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Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > OT: free Mason bees (local pickup only)
 
 


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willwall

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
I have too many Mason bee tubes I raised from last year. I have taken about half of them out. I would like to give the other half away, more than 50 6-inch tubes, to someone in need. There are about 5-10 bees in each tube. They are great pollinators for apple and cherry trees. Just in time for spring.

I prefer not to deal with shipping and handling. So they are for local pickup only. I live in Vancouver area, BC, Canada. PM me if interested. Thanks.

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musillid

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
Great offer for someone in Vancouver area. You'll be called the bees knees for this, you know.
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Dale
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greenbud

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
How long have you been providing shelter for the mason bees?  Any simple suggestions on how to get started?  I could count on both hands the #of honey bees I have seen on our property over the last 5 years.  About the same #for toads...   :0(   I use no pesticides or herbicides, either...
eithieus

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
simple get any piece of wood at least four inches deep drill a bunch of 5/16 holes in wood and whala you now have a mason bee home. look up images online for images. lots of ideas there. if you build it they will come. a real fun kid project.
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willwall

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
The shelter is needed for only about 2 months a year. I usually bring it out in the end of March or the beginning of April, one or two weeks before my apple trees blossoms. By late May or early June when the blossoming period is over and tubes are filled, I bring it inside my garage, where the eggs hatch and develop into pupae. By next spring, I will bring it out again, so the cycle begins.

As shown in the picture, the tubes in the attic were filled from last year. The tubes in the blocks are new. When the weather warms up, the bees in the filled tubes will break the seal. Each female will claim a tube and begin laying eggs. It's important to use new tubes every year to avoid parasite buildup.

Mason bee is unique in the sense that each female is able to lay eggs. Unlike other bees, there's no "queen".
greenbud

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Thank you both for the info.  I am interested in this relationship with nature.  I never knew about Mason bees until the last couple of years.  Hope I can help their numbers increase and maybe get my grandson interested in them too...
ako1974

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
As said above, you can just get some 4x4 posts and drill holes in them. I used cedar and it works great. Get some spiders, too. Mason bees are pretty clever - one set up shop in my hollow garage door handle. 
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Arne
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greenbud

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
I have access to logs from the property that I can sink and drill.  My locust clothes line pole rotted off and I can reset that and drill.  I don't kill spiders unless they are brown recluse or black widows.  And I have never seen any here.  I try to live an let live.  :0) 
PhilaGardener

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
@willwall , really interesting!  Are those special tubes or some sort of plastic straw type of material that you had them nesting in?
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willwall

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
PhilaGardener - they are made of recycled computer paper. I hand-rolled them with a dowel.
BrightGreenNurse

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
Hi greenbud, you might really enjoy the Crown Bees website. I already had a mason bee house, but in the past didn't have a lot of luck. We moved and this year I bought a nesting tube variety set (different diameter straws and some cardboard, others reeds) and mason bee pheromone attraction cloths (two for $6 or so) to attach to the bee house. The different tubes will appeal hopefully to whatever species already exist in our yard. They have a really cool bee observation house where you can actually watch the mom mason bee creating her nest.

Crown Bees also does a bee buy back program. They will identify the species in your yard and sell your excess cocoons to people only in your region. You send them cocoons, they send you free supplies.

I'm also hoping to instill a strong love of nature in my son and nephews. If I have luck in the next few months using the pheromone cloths/variety nesting tubes, I'll repost to this thread!
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drphil69

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
Are these the same bees that tunnel in any wood structure?  
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greenbud

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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
Thanks BrightGreenNurse!   I will check out their site tomorrow.  I will look forward your posts.  It is good for us to learn about nature but even more valuable if the future generations can appreciate the beauty and nurture it.
BrightGreenNurse

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
Blue orchard mason bees are very effective pollinators that only nest in pre-existing holes. They do not defend their nests either. They are extremely gentle. You can find videos on you tube. I think you're referring to the larger wood bee (looks more like a bumblebee).
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strudeldog

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Posted Reply with quote  #15 
Quote:
Originally Posted by drphil69
Are these the same bees that tunnel in any wood structure?  


You are probably referring to Carpenter Bees. They are not the same. Unfortunately I have tons of Carpenter Bees, but can't seem to attract any of the the Osmia (mason, orchard and such). I did get some smaller bees and wasps in the home I put up. Carpenter Bees do pollinate some, but I am not fond of the damage they do.
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Phil N.GA. Zone 7 Looking for: De La Reina, Del La Senyora, Martinenca Rimada, Parfum De Cafards, Ponte Tresa,  Sangue Dulce, Emalyn's Purple, and on and on
willwall

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Posted Reply with quote  #16 
Yes, BrightGreenNurse is right. Mason bees are very gentle. They rarely sting. Since I started it 2 years ago, we have never been bothered by the bees. Even my 7-year old learns not to be concerned when they are in sight.

I haven't tried any attractors, but then again, mason bees (or at least the type I have) are native to our area. This is my 3rd year, and I started from about 20 4-ch tubes my friend gave me 2 years ago. Now I have more than 100 6-in tubes, way too many than my little garden can support.
pino

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Posted Reply with quote  #17 
Can they be sent to Nanaimo?
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smatthew

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Posted Reply with quote  #18 
So now you're trying to bee generous, eh? :-}
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greg88

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Posted Reply with quote  #19 
nice offer, wish you were in my area or could ship!
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saxonfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #20 
I really enjoy the Mason Bees in my area. Just last summer was the first time I really tried to identify and attract them. Turns out I get large swarms of them around my Red Bud trees. Also see plenty of them around my other flowering fruit trees. Mason Bees seem to start coming out earlier than honey bees but also don't seem to hang around all summer like the "Solitary Bees" do.

