Mason Bees

[Durgan]

Mason Bees
Posted on May 13, 2018 by Durgan
After spending some time browsing for a Mason Bee house this is the best found. I have ordered one, since I desire to go into mason bee production. The price is reasonable, and the construction appears to be well thought out. This is my first effort in producing bees. A lot of reading separating the essence from the chaff.
https://crownbees.glopal.com/en-CA/...rownbees.com&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=en_US

Mason bee home.

 

[CanadianLori]

What is a mason bee. I know about carpenter bees (horrible sods) but not mason bees.

 

[Durgan]

What is a mason bee. I know about carpenter bees (horrible sods) but not mason bees.

I didn't know anything about Mason bees until yesterday. Now I am going into growing them. Thy are the saviors of our planet. Do a study.

 

[Chuck]

What is a mason bee. I know about carpenter bees (horrible sods) but not mason bees.

Mason bees come in many colors and descriptions. They are even more beneficial than honey bees. I am sure you have seen them. The following link shows what the one's in your area look like, probably.
https://www.southwesternontario.ca/events/8364679--mason-bees-the-best-pollinator-you/

I make my own houses out of 8 inch diameter oak tree limbs that are 10 inches long. I drill 5/16 inch holes in the same pattern as shown in durgans picture. The holes are 7 inches deep. I probably have put out 8 or 10 of them in forks of trees. I guess they work because I have lots of the bees. I used to have a wild honey bee hive in an old oak tree but they disappeared a few years ago. Mason bees provide most of my pollination with honey bees second. You could make your own houses out of just about any large diameter limb.

 

[Durgan]

Any hole convenient for the mason bee will suffice, but there is an ideal situation. Crown Bees seem to done some work on keeping the bees healthy. It was all new to me. Will be an interesting project.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I have a few homemade bee houses, primarily for Mason bees and Leafcutter bees. Don't see too many Mason bees, but I get quite a few Leafcutter bees and Mason wasps.

 

[Silentrunning]

I have a few homemade bee houses, primarily for Mason bees and Leafcutter bees. Don't see too many Mason bees, but I get quite a few Leafcutter bees and Mason wasps.

Since we have exterminated the vast majority of honey bees I am always on the lookout for a pollinator even if it is only marginally effective. Are Mason wasps pollinators or are they more of a carnivore?

 

[MaryMary]

@CanadianLori and @Silentrunning, I posted three videos about mason bees in Durgan's "Don't Destroy Dandelions" thread. Sort of a brief introduction. If you want to watch the videos, here is a link to that thread.
https://www.gardening-forums.com/threads/dont-destroy-dandelions.14152/

Durgan, don't forget to leave them a little muddy patch!!

 

[Durgan]

Since we have exterminated the vast majority of honey bees I am always on the lookout for a pollinator even if it is only marginally effective. Are Mason wasps pollinators or are they more of a carnivore?

From close reading on the internet it appears all wasps are pollinators. The thrust is don't destroy them unless they are invasive.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Since we have exterminated the vast majority of honey bees I am always on the lookout for a pollinator even if it is only marginally effective. Are Mason wasps pollinators or are they more of a carnivore?

I'm glad you brought that up. Some wasp species are very good pollinators. I do know that mason wasps are predators as well as pollinators, though I don't know how efficient they are. One thing is for sure: when you have wasps around instead of hornets and European Paper Wasps, you realize how non-threatening so many wasps species are. I used to be terrified of wasps. Now I realize that it just comes down to a few wasp/hornet species, typically those that live in a community.

 

[Durgan]

I just cut my rear lawn and felt guilty running over the many dandelions. Years of habit kicking in.

I haven't got my mason bee house yet. Speculating about the type o housing to put it in. Also have to make a small mud bath.

 

[MaryMary]

Speculating about the type o housing to put it in. Also have to make a small mud bath.

What is the size of it? Would it fit in one of those plastic totes they sell to use as shoeboxes? You could also enquire at a local deli - they usually get their various salads (tuna, macaroni, egg, etc) delivered in 2.5 gallon buckets, that might work. The local deli here gives them away, you just have to ask! One of those would probably be deep enough to provide shelter from rain.

Crown Bees has a YouTube video on how to make a mud bath from an old bucket, too.

 

[Durgan]

14 May 2018 Garden clay for Mason Bees
Posted on May 14, 2018 by Durgan
http://durgan.org//2018/May 2018/14 May 2018 Garden clay for Mason Bees/HTML/14 May 2018 Garden clay for Mason Bees
Expect my mason bee house this week, so am preparing for setting up. The bees require clay for nest building. That I have in abundance so dug some clean stuff and stored it in a half liter jar. I will put some daily in the vicinity of their nest in a shallow tray.