Advice for Mason Bee Newbie?

17 years ago

I purchased my first starter set of Mason Bees this winter, and am looking forward to seeing them around the yard. I live in Iowa, and am borderline zone 4/5. I'm looking for advice on how best to handle these bees to keep them in my yard. So a few questions for those more in the know than I.

1) What flowers can I offer these bees to keep them around? I have a crab apple tree in my yard, but no other fruit trees, and no room for other trees either. So I'm looking for some options on what I can plant to help them out.

2) How long can I delay putting the bees out? Many of my flowers I currently have don't get going until mid spring, say mid-May. Can I delay putting the bees out until then? If not, when would the best time to put them out be? I currently have them housed in the refrigerator.

3) How hot is too hot for nest location? I have a homemade nesting system based on some plans online. I plan on hanging this on the south side of my garage, but want to make sure it won't cook them. This location gets sun from mid morning to late afternoon. It can get hot depending on the weather. If I get too much sun and heat will the larvae die? The nesting system I am using consists of paper straws in a container which is then housed in a wooden next box. The sun won't be directly on the straws or their primary container, so should be somewhat protected. Is this sufficient, or should I move them to the west or east side of the garage?

Thanks for any help, I'm really excited to get these little buggers going!

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Comments (3)

agardenstateof_mind
17 years ago
I'm new to these solitary bees myself, having just purchased some this winter. A search here didn't turn up a lot of info, so I searched the web and will share what I've found.

Foodwise, they seem pretty easy to please: in addition to the flowers of fruit trees, they particularly like heaths & heathers, eastern redbud, berries, willows, chokecherry, Cranesbill geranium, dandelion, broom, mustards, beard tongue, radish, salvia/sage, dusty miller, white clover, vetch. They're reportedly very fond of borage and pieris japonica (Japanese andromeda). Also like wallflowers, lavender, rose (single varieties are best) forget-me-not, violet, beans & peas, rhododendron, azalea, dill, parsley and carrots.

Some of the above bloom particularly early, like the pieris and some varieties of heath/heather (my two varieties of heaths are just finishing and just starting to bloom now, and pieris will be blooming very soon).

The latest I've heard on placement of the nester is that an east-facing exposure is best, well above the ground, and they don't like dappled shade. A nearby supply of moistened well-sifted soil (I'm told a good clay content is good) for building material will make their job easier.

After the mason bees have finished their activity for the year, you may see other solitary bees using the nester (O. cornifrons and O. coerfulescens, and the leafcutter bee, Megachile spp. Apparently they all get along just fine.

You may want to put something over the front of the nester to exclude predators (like woodpeckers) that will break through the mud-sealed chambers to feed. Some people report wire mesh works.

I'm preparing to put my bees out just jow, in coastal New Jersey, USDA zone 7. We've had alternating warm and cold spells (several days in the 50-60 range, followed by colder spells with nights in the mid-20's), so I kept them in the fridge, but I think it is now reasonably safe to put them out here. You'll want to consider your local weather patterns. They can take the cold, after all, they are native insects, but if hit with frigid temps after they've emerged, or started to emerge, I'm afraid they might be weakened or killed outright.

One website I found helpful is www.pollinatorparadise.com - you'll see articles on Rearing Solitary Bees, FAQ, and A Bee Garden for Attracting Osmia. If I can again locate the others that were particularly useful, I'll post them for you.

I'll sure be glad to see any advice from GardenWeb members who have experience with these bees. In the meantime, though, like you, I'm excited and eager to set them out to do their thing!

Good luck to you!

