NOTE: I have updated this 2016 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information.
Don’t forget to make sure that your mason bees can find a good source of mud while they are laying their eggs in your tubes. I discovered a year ago that if you provide a reliable source within a few metres of the bee houses, they will use less energy to gather mud and will therefore be more efficient.
mason bee crawls into the side tunnel
See this post I did. Another observation has led me to believe that they prefer to collect mud in horizontal holes in the side of a trench. This trench is kept wet throughout the nest-building period, and I dig holes into the walls of the trench. It is probably an adaptation to prevent predation, as they would be easy targets on an open patch of wet soil. They also prefer “clayish ” mud, as any good mason knows that their mud needs to be sticky… Sandy doesn’t do it!
This year I gathered some freshly exposed clay and added it to my mud trench.
Holes drilled in clay for a mud source for mason bees
ARCHIVAL: This post has been re-dated from 2015 in order to position it closer in the blog to Mason Bee Information
I find that if I remove a set of Mason Bees from the refrigerator and put them out by the colonies to emerge from their cocoons as the weather warms up, if they are not hatched within a week, and yet look like viable cocoons, you can suspect that they may have Monodontomeruswasp parasites,
The white larva of Monodontomerus parasitic wasps. In the cocoon on the left, nothing remains of the bee. On the right the bee is still intact but slowly being digested.
In a few the larva are still small and havent completely eaten the now dead bee.
I opened several cocoons today and the results are shown below. In many of the cocoons the bee was still alive, but must be weakened so that they can’t chew their way out. If I got them soon enough before they were being thoroughly eaten, often with small white eggs attached to the outside which the bee brushes off easily, they can fly away after a few minutes. In the handful of about 100 cocoons that I looked through today, less than 5 % seem to be affected like this.
NOTE: I have updated this 2015 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information
In the past two weeks I have been cutting more Phragmites (reed grass) tubes for the mason bee homes. Its important to get them before the new shoots emerge as they are easily trampled or cut off while you are cutting the stems. About one in 50 stems are of suitable diameter, so it does take some time to get them. This population is one of the few left in BC. One theory is that cattle grazing in the early years destroyed most of the native populations along the coastal estuaries.This population may have been spared because of the poisonous “arrow grass”– Triglochin sp. that is common in this marsh, so it was fenced from the earliest times on.
This phragmites is the native variety. In Eastern Canada however, there are populations of the introduced variety that are a serious invasive species.
A bundle of phragmites stems just cut from reeds in background
Basket full of cut tubes
Mason bee homes set out among the preachbranches
Another way of making homes for bees. A 4inch piece of drain pipe is cut about 8 inches in length note wires for attachment, and the plastic bottle with cocoons inside which will be attached next to the tubes
The fawn lilies , Erythronium sp. are in bloom now so they can benefit from the pollination by the mason bees also.
stacking the Phragmites tubes in the bee house
SOrting the Phragmites tubes fo length.
I have a few of these tubes available for pickup in Metchosin. See this page re purchase:https://www.gfletcher.ca/?p=1
So that’s what we call them when people drill holes into blocks of wood and then never clean them out. The result is an eventual loss of the colony from an ever increasing infestation of mites.
If you aren’t willing to look after and properly clean your colony every year in the fall, then you are not doing a service to help in pollination, you are harming it.
NOTE: I have updated this 2015 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information
Last years stems of Phragmites in estuary/marsh being harvested for mason bee tubes. It is important that this is done only before new shoots start to emerge. I have a theory that this native Phragmites exists in this marsh only because the marsh was fenced in the early years to prevent grazing by cattle and sheep. It has been eliminated from most of the other marshes in BC by grazing (personal communication with Robert Prescott-Allen). The reason this marsh was fenced was that the plantTriglochin maritima (Sea arrow grass) grows in the marsh and it is toxic to grazers.
NOTE: I have updated this 2016 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information
Occasionally I will take a sample of several dozen cocoons that are in cold storage and test them for viability. The longer they remain in storage before release, the more likely that some parasites will get a better head start.
