See all my posts on Mason Bees here https://www.gfletcher.ca/?cat=2
iNaturalist: Participate as a Citizen Scientist for Biodiversity
If you everwonder how you can do something to counter the Biodiversity crisis, you can, with minimum experience contribute to the documentation of biodiversity using the iNaturalist app. You don’t have to be a scientist, just an observant person with a cell phone.
I have recorded my observations of species over the past few years and even found and digitized images from 40 years ago.
If you put the word bee in the search box on that page you can see the variety of pollinators I have come across and recorded on iNaturalist .
Thanks for Joining Us at the Following Seedy Saturday/Sundays
Thanks to all who visited my table at the six seedy Saturdays which I attended this spring. I was pleased to see a great level of interest from many people who are enthusiastic about adding to the populations of these efficient pollinators and the control of mason bee predators. It was also good to see that many people appreciated the effectiveness of the phragmites reed grass tubes and returned to invest in more reeds.
Thanks to those who put their name on the mailing list, and now I will be reminding them throughout the year about the steps they need to take at different times of the year to best care for their bees. A big thanks also to the many volunteers in the communities who work so hard to make these popular meets so successful.
I sold Mason bee cocoons and Phragmites reed grass tubes of all sizes at the following Seedy Saturdays /Sundays in February/March 2024.
Come with your questions and your kids..(We will hatch some cocoons for them.)
Sunday March 3,
10 AM- 3PM
Westshore Seedy Saturday ..their inaugural year!
Saturday, March 9, 11 Am-3 PM
Saturday March 16, 10 AM-2 PM
Sunday March 24, 10 Am- 2 PM
Saturday March 30, 10 AM -3 PM
Members of West Vancouver Library -Borrow Colony of Mason Bees
Thanks to the Times Colonist of March 24, 2024 for the following article: Tghis presents a new idea emphasizing the value of these pollinators
Mason Bee Cocoons and Phragmites tubes —-2024 season
SEEDY Saturdays/Sundays where I sold Mason Bee Cocoons and Phragmites Reed Grass tubes in 2024
See all my posts on Mason Bees here https://www.gfletcher.ca/?cat=2
Mason Bee Cocoons are sold out for this season
and I will again be able to supply Phragmites Native Reed Grass Tubes after May 14.
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Pre-ordering cocoons by Paypal is possible:
30 Mason Bee Cocoons for $25.00.for pick up at my farm in Metchosin.
NOTE: I DO NOT SEND COCOONS BY MAIL. you can pick them up at the farm
I also have Phragmites reed grass tubes for culturing mason bees for sale. I can ship the tubes through the mail.–For customers who are not local, I package these tubes in lots of 33 for $15.00 plus shipping costs. Included are a variety of lengths and diameters. A few smaller diameters attract other mason bee species and leafcutter bees. Indicate the maximum tube length you prefer when ordering.
The native reed Phragmites australis ssp. americanus is grown on my farm. These are considered to be the best tubes for encouraging the native mason bee pollinators….Check out the reasons for using Phragmites tubes and comparisons with other types of tubes here:
Also by putting out the tubes alone without releasing bees, you can in some areas attract the native pollinators to build their nests in the empty tubes anyway. That’s the way I first obtained mason bee cocoons.
See below for details on ordering if you cannot pick them up at the farm. I can have these available at any time of year, and it is best to get them set out by March.
For shipping in Canada, the price for 33 tubes=$20.00 Canadian
For shipping in Canada, the price for 66 tubes=$40.00 Canadian
For shipping in Canada, the price for 100 tubes=$60.00 Canadian
For shipping in Canada, the price for 130 tubes=$80.00 Canadian
In a separate email with your address, state your size preference as sizes 4″ (10cm) to 7 “(18 cm) or mixed are available. This will depend on the depth of the box you have in which to put them.–
Scan this QR code to download and checkout with Paypal.
use garryf followed by the@ sign then gmail.com for my Paypal address
I can also accept e-transfers to this email address
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Scroll down through other posts to see my suggestions for building inexpensive Mason bee homes out of recycled and re-purposed material
See all posts on Mason Bees here https://www.gfletcher.ca/?cat=2
Mason Bees prefer Phragmites tubes
I have several videos on here about harvesting Phragmites reed grass and cutting the tubes for mason Bee culture. Here is an example provided by Brian Guzda of Duncan (https://www.instagram.com/briansmasonbees/?hl=en) which shows how mason bees preferentially fill up the Phragmites tubes before laying their eggs in wooden trays. Brian also comments on those plastic trays-” 70% corn material and 30% plastic resin. I have used one since 2018 and find not a great return with lot of mold and mildew inside the holes. No place for the moisture to be absorbed like wood or cardboard tubes can do. ”
This post was originally published in March 2023**
Mason Bee tube preferences
I did an experiment this year comparing the wooden blocks to phragmites tubes , and bamboo tubes to phragmites reed grass tubes .. here are the results in the third week of May 2023.
