Mason Bee Life Cycle - Bees, Birds & Butterflies

4 comments:

1. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2013 at 9:32 AM

   I'm in Lacey. I put up a shelf on the east wall. I have more new bee blocks than the neighborhood needs for the season. I have about a hundred ? cocoons from last year and3 blocks of cocoons. I'm thinking about putting the blocks and cocoons out in intervals: one old, one new, maybe wait until a block is full before putting out the next new block ? Or placing them weekly through March. There won't be enough blossoms in early march for all the bees. What do you (all) think ?the word verification is not clearenough

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2. Janet Partlow and Glen BuschmannFebruary 4, 2013 at 7:02 AM

   Thanks for the comment. I've rewritten a bit of the language. The "rules" page goes into more detail. This page is better seen as a grid and I haven't done that for the blogpage.Mason bees emerge over the course of several weeks even if all the nest blocks are put out at the same time. Unless I need some bees for teaching I put all my mason bees out at once. How many? -- provide enough housing for the capacity of the GARDEN and NOT for the capacity of your Mason Bees. You have to decide how much is enough, become cold-hearted. They are so easy to raise (if you do everything right) that within a few years their numbers can easily exceed the capacity of a garden, both stripping pollen resources and overwhelming natural nest sites that later solitary bees need. Depending upon the spring weather I may put out another CLEAN block of nest tunnels in mid April. Then I put out a nest block in late May made for OTHER tunnel nesting bees; late season solitary bees often prefer smaller diameter holes. Glen

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3. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2013 at 7:47 AM

   I will follow your example and put out new blocks (with parchment) in mid April and late May. There wasleaf cutter activity here last yearand some leaf cutter cocoons in with mason bees.Anyone know of annuals that will offer pollen to mason bees ?

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4. Janet Partlow and Glen BuschmannFebruary 23, 2013 at 7:52 AM

   Annuals are few for mason bees, as most annuals are not in bloom until summer. There are a number of biennials that overwinter and bloom in the early spring (and sometimes called "winter annuals". I let kale bolt in the spring and bees are all over it; other mustard family plants are equally popular. Our blog has several posts under the label "Pollen and Nectar". Also, check out the Xerces society for plant suggestions. Glen

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