Bloom Time

Spring is my favourite season in the Okanagan.  The orchards are in bloom – cherries, apricots, peaches apples, it is just gorgeous.  Other plants and trees are flowering as well; forsythias, lilacs, maples, willows, Oregon grapes, Saskatoons, chokecherries, and the hillsides are covered with arrowleaf balsamroot (Okanagan sunflowers). Being a bug person, I am always on the lookout for bugs and I have not been too disappointed, the bugs are having a good time. Bees are buzzing around, there are wasps, flies and beetles going about their business – pollinating, feeding, and mating amidst the flowers. I have seen a few birds also feeding on willow catkins.  What a lovely time of year.  A few pictures taken the past couple of weeks. Enjoy!

Stay safe!

Cherry blossoms. Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. April 30, 2021.
Apple blossoms. Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. April 30, 2021.
Apple blossoms. Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. April 30, 2021.
Crab apple blossoms. Mission Creek Greenway, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. May 9, 2021.
Arrowleaf balsamroot (Okanagan sunflower), Balsamorhiza sagittata. Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. April 17, 2021.
Arrowleaf balsamroot (Okanagan sunflower), Balsamorhiza sagittata on a hillside. Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. April 17, 2021.
Beetle, Glyptoscelis sp. on Arrowleaf balsamroot. Dilworth Mountain Park, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. April 17, 2021.
Photo taken by Gayle Jesperson. Beetle identification by Dr. Hume Douglas.
Mating Glyptoscelis beetles on Arrowleaf balsamroot. Dilworth Mountain Park, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. April 17, 2021.
Nomad bee on Arrowleaf balsamroot. Dilworth Mountain Park, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. April 17, 2021. Photo taken by Gayle Jesperson.
Bee on Arrowleaf balsamroot. Dilworth Mountain Park, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. April 17, 2021. Photo taken by Gayle Jesperson.
Oregon grapes in bloom. Mission Creek Greenway, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. May 9, 2021.
Common eastern bumble bee on Oregon grape. Mission Creek Greenway, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. May 9, 2021.
Common eastern bumble bee on Oregon grape. Mission Creek Greenway, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. May 9, 2021.
Hunter’s Bumble bee. Munson Pond Park, Kelowna, British Columbia. April 24, 2021.
Fly on maple flowers. Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. April 28, 2021.
And that’s it for this post folks! Red-breasted nuthatch. Chichester wetland park, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. April 19, 2021.

All photos not credited taken by Susanna Acheampong.

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Published by Susanna Acheampong

Hi, my name is Susanna Acheampong, and I am an entomologist (a "bug lady") based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Welcome to my blog! I share information on the bugs I encounter in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, fun pictures of insects and the occasional bird and plant (the stuff part of the blog). A special thank you to Gayle Jesperson for planting the blog idea and Laura Keery for her help in setting up the blog. Thanks for visiting!

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