Cindy, one of my regular mason bee customers has had to move East and she was so dedicated to her mason bees that she left them with me to look after. She had run a small experiment in her bee box that I thought would be useful to comment on here.
Today I opened the tubes to remove the Cocoons for storage over winter in the refrigerator.
A creative design for their mason bee house
24 plastic container tubes and 18 mason bee tubes
On first glance, the plastic containers appear to have a good number of successful plugged tubes. When the plastic containers were opened however, it was obvious that mites had taken a large toll on the cocoons:
Top and bottom halves of the plastic containers, The parasitic wasps were present in many of the plastic tubes.
I was interested in comparing the productivity of the phragmites tubes versus the plastic tubes so I kept track of the number tubes, the number of cocoons and the number of tubes with parasitic mites. Here are the results:
Number of plastic tubes: 24 — Number of phragmites tubes: 18
Number cocoons in plastic=108 — Number cocoons in phrag= 91
Ave. number -plastic tube=4.5—-Average number-phrag.tube =5
So once the house had all the tubes and trays removed,. The cleaned trays were reinserted and the bamboo tubes were replaced with very short Phragmites reed grass tubes. Now its ready to be placed outside
Mason Bee homes–The old way.A female at the entrance to a drilled hole in a wood stump.
2012 was the last year I used the mason bee colonies that were just holes bored in various experimental pieces of wood. I had attached these on the house, just behind a peach tree . They looked crude but were responsible for collecting from the wild my starter colony of mason bees. The main disadvantage however was that I could not clean these out, and parasites would take their toll each year. It is a good idea to get rid of these if you have used them so that you do not increase the parasites over the years.
UPDATE : We now call mason bee homes like this MASON BEE MORGUES
In January and February I harvest the native reed grass tubes from the seasonally flooded estuary on on my property. It is important to do this now before any new shoots start to emerge, as trampling could wipe out the reed bed. Trampling by livestock has probably been the cause of the elimination of the native Phragmites sp. from other estuaries on Vancouver Island.
Diving into the base of the reeds to cut out the one in 100 or so stems which will be large enough to provide mason bee tubes.
Stacking up the cut reeds from the swamp
Carrying the bundle to my house for cutting.
Cutting the Phragmites reeds near the nodes to produce the tubes for the mason bees.
I have found a list of the best reasons for using the native Reed Grass tubes Phragmites australis ssp. americanus for homes for Mason Bees. The pros and cons are listed:
Phragmites Reed Tubes: pros: Phragmites Reeds are by far our top choice in nesting materials! They are the best option for several reasons,
1- Size/Shape-Reed tubes naturally vary in size, bees also vary in size and preferences so most bees will find a size they like to nest in. Each tube is cut between nodes so there is a natural back wall. Solitary bees prefer a fully enclosed space to nest in.
2-Protection-They are pest resistant. Mites and parasites aren’t able to burrow through the sides or the backs of the tubes because of the nodes in the stem.
3-Waterproof– Water will not soften or ruin the tubes. phragmites reeds will naturally wick away moisture. This also decreases the risk of mold, fungus and mildew affecting the bees.
4-Sustainable-Each reed is hand cut to the ideal length (approx. 6 inches= 15.6 cm) from natural sources. Cutting reeds is more environmentally friendly than the burning that often takes place to get rid of the reeds.
5-Easy Sorting– At the end of the season the reed tubes can easily be split in half. Bees can easily be sorted without damaging the cocoons.
cons:
1- Disposable-Reeds need to be replaced after each season, this requires purchasing new tubes. Luckily they are affordable.
2- Predators– Squirrels and Raccoons are sometimes able to get the tubes out of the bee house if not packed tightly enough. Placing some chicken wire over the front of the bee house and packing the reed tubes tightly in the house will prevent predators from getting your bees.
Any time from September on it is safe to open the Phragmites tubes to collect the mason bee cocoons inside. The earlier you do this the better as it prevents further development of pollen mites. Below are some photos from this years crop.
The ideal tube that you want to find will look like this
One side of the tube will show clear cocoons like this . note the neat arrangement with the plugs of mud where the pollen supply was deposited and the egg was laid, now holding the individual cocoons.
If opened from the other side they will appear like this. The small black cigar-shaped objects are frasse, or larval waste, indicating a healthy cocoon
Beneficial wasp pollinators.. do not destroy!When one of these tubes shows up I simply carefully replace the other half of the phragmites tube and tape it together. I incubate these in a separate container in the refrigeratorSo this is what a successful bunch of tubes looks like. These tubes are about 18 cm in length.
PARASITES of MASON BEES
Pollen Mites
When a brownish orange material fills a cocoons space
These are cleptoparasite iparasitic mites. They steal the pollen of the bees.See the video below
With a hand lens or as above, a closeup view on a cellphone you can see this mass of mites on the move. When I come across a tube with these mites, I segregate all other cocoons from the tube, and give them a thorough wash and cleaning before storing them in the refrigerator. I am also careful not to sell any of the cocoons from that batch. Mason bee houses that are not cleaned will have a build up of mite infestation so bad that eventually very few bees will be produced.
However, some other bodysnatcher parasite did get in and eat cocoons in a few tubes, typically leaving half the cocoon casings. I am not sure what this one is , but usually all the cocoons in a tube will have been opened if these have entered.
Mummification:
A hard dark colored mummified larvae on the right is produced inside a cocoon. Probably spores of the fungus would be released from this form.
This is similar to a fungal infection called chalkbrood in honeybees.
UNKNOWN?
A new parasite turned up this year in a few of the plastic cases with channels which a neighbour gave to me. This one is like a cutworm larvae. I find the plastic containers are very bad for parasites, especially mites.
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)
</
