Bees are a gardener’s best friend. Everyone who loves flowering plants or depends on plants for a living knows that without these important pollinators we would be in big trouble. That’s why wildlife habitat supporters encourage you to spend a little time this winter building and installing Mason Bee nests.
Unlike the familiar honeybee, the Mason Bee—also known as Orchard Mason Bee or “Osmia lignaria” scientifically speaking—is native to the United States. And get this: One female Mason Bee can pollinate up to 2,000 flowers per day. That’s why they are valued by farmers and especially by orchard growers.
One interesting thing about this type of bee is that they are nonsocial and therefore do not require hives or communal nests. Neither do they produce honey. And unlike the Carpenter Bee, they do not drill holes. Instead, they seek out holes that are already available in wood such as woodpecker holes and insect holes found in trees or wood blocks.
There are 140 species of Mason Bee found in North America. The Mason Bee found in North Carolina is smaller than a honeybee and has a stout body that’s a metallic blue-black in color.
As for behavior, these solitary bees have been described as one of the mellowest bees in the world. Even if they are disturbed, the male Mason Bee cannot sting and the female rarely stings.
Mason Bees mate in the spring. Then the males die and the females look for a place to lay their eggs. When an appropriate hole is found, the female bee makes a row of 5-10 “cells” in it. She then collects pollen and nectar to use as food for her larvae.
The entrance to each hole is sealed with mud.
The foraging range for a Mason Bee mother is about 100 yards from her nesting site. Pollen-collecting continues for 4-6 weeks and then her activity ceases. Her babies mature and rest in their cells through the summer, fall and winter.
The next spring, male Mason Bees are the first to emerge from their cells. Females emerge later, often coinciding with the bloom of the Redbud trees, and the cycle begins again.
Want to help our native Mason Bees achieve success for your garden? Here’s a plan recommended by the National Wildlife Federation.
Mason Bee House
MateriaLs
- Drill bits 5/16th of an inch.
- Untreated scrap lumber or 4X6 wooden block.
Method
- Drill holes 3-5 inches deep using a regular pattern. Shallow holes may produce more male bees. You can attach a roof to protect it from midday sun and rain.
- Place the bee house on the south side of buildings, fence posts or trees.
- Do not spray insecticides on or around the bee house.
Mooresville’s Julie Higgie is a Certified NC Environmental Educator, a NWF-trained Habitat Steward and vice president of the Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists. Find more conservation tips by visiting her website at www.juliesnaturejottings.com
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