Mason Bees

Category: Home & Garden

Alternative pollinators are drawing attention as concern about the effects of the honey bee population collapse intensifies. One choice is the native to North America mason bee. Although these friendly bees don't make honey, they are simple to keep and are excellent pollinators. Mason bees have black bodies with a dark blue iridescent sheen, making them resemble house flies. The fact that males lack stingers and females only sting when captured or crushed makes them ideal for the family backyard. The mason bee is a solitary bee that inhabits natural cavities like hollow stems or woodpecker holes. As long as these nests contain cardboard or paper tubes where the female bee can lay her eggs, they appear to be equally content in artificially manufactured nests. Early in the spring, when daytime highs usually approach 55 degrees, purpose-built nests, sometimes known as bee boxes, are placed. The bee box is positioned outdoors, facing south in an area that is sunny but shielded from wind and precipitation. Mason bees can only fly a maximum of 300 yards from their nest, thus bee boxes must be placed close to fruit trees and floral plants. When fruit trees begin to bloom in the early spring, the bees leave their residence. As the females wait, the males emerge first. The females swiftly mate and begin building their nests for the coming year as soon as they emerge. Finding a suitable hole is the first step, after which they proceed to collect pollen and nectar from adjacent trees and plants. On her underbelly, the mason bee accumulates pollen. She pollinates the flowers as she moves by scooping up and dropping pollen as she weaves through the blossoms. In a single day, a single mason bee can pollinate 2,000 flowers. She returns to her nest with pollen and places it at the base of the tube to create a mound on top of which she will lay one egg. She then uses mud to form a jail by sealing up the area. They are known as "mason bees" because they build their nests out of mud. A series of egg cells are laid in the nesting chamber or tube by the female mason bee, who then begins another nesting cell. Amazingly, the bee can tell whether an egg will contain a male or female larva before she lays it. For safety, she will deposit the female eggs towards the back of the chamber and the male eggs in the front. She then uses a mud plug to seal the tube's front. Since the bees don't sting, it is possible to closely monitor all of this activity. As she is covered in pollen, the female can be seen moving toward her chamber, and when she is about to deposit an egg, she can be seen moving away from it. She occasionally prefers to relax in the front of the chamber. The mother bee eventually passes away after six to eight weeks of this activity. A few days after their eggs are placed, mason bee larvae begin to hatch. Each larva enters a pupal stage after eating the pollen that the mother has given. The mature bees emerge the next spring. The process repeats again as the males leave the nest first, followed by the females. For more details visit - www.masonbeesforsale.com Or reach us at - 801.648.9035