as their name suggests, and are the cuckoos of the bee world. They lay their eggs in nests of other bee species.

 


Hoverfly. * “I think this is the curiously named - Epistrophe elegans.  I've seen one or two out and about recently; they have a gleam to them”.

This is a gardener’s friend, big time... its larva eats aphids! Do not swat it thinking it is a wasp!


 Another Hoverfly - Eristalis species, several species are also known as Drone Flies as they resemble honeybee drones.

They pollinate many flowers; larvae live in water and breathe through a long snorkel poking up through the pond surface, hence their other name rat-tailed maggots. Another useful ally to gardeners, fulfilling pollinating duties for fruits and seeds. Another hidden useful gardener’s friend amongst your pond inhabitants!

 


Common Wasp – Spot the difference!

Higher in the tree, beyond me and my mobile, there was a Red Mason Bee (one of my bee hotel resident species) and big queen bumbles. These well-clad fluffy bumbles remained buzzing amongst the blossoms after the sun had dipped behind the hill and the temperature dropped.

Wildlife Gardening Tips

*Quotes and ID’s from Steve Smailes, expert on bees, flies and look-alikes, and an entertaining speaker at Nature Chain Events.



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