While the plight of the honeybee with declining populations is widely recognized, not everyone is familiar with another exceptional pollinator—the mason bee, known for its pollinating capabilities.
Mason bees, often referred to as “nature’s super pollinators,” play a crucial role in the pollination of various plants, making them indispensable for the ecosystem and agricultural landscapes. It’s important that we encourage them to make their homes in our vegetable gardens.
Mason Bees:
- Mason bees are solitary bees. Unlike honeybees, they do not live in colonies or hives and they do not produce honey. Instead, each female mason bee is an independent worker responsible for building her nest and laying eggs.
- Mason bees are typically smaller than honeybees, with a metallic or iridescent sheen. Mason bees come in various colors, including metallic blue or green hues
- The name mason bees come from their unique nesting behavior. Females construct nests using mud, like a “mason.” They create individual cells within natural cavities or artificial nesting blocks, sealing each cell with mud.
- Mason bees are highly efficient pollinators. Their body structure and behavior, such as their hairy bodies and “belly-flopping” onto flowers, make them effective at transferring pollen from one blossom to another.
- They are essential for the pollination of many fruit trees, berry bushes, and other flowering plants. This is why I encourage everyone to create a habitat for mason bees.
This is my little “bug hotel” that attracted mason bee last year. This year I plan on creating a larger nest with bigger holes.
How to Encourage Mason Bee Habitats:
Nesting Sites:
- To attract mason bees to your garden, provide a suitable nesting site.
You can attract them to your garden with nesting kits that provide exactly the right size holes the Mason bees are seeking in early Spring, to lay their eggs. Place the nest kit in a sheltered, sunny spot facing East or South to catch the morning sun. Under the eaves of a shed or garage is an ideal location and be sure to avoid direct exposure to rain. The mud filled tubes can be ruined if they get soaked.
Plant Bee Friendly Herbs, Fruit and Flowers
- Grow a diverse range of flowering plants to attract and sustain mason bee populations. Bees require a variety of nectar and pollen sources, so planting flowers that bloom at different times ensures a continuous food supply. Include flowers and herbs in your raised bed gardens.
Attracting and watching mason bees is a great activity for the family. Since they have no queen or honey to protect, mason bees rarely sting. If they do, it’s more like a mosquito bite.
If you haven’t already downloaded my “Attracting Beneficial Insects to the Garden” you can get yours here.
Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden
Here are some options for creating your own mason bee habitat. You can buy a nest ready made, or the tubes to make your own. Click on the picture to be taken to Amazon.
Happy Gardening
Resources:
Raising Beneficial Pollinators * Picture* https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/mason-bees-raising-beneficial-pollinators
Bee Identification guide. Click to download bee identification guide
Karen
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