mason bees or only honey bees?

[AndrewD12]

I found this forum and it looks like a good one. I'm thinking it is only for honey bees though instead of the mason bees I plan on raising and need tips on. is this forum only for honey bees or is it all types of bees? thank you apologies if its only for honeys.

[Ben Framed]

Welcome Andrew. This is a honey bee forum but we are diverse. The15thMember posted of mason bees here a few months ago. I feel certain she will respond to you soon.

[AndrewD12]

thank you for the reply. well hopefully they do so ill sit here and check every so often just so I don't clog up the forum lol. in the meantime its research time.

[The15thMember]

Did someone say mason bees?  *Sound of running footsteps approaching*  I'm here!  I do love native bees, and I provide nesting sites for masons on my property, although I don't really raise them per se.  There are certainly no rules about this forum being only honey bees, but I'm not sure if there are any people with actual experience managing other bees.  Are you interested in masons for a specific purpose like orchard pollination or are you just looking to have them as a hobby?   

[AndrewD12]

ah welcome! lol. I am looking at them for a hobby but I do have a cherry tree right by it so maybe I could use them for help on that I for sure wouldn't mind them for that.

[The15thMember]

ah welcome! lol. I am looking at them for a hobby but I do have a cherry tree right by it so maybe I could use them for help on that I for sure wouldn't mind them for that.

Great!  I always love it when people are interested in native bees.  So much of the focus is on honey bees, and it's really the native bees who are most in need of help.  Check out HoneyBeeSuite.com, I use Rusty's methods for making nests out of cans and paper straws.  The process is easy and cheap, and as long as there are masons or leafcutters in your area, they should come and nest there of their own accord without you having to purchase any bees.  I have masons that nest in the cans, as well as in holes in the mortar between the stones on the exterior of my house, and I occasionally get leafcutters and masons in a solitary bee house I got as a gift.  I put up another can for the masons this year and they didn't really like the location, but some small beneficial solitary potter wasps nested in that one instead, so you never know what kinds of insects you'll be benefitting by putting up nesting tubes.             

[AndrewD12]

thank you! I've always been interested just never really thought about it until this year. I built a little house thats 6 inches deep and faces south to get sun and I added a roof to protect it from the weather. its located right above my flower garden and I added sticks to give it a variety instead of all flat tubes. I used tubes with a 5/16th opening and 5 1/2 inches long. do I need to plug the back of the tube with clay? I guess I've been over thinking about what if no bees show up or pick the house I made so thats why I was trying to look for info on that because a lot say buy and a lot say don't. but thank you ill have to check out that link.

[The15thMember]

do I need to plug the back of the tube with clay?

I think they do prefer the tubes to be backed already, although in the absence of other nesting sites, they would probably back them themselves.  They like the tubes to be plugged on one end already because it's less work for them, one less wall they need to build.  With the straws in the can, they are backed just by the bottom of the can.     

[Hops Brewster]

I' have some experience working with blue orchard bees, my local mason bee.
In nature, mason bees nest in borer holes in old dead hardwood trees in semi-sun. Dappled shade in the afternoon is good. Their nests usually face somewhere in the southeast quadrant.  The closer you can get to replicating their natural environment the better.  I hang my cans on my 45 year-old wooden fence facing due east and they get afternoon shade.  Facing due south with no shade can easily get too hot.  It might also encourage them to emerge before you want them to.  There should be moist soil or mud nearby in the spring to use building the nests.

They are early pollinators, so cherries and apricots may benefit, but if you are expecting summer-long pollination you will be disappointed.  Leaf cutters are summer pollinators.  If you have a native population of mason bees the holes you provide will likely attract some.  If there are none in your neighborhood, then you will need to buy some, or go trap them yourself in the woods which is another topic entirely.

[AndrewD12]

thank you guys. I also see bees around because our whole fence is covered in honey suckles and other flowers I just don't know the type of bee that they are. I might try leaf cutters because I don't really have as many early spring blooms besides magnolias and a cherry and stuff so I wouldn't want to starve them lol.

