 Use the Orchard Mason Bee House to encourage the world's best pollinating bee to make its home in your backyard or garden. Native to almost every state, the Mason Bee prefers to nest in wood blocks.
Non-aggressive, mason bees are safe and easy to raise. Just hang in a sunny, sheltered area and let the bees do the rest. Made with preservative-free lumber. Dimensions: 16" H x 5 1/8" W x 5 3/4" D.
Orchard Mason Bees
Your 60 hole nesting habitat is designed for several important backyard pollinators. It is perfect for the Orchard Mason Bee (Osmia lingaria), the Blueberry Bee (Osima ribofloris), and the Hornfaced Bee (Osima cornifrons). Several of the native leafcutters will also use these holes, each one a friendly pollinator in your garden.
These bees bring pollen and nectar to the holes, mix it into the proper sized lump and lay an egg into it. Then with mud, they fashion a thin but strong cell wall. They continue until all the holes are filled or they run out of eggs.
After the eggs hatch, tiny larvae eat the food, spin cocoons about themselves, and inside the cocoons metamorphose into adult bees. They hibernate over winter to come out in the early spring, mate and start the process over again.
Hang the habitat against a warm, sunny and wind-protected wall. The bees will find the blossoms-that is there life's work. In the fall bring the habitat inside to an unheated outbuilding or even a refrigerator. The bees want to hibernate in temperatures that average 38 F.
Replace the habitat in the spring when the dandelions appear. Emerging bees prefer clean holes in which to nest. Use two nesting blocks, alternating each year. Clean by brushing or re-drilling the holes and rinsing with a mild chlorine solution.
Tip: Parasitic mites are killing honeybees at an alarming rate. To ensure proper crop pollination put these nesting habitats up early. |
