Mason Bee houses

[NanaKat]

Grit magazine had an article last summer on Mason bees.
Be sure not to hang the houses in direct sunlight.
Nice thing about mason bees is they don't usually sting and there is no hive with honey to tend.
The straws can be stored in your fridge crisper over winter.

 

[jojo54]

Does anyone have a link about the mason bees that they got info on? What climate do they live at? How cold in winter?

 

[Sammimom]

Apparently there are many different species of these types of native bees. Honeybees, I believe, are from Europe (forgive me if I am mistaken) but they are definitely not native to North America. The company we got our origional bees from, Knox Cellars, is located here in my city, just outside of Seattle. We refrigerate our bees until we have warmer days in March, when the fruit trees are flowering. Apparently (and logically) the native bees to each area will come out of hibernation coinciding with the flowering of fruiting trees. You would probably want to look into which bees are native to a specific area to determine exactly how you would "manage" them, or if Mason Bees would do well in your area.

 

[Bridget399]

Motherhen, thats a cool idea! Do you have directions for making one?