The native reed Phragmites australis ssp. americanus is grown on my farm. These are considered to be the best tubes for encouraging the native mason bee pollinators….Check out the reasons for using Phragmites tubes and comparisons with other types of tubes on the “Mason Bees for Sale” website;
This post was originally published in May 2023
Cost comparisons of Mason Bee Cocoons and Phragmites tubes
I have had a hunch lately that the cost of mason bee cocoons has followed the pattern we see in the rest of the industries and has risen considerably so I have done some comparisons with my prices with an American and Canadian companies.
I also saw Brian Guzda at Duncan Seedy Saturday and he has also done some investigating and found the following :
He said “I checked mason bee cocoon prices from 12 different sources mostly on the island and a few from the lower mainland with :
The average price per cocoon working out to $1.68 each.
The high was 2.25. per cocoon. Definitely over priced.”
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Buckerfields 10 cocoons– regular $15.99. that’s $1.60 per cocoon !
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BC Bee, Beekeeping Supply: (Canadian)
Mason bee cocoons $22.50 per 10 cocoons = $2.25 per cocoon
Cardboard tubes: $14.00 for 20 = $0.70 per tube
(unknown if there are shipping costs)
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Crown bees in the US:
Mason Bee Cocoons: 20 for $29.95 US = $40.28 (Can)= $2.01 (Can) per cocoon
Phragmites tubes: 50 = 16.95 US , or $22.79 (Canadian)= $0.4558 per tube (Can)
(unknown if there are shipping costs)
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Metchosin Mason Bees: (in $ Canadian)
Mason bee Cocoons : 30 for 25 cocoons = $0.83 per cocoon
Phragmites native reed grass tubes 33 for $15.00 = $0.4545 per tube
and if they have to be mailed 33 for $20.00 = $0.60 per tube
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Making longer Phragmites tubes
This video shows how I took the smaller length sections at the base of a Phragmites stem cut them at the second node and drilled out the middle node to make a longer-sized tube
Electron Microscope Images of Honey bee Mites
At the Seedy Saturday on the weekend where I was selling mason bees, I met Dr. Elaine C. Humphrey, Fellow of Microscopy Society of America, and a Past President Microscopical Society of Canada. She works at the Advanced Microscopy Facility.
Bob Wright Science Centre A015, University of Victoria.
Dr. Humphrey has provided the following images she has taken using Scanning Electron Micrography of the Varroa mites that are parasitic in honey bees: ( Varroa mites (Varroa destructor and V. jacobsoni) )colonies.
These mites are similar in name only to the mites that infect Mason bee tubes, Chaetodactylus krombeini, (Krombein’s hairy-footed pollen mite).
According to Wikipedia: ” The common name is somewhat misleading, as pollen mites consume more nectar than pollen. Both their feeding habits and their size differ significantly from Varroa destructor, the mite very harmful to the European Honey Bee. Although both are classified as mites, varroa mites are more closely related to ticks and only distantly related to Chaetodactylus. ”
So you can expect to have hairy-footed pollen mite contamination if you are not conscientious about cleaning out your tubes in the fall. See this reference on mason bee mites:
Climate Change and Mason Bees survivability
In the February 3 2024 Times Colonist there is an article which poses the question about the ability of natural pollinators to withstand temperature swings. Although UBC researcher Alison McAfee is quoted about the effects of high temperatures being hazardous to bumblebee populations since false springs could make the bees emerge prematurely from hibernation, there is a strong possibility that other native pollinators such as mason bees which normally would emerge when daytime temperatures reach 13 degrees C, could also be affected. This is another reason for overwintering your cocoons in a controlled temperature location like a refrigerator. Controlling when you release the bees ensures that they will not be impacted by increasingly dramatic shifts in temperature. (Of course those who don’t look after their cocoons by cleaning out the tubes in the fall and storing the cocoons in a cold location risk more than temperature change, as parasites will probably take control of their bee populations anyway!)
