My Question: What is the insect shown in the picture below that is on my apple trees?
The background: In the last 2 or 3 years I've planted a bunch of young fruit trees and have been encountering some problems. One major problem is deer, but I think I can get a handle on that. The other problem I've had with my surviving apple trees. They appear healthy and produce blooms in the spring, yet do not produce any fruit. I did not expect much or any fruit production as the trees would be about 3-5 years old, but I believe my blossoms are being eaten by an insect shown in the photos below. I have many different types of apples and am sure that having a proper pollinator isn't the problem. My dad took a few of my apple trees and does not have the problems with deer or this mystery insect and he has been able to produce fruit already. The mystery insect was observed on all my apple trees and were usually on the blossoms of the trees. I could not find the insect on my old ornamental crab which was loaded with blossoms and bees. I wondered whether they may be a pollinator I was not familiar with, and not being able to identify it, I went with the rule of leaving it be unless I knew it was damaging. Thanks for your help identifying my mystery insect.
Trying to add photos, but not sure if attaching them will work..