[The15thMember]

thank you guys. I also see bees around because our whole fence is covered in honey suckles and other flowers I just don't know the type of bee that they are. I might try leaf cutters because I don't really have as many early spring blooms besides magnolias and a cherry and stuff so I wouldn't want to starve them lol.

You'll be amazed how many different bees there are around once you start looking and learn a little bit about identifying them.  I'd recommend the book "The Bees in Your Backyard" as a great starting place for identifying bees if you are interested.             

[AndrewD12]

thank you i might just have to do that cause I've always wondered what type they are. I've had to save a few bees from our swimming pool before. so overall do you think I should just let nature take its course this year and see if any show up? or start off with leaf cutter cocoons. because all I see are a lot of cocoons and they are 20-30$ minimum. I don't know why but I like seeing things start off small and grow over the years lol.

[The15thMember]

thank you i might just have to do that cause I've always wondered what type they are. I've had to save a few bees from our swimming pool before. so overall do you think I should just let nature take its course this year and see if any show up? or start off with leaf cutter cocoons. because all I see are a lot of cocoons and they are 20-30$ minimum. I don't know why but I like seeing things start off small and grow over the years lol.

I mean, if it was me, I'd just wait and see if it'll work without purchasing any.  Why pay for something you could get for free, right?    You might try planting some things that are attractive to them if you are having trouble getting any, although I'd imagine the cherry tree would be a pretty big draw.  I'm not sure what your area is like or what bees you have, but even if you can't seem to lure in any leafcutters or masons, there are lots of other bees you could help in other ways, bumble bees, carpenter bees, miner/digger bees to name a few.  You could always try targeting those instead, or in addition to the tube-nesters.  In my area, if you leave any bare dirt, miner bees will be nesting in it within a year.  I have a large established colony behind my house in a dirt bank, and they come up every year without fail.       

[cao]

If you build it, they will come.    I have drilled holes in blocks of wood for the mason bees in the past.  If you have any around they will find them.  If you continue having a nesting area year after year, you can get a good sized population fairly quickly. 

[AndrewD12]

hopefully I have them around ill most likely see what happens and how nature cares takes its course  unless I randomly come across someone with extras somewhere. I'm going to finish building and filling their house and see what happens in the spring! I wish all of you the best of luck with your bees this year.

[Michael Bush]

>...and it's really the native bees who are most in need of help.
Actually it?s all pollinators that are in need of help.

[The15thMember]

I always love it when people are interested in native bees.  So much of the focus is on honey bees, and it's really the native bees who are most in need of help.           

>...and it's really the native bees who are most in need of help.
Actually it?s all pollinators that are in need of help.

Obviously all pollinators are in need of help, Michael.  I was clearly speaking in the context of comparing different bees. 

[Michael Bush]

My point is they are all equally in need of help.  I have some bee houses for various native bees, and I drill holes in the logs I use for stools around my campfire to give native bees places to nest.  But the pollinators are all equally in trouble for the same reasons.  Loss of forage.  Loss of habitat.  Widespread use of insecticides.

[The15thMember]

My point is they are all equally in need of help.  I have some bee houses for various native bees, and I drill holes in the logs I use for stools around my campfire to give native bees places to nest.  But the pollinators are all equally in trouble for the same reasons.  Loss of forage.  Loss of habitat.  Widespread use of insecticides.

I would disagree.  Honey bees and other managed bee species are not at risk of endangerment/extinction like wild bees are.         

[.30WCF]

Since we are diverging here, I can see both sides of the extinction debate. I keep coming back to human intervention though.
I?m still very young in the bee realm, but I think endangered, in the practical sense, means without human intervention. As I understand it, it is unknown if bees would survive the mites, viruses, beetles and moths without human intervention.
Honeybees are most successful due to commercial production. If the economy or some other factor other than environmental took a turn that caused commercial beekeepers to let their bees go feral, would survive as a species. Sure some of us would keep small qualities going, others would join in I?m sure, but without human intervention, are the secure?

On the flip side, as things are, we will continue to have honey bees for the foreseeable future.


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