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

This is a fantastic thread and thank you to all of the contributors! I find mason bees fascinating. I would like to expand my mason bee housing, I only started last year. I have a couple of questions for DIY houses. I think I would like to go the paper tube route. It seems parchment paper seems to work perhaps better than brown paper bag? I have bags but easily can buy a roll of parchment if it fairs better with moisture (pacific north west). Drilling hole size if I used a solid wood block: If I use parchment, do I drill 5/16" still. With paper bag, do I drill 3/8" as the paper takes up space or still go 5/16". I am going to buy a long drill bit (about 16") and use my drill press to get deep holes. Don't really want to buy 2 bits :) . My other option is to rip 5/16" square grooves in 1" think boards and then line with tubes. The tubes will prevent the spread of mites etc between wood layers correct? This is far faster for me (rip the grooves vs. drilling a solid block) and I already have the dado blade and table saw, as well as the wood. Comments and suggestions greatly appreciated!

When I decided to get mason bees I went to a seminar with Dr. Margriet Dogterom who has 20+years experience with Mason bees (her website www.beediverse.com). She said the cardboard tubes were only useable for one year, piddly to work with , as you have to open them up to get the bees out which destroys the tubes. There are parasites that do attack the bees and you need to make sure you bleach or really clean out your nest each year, check your cocoons for ones that are infected and toss them. As far as parasitic wasps, she said that you put a cover on the nest with a little hole in it for the bees to get in and out, covering over the tubes or holes but that the tubes need to be set back so there is space for the bees to get in and out of the nest through the hole. This deters the parasitic wasps. She has an excellent book that is availble through her website.

Yes you can, and you should, if you can move them to a protected location. The longer they stay out, the more birds and bugs can get to them. In particular parasitic wasps. Move them to an unheated garden shed or garage location. Avoid locations that overheat in the summer sun. The important thing is to move them slowly, gently, and without bumping them. If the larvae get jarred loose from their food supply, they are unable to reattach and will starve. So I've read anyway, so I play it safe and handle them with care. Once Fall rolls around, you can handle them with wild abandon. The are fully cocooned and dormant by then. I try to have my bees into the garden shed by the first of June. That's good enough to avoid most of the parasitic wasps. In fact, the sooner the better.