What's in my mason bee holes?

11 years ago

I was cleaning out some old bee tubes on the weekend, and found a number of them where the tubes had been stuffed with rolls of leaves, that were still green although dry. I couldn't identify what was inside the leaves.

Does anyone recognize this? Could it be some kind of bee predator, or just another insect using the tubes to home in.

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Comments (5)

Konrad___far_north
11 years ago
Could it be leafcutter bees making a new home?
ltilton
Original Author
11 years ago
Konrad, I think you got it. Been raising mason bees for several years, never saw this before.

I'll welcome them, then.
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Konrad___far_north
11 years ago
Nice!
These are fun to watch! One time I've seen one cleaning out a hole in a rotten tree,...

Going in....
{{gwi:428639}}

Coming out with rubbish...truly hard working bees!
{{gwi:428640}}
ltilton
Original Author
11 years ago
I was concerned it might be a parasite or something that preys on bees.
sam_md
5 years ago

I want to attract beneficial bees. These are pieces of bamboo that I placed in a clay tile. Amazing how fast they filled up but I think I have a problem. I started seeing small ants, really tiny ones. Is this a problem?

Can you see the holes in some of the tubes? I don't think they are exit holes. Are ants or some other parasite making these holes?
Do I need to do something about the ants? If so, what?