NOTE: I have updated this 2015 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information
This summer we have had unprecedented high temperatures in Metchosin so I was interested to receive an e-mail from a customer which referenced a website providing an alert on summer heat!
From the Crown Bees website:
“ALERT- What happens with a warmer-than-normal summer:With too much heat, development speeds up. Your mason bees become “complete” adults too soon and begin to consume their internal stored fats much sooner. As it is very warm, their metabolism is high and their consumption of stored fats is accelerated. Very likely these bees may run out of this life-preserving “fuel” mid-winter and die.
In the Pacific Northwest where Crown Bees is headquartered, we have enjoyed a wonderfully warm summer and as a result, I’m very concerned about our mason bees. You should be as well.
What to do:
If in the Northwest, place all of your developing mason bees someplace cooler, like the north side of your house, in a cool garage, or similar. Don’t place the bees into a refrigerator yet, but do have them in a cooler environment between 60-70°F. Do not ignore me on this. Northwest temperatures have been 10-15°F (5-9° C) higher than normal and I believe next year’s bees are in jeopardy today. ”
So in the absence of any proof, I decided to move all my mason bee houses today from the south walls and store them in a cool area of my barn.
