Month: February 2024

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.

Phragmites reed grass tubes at the top, bamboo tubes at the bottom (these were split first then taped together so they can be opened if there are cocoons inside)
Here a block of wooden stackable trays is compared to my phragmites tubes .. note so far in the third week of May 2023 only one hole in the wood trays is filled .. we will check again later.  Follow-up … at the end of the season there were no more holes in the wooden trays. All the phragmites tubes were fillled.

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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Electron Microscope Images of Honey bee Mites

legs from bottom , ventral view

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!)

https://www.timescolonist.com/agriculture/bcs-dramatic-temperature-swings-put-stress-on-bees-and-cattle-8199294