Please Note: although i recommend washing in this video, I am not so sure that it is a good idea, as the year in which I did it, I had very poor hatching.. now I just do a thorough brushing in a sand bath and I have no problems with mites. update 2024: I have updated this 2016. post to move it closer to the other mason bee information this year I washed the cocoons and made sure I dried them thoroughly afterwards to prevent mould.
After removing the cocoons from their tubes, it is important to give them a good wash to get rid of mites. I do not use a bleach solution as some do, as I don’t think it is a very natural product and incorrect concentrations could have harmful effects.. I have no problem controlling the mite population either. .. I use three changes of lukewarm water in a large container. Then scoop them out by hand and dry on paper towels before putting in a plastic peanut butter jar in the fridge to hibernate until bloom time.
First rinse.. muddy and dirty.. dont throw this out as its good plant fertilizer!
After washing .. cocoons floating on surface of water.
ARCHIVAL: This post has been re-dated from 2015 in order to position it closer in the blog to Mason Bee Information
RESERVE YOUR MASON BEES NOW
Now sold out for the 2016 season- there’s always next year!
Mason Bee
Many garden and on-line supply outlets sell cocoons of the most efficient pollinator, the mason bee, for a much higher price. I can provide them now locally until the end of March (2016 )for $6.00 per dozen as supplies last.
Blue orchard (mason) bee just emerged from a cocoon
Mason Bees (also known as blue orchard bees) can be picked up at our farm if only a few dozen are needed or for significantly large orders we may be able to arrange for refrigerated delivery within the BC lower mainland/Vancouver Island area any time this spring. They can either be released in late February or March for early flowering peaches etc. or they can be held refrigerated until as late as June for release coinciding with the blooming times of other plants: blueberries, strawberries, apples, pears, cherries etc.
The local reed grass, Phragmites tubes for mason bee culture.
I will also be selling a limited number of packets of the local Phragmitesreed tubes for $10.00 for two dozenthis year. They can be inserted in a simply made house –- see other posts on this website for suggestions.
You can place orders now and arrange for pickup now or later by e-mailing.
NOTE OF CONCERN: As a former Biology teacher, I am concerned that websites advertising mason bees to send anywhere on the continent are making a big mistake in promoting population genetic contamination. As well as competing with local strains, introduced genetic lines could easily turn out to promote problems such as new parasite introduction and elimination of naturally evolved species . So be sure to ask your supplier where they have originated, in order to be sure you are getting bees have been cultured from natural varieties from your own area. That’s why I would sell only to Vancouver Island or the lower mainland of British Columbia. I have never bought mason bees. Fortunately I live in an agricultural are which avoids the use of pesticides, so native bees still thrive. My native mason bees from our farm found the first nest boxes I put up on their own, and it is from them that I continue to produce new cocoons each year.
Garry Fletcher: email to garryf use the at sign gmail.com (Jan. 2016)
ARCHIVAL: This post has been re-dated from 2015 in order to position it closer in the blog to Mason Bee Information
The native reed grass here on Vancouver Island,Phragmites australis subsp. americanus provides the best tubes as homes for Mason bee larvae. This is from the native, non-invasive reed grass.
I am selling these for $10.00 for 2 dozen tubes.(OLD PRICE) They can be used one season, then split open easily to harvest mason bee cocoons for the next year’s pollination season. (and then added to your compost!)
Some advantages of using Phragmites tubes over other commercially available tubes:
Phragmites reeds are impervious to the parasitic wasp Monodontomerus, which can damage mason bee populations in thin straws.
Reeds are cut at the node providing a natural wall providing a plug that allows moisture to escape while preventing water from entering the reed.
You can build an inexpensive home by putting them in a piece of sewer pipe or a straight-walled jar, or you can assemble a wooden box to hold them. See several suggestions in the link above
Contact me to reserve your tubes for the spring 2016 season at the following e-mail: garryf (use the at sign) gmail.com
NOTE: I have updated this 2015 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information
Successful mud-filled tubes of Mason bees.
The photo above is of one of the better colonized box of tubes from the summer of 2015. Each mud-sealed tube in this box will contain on average 5 mason bee cocoons.
In the lower section of the box shown below, several mud plugs are of lighter colour and a smoother texture. I have found that these ones are colonized completely by another bee, I thought they may probably be resin bees , but now I have found out they are from the Subfamily Eumeninae (Potter and Mason Wasps):
When the tubes from several boxes which had the light coloured mud plugs were split open they appear as in the photo below.
In opening my tubes for cleaning in the winter, I saved several tubes which are probably resin bees which are also pollinators. I have saved these in a separate container to see what hatches from them. Resin bees hatch when the weather gets warmer in later summer. That’s why these are still in the larval stage.
NOTE. I have redated this 2017 posting to make it appear closer to the other mason bee posts. I had moved all my Mason Bee Boxes inside in the late summer so am now extracting the cocoons and cleaning them up for storage in the refrigerator.
I was surprised how successful the longest tubes which I used (9 inches), have been this season. Below is a picture showing the number of cocoons I am regularly obtaining from these long tubes.
ARCHIVAL: This post has been re-dated from 2015 in order to position it closer in the blog to Mason Bee Information Last year with the long warm season, our mason bees on the farm were successful in filling a large number of reed tubes with cocoons. Now I am removing them from the tubes, cleaning them and storing in the refrigerator until release time from the end of February until the end of June. I will be selling them locally again for a price much below that of commercial outlets and they are available immediately at the price of $6.00 per dozen cocoons.
Also, one of my last year’s clients showed me the mason bee house he had made with cutting channels in wood. He also included a section with reed grass tubes which I had given to him to try out. The comparison was quite astounding, as can be seen in this photograph with a definite preference for the Phragmites reed grass tubes being demonstrated.
I will be selling a limited number of these reed tubes for $5.00 a dozen this year.
Contact me at this e-mail: garryf (use the @sign) then add gmail dot com.
