Tag: mason bees for sale

Phragmites tubes and Mason Bee Cocoons–2025 season

See all my posts on Mason Bees here https://www.gfletcher.ca/?cat=2

I will not know until the spring of 2025 if I will have mason bee cocoons to sell this year, as results in my boxes here in the southern end of Vancouver Island were very poor this year– most likely a weather-related cause. However, I do have for sale, Phragmites reed grass tubes for culturing mason bees .   I can ship the tubes through the mail.–  For customers who are not local, I package these tubes in lots of 30 for $15.00 plus shipping costs of $7:00. So 15 tubes =$22.00, (Canadian) Included are a variety of lengths and diameters. A few smaller diameters attract other mason bee species and leafcutter bees. Indicate the maximum tube length you prefer when ordering.

See all my posts on Mason Bees here https://www.gfletcher.ca/?cat=2
If I have enough Cocoons this year I will sell 25 Mason Bee Cocoons for $25.00 for pick up at my farm in Metchosin. Please check with me first by email before ordering.
NOTE: I DO NOT SEND COCOONS BY MAIL. you can pick them up at the farm

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 here: 

Also by putting out the tubes alone without releasing bees, you can in some areas attract the native pollinators to build their nests in the empty tubes anyway.  That’s the way I first obtained mason bee cocoons.

See below for details on ordering if you cannot pick them up at the farm. I can have these available at any time of year, and it is best to get them set out by mid-March. 

For shipping in Canada, the price for 30 tubes=$22.00 Canadian

For shipping in Canada, the price for 60 tubes=$44.00 Canadian

For shipping in Canada, the price for 100 tubes=$70.00 Canadian

For shipping in Canada, the price for 130 tubes=$90.00 Canadian

In a separate email with your address, state your size preference as sizes 4″ (10cm) to 7 “(18 cm)  or mixed are available. This will depend on the depth of the box you have in which to put them, as there should be at least a 2 inch overhang to keep out the rain–
Use the email garryf followed by the@ sign then gmail.com for e-transfers address

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Scroll down through other posts to see my suggestions for building inexpensive Mason bee homes out of recycled and re-purposed material

See all posts on Mason Bees here https://www.gfletcher.ca/?cat=2

Washing Mason Bee Cocoons

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.

 

Mason Bees (Blue Orchard Bees) and Tubes for Sale now.

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
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.

See other posts on the Mason Bees cocoons produced here in Metchosin at  https://www.gfletcher.ca/?cat=2

hatchedmason
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.

 

phragmites tubes
The local reed grass, Phragmites tubes for mason bee culture.

I will also be selling a limited number of packets of the local Phragmites reed tubes for $10.00 for two dozen this 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)

Preparing Mason Bee tubes from Phragmites reeds.

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.

The fawn lilies , Erythronium sp. are in bloom now so they can benefit from the pollination by the mason bees also.
The fawn lilies , Erythronium sp. are in bloom now so they can benefit from the pollination by the mason bees also.

I have a few of these tubes available for pickup in Metchosin. See this page re purchase:https://www.gfletcher.ca/?p=1

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

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.

 

 

Seedy Saturday in Victoria 2021

 

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

On Saturday I set up my display table in the Victoria Conference Centre to sell Mason Bee Cocoons and Phragmites Reed grass tubes for the Seedy Saturday event. I had decided to donate the profits from my sales to the Gofundme project I had started a few weeks ago while I was in Medellin Colombia, so I was able to donate $400.00 from todays profits.

http://www.gofundme.com/f/operation-and-hope-for-jorge