 |
| Blue Orchard Mason Bee (Osmia Lignaria) |
An unfortunate part of the recent popularity of honey beekeeping is a high drop out rate of new beekeepers within the first few years because of the significant commitment of time and money. For those of us who whether the storm of diseases, pests and colony losses it can become a life long obsession and love. For others an easier, cheap alternative (minus the honey) is to provide homes for native pollinators.
While I am a keeper of honey bees, I also house mason and leafcutter bees in my garden. The mason bees also known as Osmia Lignaria are an important, native spring pollinator in our area of the world. I've found them actively foraging at temperatures a few degrees cooler than honey bees which is important for early spring fruit pollination. For many crops our native bees are better pollinators than honey bees and require far fewer bees.
They make nests in reeds or natural holes and utilize mud to space their cocoons. While there is an endless variety of homes that you can make or purchase for your mason bees the important thing is that the inner nesting tube be accessible to clean and harvest the cocoons. Without the ability to access and clean the nesting area it would soon become filled with debris, mold, diseases (i.e. chalkbrood) and predators (i.e solitary wasps).
They make nests in reeds or natural holes and utilize mud to space their cocoons. While there is an endless variety of homes that you can make or purchase for your mason bees the important thing is that the inner nesting tube be accessible to clean and harvest the cocoons. Without the ability to access and clean the nesting area it would soon become filled with debris, mold, diseases (i.e. chalkbrood) and predators (i.e solitary wasps).
 |
| Native pollinator homes should have some shelter from weather and face east or south to catch the early morning sun |
I make my mason bee houses by simply drilling half inch holes in 6 inch deep wood.
I use plain, unbleached brown paper from grocery bags rolled around a tent pole as liners which brings the finished diameter of the hole to the optimal 3/8 inch. The rolled liners extend 1 inch out the back and are folded over with a back wood plate screwed on. When harvest time comes I just unscrew the back plate and pull out the paper liners (Paper Liners That Work). You can winter your cocoons in the fridge and release them in the spring.
I use plain, unbleached brown paper from grocery bags rolled around a tent pole as liners which brings the finished diameter of the hole to the optimal 3/8 inch. The rolled liners extend 1 inch out the back and are folded over with a back wood plate screwed on. When harvest time comes I just unscrew the back plate and pull out the paper liners (Paper Liners That Work). You can winter your cocoons in the fridge and release them in the spring.
 |
| Mason Bee Cocoons |
For more information on how to manage Mason Bees for your home or farm go to the Native Pollinators section of our Library and scroll down to Mason Bees.
If you are just starting out you can buy cocoons off Craigslist for about 50 cents a cocoon and from some garden stores for $1 per cocoon. Good sources of supplies and information for mason and leafcutter bees are Crown Bees and Beediverse. Good luck.
Good Book
 |
| How to Manage the Blue Orchard Bee |
I,m from Oakville Ontario Canada and I can,t find anyone in Ontario that sells Mason Bees .I,m getting very frustrated and I hope someone can help me out so I can have Mason Bees for next Spring
ReplyDeleteHi Elise, No hurry. You are unlikely to find mason bee cocoons for sale now. Depending on where you are you will see garden centers and craiglist ads for cocoons in February-March. They must be kept cool til release. I find local mason beekeepers sell their extras on craiglist for about 50 cents per. It's a good way to meet and learn from experienced mason beekeepers. Just remember to get a good portion of females (larger cocoons). Good luck.
DeleteMy experience mirrors the cherry chart you provided above. In Vancouver our berry bushes flower well before the honey and bumble bees find their way to our rooftop. As such, we had virtually no berries the first two seasons. Since we've started supporting mason bees we've had huge production across gooseberries, blueberries and red, white and black currants.
ReplyDeleteAround a hundred years ago beekeepers in northern parts of Europe and some in North America stopped keeping the northern subspecies of honey bee referred to as the Black or German Bee because it produced less honey and tended to be a little less friendly. The Italian subspecies became the favorite which has recently been mixed with the Carnie subspecies from the Alp region. There is a resurgance in some parts of northern Europe of native Black Bee beekeeping which is a more cold weather adapted bee. We are fortunate to have our native mason bees and some species of bumble for early pollination. Time to bring the cocoons out of the fridge.
Delete