Category: Mason Bees and Phragmites reed-grass tubes

Mason Bees.. The best pollinator for spring and early summer pollination of your fruit trees.

Phragmites Reeds for Mason Bee tubes

NOTE: I have updated this 2015 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information

Phragmites in estuary/marsh
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 plant Triglochin maritima  (Sea arrow grass) grows in the marsh and it is toxic to grazers.

(http://metchosinmarine.ca/gf/triglochin-maritima/)

“Seaside arrow-grass (Triglochin maritima) is a native plant found sporadically across Canada in saline, brackish, or fresh marshes and shores. This plant contains cyanogenic glycosides, which can release HCN during mastication by animals. Poisoning occurs primarily with ruminants, including cattle and sheep. The concentration of toxic chemicals increases during times of moisture depletion (Majak et al. 1980, Cooper and Johnson 1984, Poulton 1989).”

 

 

 

Parasites of Mason Bee Colonies.

  • 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.
  • SEE OTHER POSTS on this site for entries on Parasites

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.

frasse
The small black cigars are frasse, (insect manure.)

Mason Bee Homes Made by our Customers

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.

 

Mason Bee Houses–Make your own

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.

A pill bottle with a hole for the bees to exit is attached to the water pipe
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

Articles on Pollinator problems

ARCHIVAL: This post has been re-dated from 2016 in order to position it closer in the blog to Mason Bee Information
 

  1. Unprecedented scientific report says bees and other pollinators are in dire need of help. From the Washington Post. February 26, 2016
  2. Press Release: Pollinators Vital to Our Food Supply Under Threat, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, February 26, 2016

 

Peaches blooming in Metchosin so its Time for First Mason Bee Release

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:

peachblossom
Peaches in bloom, March, 2015
nectarine_blossom
Nectarine 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.

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.

See other posts on this website on mason bees

Mason Bees (Blue orchard Bees) for sale in Metchosin, BC,

NOTE: I have updated this 2015 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information
2015-03-07 cocoons

I am now selling mason bee cocoons which you can  order and then pick up from my farm in Metchosin British Columbia. 

mason_bee_houseI raise my blue orchard bees in boxes like this, similar to a birdhouse without a front. The mud-filled tubes are complete, and they are still working on the open ones. The small compartment at the bottom, with a lid and hole in it,  is for depositing a handful of cocoons into when I remove them from the refrigerator.  This is done after their winter hibernation when I need pollinators for various fruit trees.

A section of 4 inch drain pipe can be used.A section of 4 inch drain pipe can be used as a mason bee house also.  A 5 cm.  overhanging lip at the top keeps the water out. I also have a limited number of Phragmites reed tubes for mason bee homes . They average 6 inches in length and can be packed horizontally in any container as long as it is waterproof.  Limited amount available at $5.00 per dozen.

 

masonbee
Female Mason Bee, ( Blue Orchard Bee) raised in and native to Metchosin BC.

See other postings here on Mason Bees :

Contact: garryf use the: “at sign” gmail dot com

Mazzzon Beezzzz Metchozzzzzzin

Well thats a takeoff on what I have decided to call my Mason Bee operation.. Its now MASON BEES METCHOSIN. Below are the latest versions of a poster and simplified yearly directions I have on a business card.

 

Scroll back through the mason bee postings to see samples of houses made from repurposed/recycled materials.

Note: I have created this 2017 posting to bring it closer to the other mason Bee information

Beware of this Bad Buy


Recently this Mason Bee house has appeared on the market and it has to be one of the worst pieces of equipment I have seen for encouraging mason bees. I have recently sent a request to Costco management requesting that this item be removed from their shelves.
The following are the reasons that I have made this criticism:

 

 

1. The tubes are made of bamboo and are impossible to break open to remove cocoons for cleaning to prevent parasitic mite infection. The manufacturer even gives directions to put them back outside in the spring  without cleaning out the parasitic mites. This is totally irresponsible as it will lead to an increase in mite population since you are creating a monoculture which encourages parasites.

2. The maximum depth of the tubes is less than 4 inches. Mason bees need at least a 6 inch depth. Also some of them are open ended allowing parastic wasps in the back end as well.

 

3.The diameter of many of the tubes is away too large. The ideal size for mason bees is 5/16 inch.

4. The diameter of many of the tubes was too small for mason bees.

5. Some of the tubes were glued in upside down with nodes at the front end preventing bees from entering.

6. Many of the tubes had nodes near the centre, rather than at the bottom end,  meaning they were less than 2 cm deep and no sane mason bee would use those tubes.

The partial solution if you end up buying one of these things if you can’t return it, is to remove all the tubes as in the video below, and fill them or replace them with disposable phragmites or cardboard tubes.

 

See an update on how to modify these tubes if you happen to be stuck with having bought a house like this.

Mason Bees at Seedy Saturdays/Sundays

ARCHIVAL: This post has been re-dated from 2016 in order to position it closer in the blog to Mason Bee Information

Selling mason  bees and reed tubes today proved to be very successful.  I had registered for  a table selling mason bees cocoons  and Phragmites reed-stem tubes at the Victoria Seedy Saturday.

My schedule for attending upcoming Seedy Saturdays is as follows, also you can follow the links to their websites for more details.

February 27: Sooke Seedy Saturday
March 6: Nanaimo Seedy Sunday.

March 12: North Vancouver Seedy Saturday
April 2: Surrey Seedy Saturday

I produced the poster below to identify my location at the seedy Saurdays.  A big thankyou to all who were willing to get engaged with raising mason bees and I encourage all those who buy my bees and tubes to give me feedback on their experience with raising them.