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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. The 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. They 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 traps, alternating each year. Clean by brushing or re-drilling the holes and rinsing with a mild chlorine solution.
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