Here are a couple pictures of my Red Bud trees with Mason Bees as well as a host of other types of bees swarming them. It's amazing just how loud the buzzing can get with so many bees in one place. I spent hours watching and photographing them. Unfortunately, the only camera I had working at the time was my very cheap cell phone camera. The close ups are blurry because it's hard to tell if you're too close when trying to view a screen in the bright sun. Much to be said about looking through a viewfinder.

Bumble Bee.jpg 
 

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Bill - SW KY. Zone 6b. 36.5N 
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saxonfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #21 
Having trouble loading multiple pics in same post.

That first pic above is actually one of the dozens of Bumble Bees that were there that day. Mason Bees 1.jpg  Red Bud Tree.jpg 
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Bill - SW KY. Zone 6b. 36.5N 
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greenbud

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Posted Reply with quote  #22 
I love to see red bud blooming.  As a child this was a sign for the beginning of spring in VA.   I will try to plant one in the next year or two here in WI.  The next was the dogwood but that will not grow in zone 4.  Another sign of spring was the wild day lilies pushing up.  Up here in zone 4 my sign of spring is the turning of the willow branches from mustard to chartreuse.  I am happy to say that has begun!  Yessss!  We have survived another winter!!!   : 0 )
PhilaGardener

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Posted Reply with quote  #23 
Almost - we just got 5 inches of new snow around Philly!

Thanks to everyone for their contributions to this interesting thread!
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greenbud

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Posted Reply with quote  #24 
Willwall, I wish you success in your generous offer.  I also thank you for starting this thread.  I have learned a lot because of your post!
willwall

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Posted Reply with quote  #25 
Greenbud - thank you very much for your thought.
saxonfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #26 
Not sure what I did wrong with those two images in post # 21. I'll try again.

Mason Bees.jpg 

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saxonfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #27 
That's one of the Blue Orchard Bees in the pic above. A little blurry but still visible in the center of the image.

Here's a shot of the tree a few steps back from it.

Red Bud Tree.jpg 

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saxonfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #28 
Yes, it is very nice when the Red Bud trees are in bloom again. Will start again very soon for us now :-). 


Mason Bees 1.jpg 

If you look close in this picture, you can see a different variety of solitary bee toward the center if the image. This is not a honey bee or yellow jacket. I know which one it is but can't think of the name right now.

All the "other" types of pollinating bees in my area, far out number the honey bees. Not because we have a shortage of honey bees, just so many of the others. Very cool. Can't wait to see them again this spring.

I plan to try to get a little video of them this year (would be nice to record that buzzing) - in addition to some better pics.

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Bill - SW KY. Zone 6b. 36.5N 
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willwall

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Posted Reply with quote  #29 
Bill - thank you for sharing those nice pictures. The mason bee in your second picture (post #26) looks very much like mine.
saxonfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #30 
You're welcome Will.

Here are a couple nice links that include some info on attracting orchard bees to you property:

http://www.wingsinflight.com/gardbees.html


http://www.orchardbees.com/index.html
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Bill - SW KY. Zone 6b. 36.5N 
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ohjustaguy

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Posted Reply with quote  #31 
Here is a slow motion video of a male golden carpenter bee in my yard. Had never seen all gold bees until I moved to our house here...very cool...
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TahomaGuy2

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Posted Reply with quote  #32 
Mason bees blocks will be filled by hanging untreated 4x4"wood blocks with 5/16th holes drilled ALMOST out the back. Place in areas where the bees can find pollen & nectar as soon as they emerge from the nest. Dandelions, Indian plum, Oregon Grape and Japonica are examples of what they are looking for when they emerge. They'll leave if they can't find food.  I saw my first bees March 14th. They
nest in odd places like the eye of my motion detector, plastic straws, under cedar shakes on the house and they crawl through the drain hole on my sliding window screen. Once a steady food supply is found, the bees FIND a place to lay their eggs. Their born-breed-lay eggs-die cycle is only a few months long.
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saxonfig

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Posted Reply with quote  #33 
I'd never seen Golden Carpenter bees. Nice video.

Charles. It's important to note that the shallow holes drilled into wood only 3 1/2 - 4" deep will produce mostly male bees. Deeper holes of about 5 1/2" deep are required to produce more females. A more dominant number of females is preferred since they are the ones laying the eggs. More eggs = more baby bees for next year :) . 
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Bill - SW KY. Zone 6b. 36.5N 
I'm fruitnut on ebay.
greenbud

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Posted Reply with quote  #34 
Why do they need the deeper holes to produce more females?  On one of the posts or sites I read we should also have mud available close by for the bees. 
willwall

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Posted Reply with quote  #35 
Greenbud - that's because the females decide the sex of each egg. When laying eggs, they always lay female eggs in the deeper part of tube. The eggs laid towards the entrance of the tube are always male. This serves 2 purposes. The eggs towards the entrance are more vulnerable, birds may get them, so males are more expendable. Also, they want make sure males come out first, before females do.
greenbud

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Posted Reply with quote  #36 
Willwall, thanks for the additional information.  They are definitely interesting creatures.
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