Farming – Page 2 – Mason Bees and Phragmites tubes for sale

Mason Bees (Blue Orchard Bees) in action

NOTE: I have updated this 2016 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information

Some images from this month’s activity of mason bees:

masonbeeonflower4 — Today I was glad to see them active on my red pear which hasn’t produced well in past years.

A female mason bee putting the final mud touches on sealing a tube

This male is just pulling out of the cocoon case

Mason Bees have a very blunt abdomen and a fuzzy thorax. They often rest near the nest box while warming up in the morning.

Put Out Your Mason Bees when Pollinators are Needed

NOTE: I have updated this 2016 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information

The time to put out your mason bees which have been overwintered in your refrigerator is when you need them to do their work. I release mine in batches. The first batch was several weeks ago when the peaches and nectarines were in bloom. This week, the pears, plums and cherries are in bloom so I just put out another batch of cocoons near my bee homes. I will save the last batch for my apple trees which bloom later.

Cheery blossoms in full bloom this week.

Currants have small flowers but are still loved by the pollinators

Don’t forget the native plants like this flowering currant need pollinators too

Marsh marigolds, the first pond plants to bloom, will seed themselves if well pollinated.

I had to transplant this peach tree this year to the corner of the vegetable preparation building so I found another good spot to place a bee home.

iNaturalist postings— Garry Fletcher, Metchosin BC

I have been posting my photos of different species I have encountered on the iNaturalist website. Many are species I have found here in the Metchosin Community.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&user_id=garryfletcher&verifiable=any

Mason Bee Homes Made by our Customers

NOTE: I have updated this 2015 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information

I will use this page to mount pictures sent back by customers who have made their own houses out of recycled materials or have set up experiments to test the materials.

Jim used a router and made grooves on two sides of 1 inch boards and then built a fancy house to protect it. The bees will put their cocoons directly in the hollow holes and then the pieces can be opended up for cleaning later in the fall.

Jean-Paul has a test going comparing the *Phragmites* tubes with plastic straws in holes drilled into a wooden block. We will be intertested in seeing the results of this trial. I’ll bet on the reed tubes!

Articles on Pollinator problems

ARCHIVAL: This post has been re-dated from 2016 in order to position it closer in the blog to Mason Bee Information

Unprecedented scientific report says bees and other pollinators are in dire need of help. From the Washington Post. February 26, 2016
Press Release: Pollinators Vital to Our Food Supply Under Threat, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, February 26, 2016

Beware of this Bad Buy

Recently this Mason Bee house has appeared on the market and it has to be one of the worst pieces of equipment I have seen for encouraging mason bees. I have recently sent a request to Costco management requesting that this item be removed from their shelves.
The following are the reasons that I have made this criticism:

1. The tubes are made of bamboo and are impossible to break open to remove cocoons for cleaning to prevent parasitic mite infection. The manufacturer even gives directions to put them back outside in the spring without cleaning out the parasitic mites. This is totally irresponsible as it will lead to an increase in mite population since you are creating a monoculture which encourages parasites.

2. The maximum depth of the tubes is less than 4 inches. Mason bees need at least a 6 inch depth. Also some of them are open ended allowing parastic wasps in the back end as well.

3.The diameter of many of the tubes is away too large. The ideal size for mason bees is 5/16 inch.

4. The diameter of many of the tubes was too small for mason bees.

5. Some of the tubes were glued in upside down with nodes at the front end preventing bees from entering.

6. Many of the tubes had nodes near the centre, rather than at the bottom end, meaning they were less than 2 cm deep and no sane mason bee would use those tubes.

The partial solution if you end up buying one of these things if you can’t return it, is to remove all the tubes as in the video below, and fill them or replace them with disposable phragmites or cardboard tubes.

See an update on how to modify these tubes if you happen to be stuck with having bought a house like this.

Mason Bees at Seedy Saturdays/Sundays

ARCHIVAL: This post has been re-dated from 2016 in order to position it closer in the blog to Mason Bee Information

Selling mason bees and reed tubes today proved to be very successful. I had registered for a table selling mason bees cocoons and Phragmites reed-stem tubes at the Victoria Seedy Saturday.

My schedule for attending upcoming Seedy Saturdays is as follows, also you can follow the links to their websites for more details.

March 12: North Vancouver Seedy Saturday

April 2: Surrey Seedy Saturday”>Surrey Seedy Saturday

February 27: Sooke Seedy Saturday
March 6: Nanaimo Seedy Sunday.

March 12: North Vancouver Seedy Saturday
April 2: Surrey Seedy Saturday

I produced the poster below to identify my location at the seedy Saurdays. A big thankyou to all who were willing to get engaged with raising mason bees and I encourage all those who buy my bees and tubes to give me feedback on their experience with raising them.