Diane
dubistein
17 years ago
Also a newbie, so I don't have much advice! I'll probably put mine out this weekend. Gretzky, what kind of plans did you find for a bee setup? I used some 2x4s this time and will have to trim the paper straws but next year I'd like to make one with deeper holes.
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I just read through this 3 year forum. It's nice to see great questions and answers. I work with mason bees on the commercial side. A couple of points. - unless you have chalkbrood, there really is no point to washing your mason bees. If you have harvested your cocoons and separated out the cocoons from the mites/mud/pollen balls, that's all that is needed. Any residual mite on the cocoons doesn't harm anything. The first foraging trip to flowers has mites on the mason bee again. If you have chalkbrood, wash with bleach. Our website has great pictures on pests and processes. Look at http://www.crownbees.com/home-gardner/harvesting for more information. - There are a variety of straws/inserts/reeds to be found on the internet. We have a new one out, the 'EasyTear' that doesn't need an insert, you can tell if it's used by a mason bee, and tears open easily. Reeds are also a good option as well. Lastly, a few questions asked about other mason bees beyond the Blue Orchard Bee. We're helping people be successful with the Japanese Orchard Bee in the east coast and are on the lookout to help others find/manage more. Osmia Algaia (Berry bee) in Oregon is a good one, and there are a few other Blueberry bees found. We're looking to help understand location, crops that can be supported, and nesting practices for each bee. Native bees are vital to pollination. Continue to give your bees away to your friends and help them succeed! Dave Hunter, Owner Crown Bees http://www.crownbees.com Here is a link that might be useful: Crown Bees
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Putting them back in the refrig should be fine. Their emergence can be delayed for up to a month past their natural cycle without serious problems. Even emerged bees can be held in the refrig for a few days without harm. Mason bees are exposed to fluculating weather in their natural habitat and have adapted to it. A bigger cause for concern is the availability of pollen and nectar sources. On any warm day after they have emerged, they will be out looking for food. If there is none in your area, they will fly off to find some. Once they find food in another area, they probably won't come back. It's a good idea to have something else in your area that blooms a little before your fruit trees. That way, even if they emerge early they will stay in the area. Mason bees seem to have a strong preference for fruit trees, so you don't need to worry about other flowers distracting the bees from the fruit trees once they start to bloom. Some of the native plant blossoms are not as sensitive to cold temperatures as the crop type fruit trees. Willows come to mind for my area, but each area is different. Have a look around to see what is blooming now in your area. If you can get some of these plants started in your area, it will make the timing of emergence a lot easier and decrease the danger of dispersal due to lack of food.
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I drilled holes in a block and mason bees used it until it got old and dirty. You might need to clean it somehow every year. I also used the cardboard tubes with the straw liners. The problem I had with that was trying to get the straws out to change them at the appropriate time, because the bees are very active and either haven't emerged yet or are already filling up holes. The straws seemed hard for me to pull out and put in. I've heard a solution, you take the old one down and put it somewhere that the bees can emerge but not find it to start filling it, but have a new setup for them. I've also heard if you find some bamboo of an appropriate diameter, you can cut lengths, tie them together, and the bees will like them. One problem I had was that I needed to take the filled house and store it in a sheltered place, refrigerator, or whatever over winter, one winter mine seemed to be killed off by too much cold or ? I kept putting out a new straw house and didn't seem to attract any new bees last year, but this year I think some are using it. There are other small native bees as well, like leaf-cutter bees, check google. I think they may also use mason bee houses.
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I have had issues with GW lately failing to email me when subsequent posts to threads come up, so you're not the only one it doesn't like! The mason bees have one generation per year. It makes them so easy to have around. You certainly don't need to bring in the bee cells to your home if that's not your thing. If you don't, there could be several predators that will mine little holes into some of their tubes and attack the developing larvae. Some suggest waiting til fall to bring them in, but if I remember, I just grab the blocks that are filled up and store them in the basement once the adults are no longer visiting the blocks (usually around the beginning of June). Bringing them in greatly reduces the risk of predators. The adults are only out from late March to early June. Once you've got all your planting done for the season, but the end of May early June, then it's time to start to monitor the boxes for adult visitation drop off. Yep, we've certainly had a few bees in the house! If you forget them in the basement, they will emerge by about mid April no matter the temperatures, so you gotta get them outside by the end of March. If a couple do emerge earlier, I put the freshly emerged adults into the refrigerator with a cotton ball soaked in sugar water 2:1 water to sugar. The cold slows them down and the sugar water sustains them for a few days to a few weeks. I then put the entire little box in the fridge until it looks like Mother Nature is cooperating, and providing them with blossoms to visit. To avoid any issues, I try and put the boxes and bee cells out when the flower buds on the fruit trees start to look like they are about to open. I wish I had some pictures of the larval cells. They are like little bullets with mud on either side. As a note, the roofs on the boxes for mason bees are totally not needed, though I think the little workers appreciate a little rain cover. I've seen people stack 2x6 blocks in their yard without any rain cover or roof, and they still keep their bees happy. In the late fall, you can often find folks selling starter mason bee pupal cells on Craigslist and EBay for around 20 bucks. Of course you can purchase them from online sellers as well. I never have had that many blocks where I had a bunch of surplus bee cells, but maybe I'll build a few more boxes this fall to increase the reproduction opportunity next spring. I'm not in it to make money, but I would be willing to donate some starts to someone wanting to give them a try if they produce enough next spring. Zach, as much as you seem to like insects, this little cheap project should be on your to do list! Of course, I'm happy to answer any questions that may come up along the way. Dan
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todancewithwolves
17 years ago
I do know they love Cosmos.

Advice for Mason Bee Newbie?

Comments (3)

agardenstateof_mind

dubistein

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