Once the temperatures are up on sunny days, cocoons placed out near their prospective homes will start cutting their way out of the cocoons and fly off to get materials to fill their own tubes for the coming year. If there are remaining cocoons unopened after a week and a half of warm weather, then it may be worthwhile to check them for parasites. You can open a cocoon with a sharp box-cutter blade, carefully picking away at the tough cocoon. If the bees are healthy they will leave within a few minutes. You may encounter the following parasites and if so you should get rid of them. I have included some here that I not quite sure about as well. These parasites are natural, but when, as with many monocultures we concentrate many of one species together, the chance of pests finding a good place to thrive is increased.
The “mono wasp larvae may be in 2 or 3 of the 2 dozen tubes.
These mummified bees are probably bearing many parasites eating them live from the inside.
It is not clear what this parasite is but small exoskeletons can be seen when the cocoon is opened. Be sure to get rid of these bees in order to stop the spread of parasites
Small exoskeletons taken from next to the bees body inside the cocoon.
This small plaque indicates a parasite has tried to gain entrance to the cocoon. Some of the cocoons with these will be dead, others not??
Plaques with a tiny hole in the centre in several cocoons.
The small black cigars are frasse, (insect manure.)
NOTE: I have updated this 2015 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information
I will use this page to mount pictures sent back by customers who have made their own houses out of recycled materials or have set up experiments to test the materials.
Jim used a router and made grooves on two sides of 1 inch boards and then built a fancy house to protect it. The bees will put their cocoons directly in the hollow holes and then the pieces can be opended up for cleaning later in the fall.
Jim’s box head on
Jean-Paul has a test going comparing the Phragmites tubes with plastic straws in holes drilled into a wooden block. We will be intertested in seeing the results of this trial. I’ll bet on the reed tubes!
There are various values in the commercial community in regards to increasing the presence of Mason Bees as pollinators. Some items for growing Mason bees currently on the market tend to appeal more to the human than the bee, and people are willing to pay for these.
However in order to increase the populations of Mason Bees for our interests in pollination of our plants, more emphasis could be placed on providing homes that bees find favourable for their sole purpose: that of increasing their progeny.
At recent “Seedy Saturday” events, I have been encouraging people to use recycled materials to build houses and then to send back pictures of what type of structure they have come up with. Below are a few examples for a start.
Pallet wood is ideal for making houses holding tubes. This design holds 2 dozen Phragmites stems. The small plastic bottles taped to the side are for cocoon release.
A plastic peanut butter jar with a wire mesh over the mouth to prevent bird predation.
This is a 2 inch water pipe which holds 2 dozen tubes.
A pill bottle with a hole (covered with tape until release) for the bees to exit is attached to the water pipe
A 3 inch drain pipe holds over 4 dozen.
A metal coffee tin holds a large number of tubes.
This is the size of box I use with a small compartment for cocoon release. Above are two sections of plastic wood decking with empty Phragmites stems inserted. .
A honey container has an ideal sized hole in the cap to allow release of bees from their cocoons. The idea of this protective container is to prevent predation. Don’t leave this in the direct sunlight however as condensation will accumulate inside.
A pill bottle with a hole for the bees to exit is attached to the water pipe
I do have available for sale several of these 2 inch water pipes with 2 dozen + tubes inside for $15.00.
NOTE: I have updated this 2016 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information
NOTE: I have updated this 2015 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information
Mason bees for sale at $6.00 per dozen:
Peaches in bloom, March, 2015Nectarine blossoms, March, 2015
I have put out my first set of Mason Bees from the refrigerator as the peaches and nectarines are in bloom. There are also a few honey bees working the flowers, but once the Mason bees are active, they are much more efficient at pollinating than honey bees.
Small black specks indicate bees are chewing their way through the parchment -like walls of the cocoon
A mason bee emerging from its cocoon. They immediately fly off when out.
Emerged female mason bee
The case of the coccon once the bee has emerged.
I have produced away more of these cocoons than I need for my garden and orchard so see this page for information on purchasing mason bees: https://www.gfletcher.ca/?p=1
I am now selling mason bee cocoons $6.00 per dozen which you can order and then pick up from my farm in Metchosin British Columbia.
e-mail garryf use the at sign gmail dot com, or use the e-mail form on the page linked above.
