Lanternboy, I'm interested in starting a Mason bee colony, partly from curiosity, but mostly for garden pollenation. You seem to be off to a successful start. Would you provide information and a link or two for beginners? Thanks. Tomatobob

I do most of my searches off YAHOO, just type in "MASON BEES" and you'll find all the info you want. They are a native bee so there may bee some in your neighborhood now. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get started. Just drill out some holes in a 2x4 or as I use 2x6's and 4x6's. I use a 9/32" drill and clean it up with a 5/16" reamer. Close to a 6" depth is best, I think 4" is too shallow. From what I've learned the female mason bee will lay female eggs first and males last, because the females are more important to the survival of the species and with a 6" hole she may lay 2 female eggs compared with a 4" hole where she may only lay one. The fruit trees are blooming so now is a great time to get started. Check your local nurseries for ones that might carry live mason bees which would be faster then trying to order online.

I started making a Mason bee colony today. I'm really excited to see what happens.

I was very concerned with the CCD. After listening to a Berkeley entomologist speak, last weekend, on the topic of bee's, I learned it's the honey bee's that are disappearing. As for the native bee's, their habitat is dwindling with pesticides and mulched gardens.

I decided to focus on helping native species. California alone has around 1,300 species.

I'm so happy to hear you've had success with your colony. I hope mine does as well.

Ed-

The bees have really been busy this weekend. Friday night I counted 41 closed, mud incased holes. Saturday I counted over 60! I can't wait to get home from work tonight to see how many I have now. I put out a couple of containers of mud but they seem to prefer their own source. The neighbors just planted a bunch of small fruit trees and I'm sure my bees will help them produce a lot of fruit. Furney's nursery is close to my house also. I wonder how far they travel? It is probably about one hundred yards away.

That's amazing!

Do they lay more than one egg in a cavity?

Edna

They say that in a six inch tube the female will lay on average 2 females and 4 males. I think next year I will start my own experiments in my utility trailer turned greenhouse. Last night my closed holes count was up to 87!!!!

As of April 25 2007 I have over 100 closed holes. It wasn't too warm yesterday so there wasn't too much activety. I hope to get a few more warm days before the apples are done blooming. Cherries are pretty much done now.

I put up a bee box for mason bees two months ago and nothing. What am I doing wrong?

The holes in the box are 5/16" in diameter and the front is burnished. I don't remember what kind of wood, but it's a bunch of 2x4's stacked to make something about 6" deep. I have attached the box to a tall stake on a hill that is shady in the morning, but sunny at other times.

Thanks a bunch.

Mason bees only seem to travel so far, so if there isn't a colony nearby you may never get any. When I first started mine I bought some cocoons from two or three sources. That's how I started, I don't know how successful one would be to just put out wood blocks and hope some show up. I have a lot of fruit trees and flowering cherries trees so I know they will have a lot of pollen sources.
Another good source that I see at one of my gardening buddies house is Rosemary. He has a hedge and I always see lots of honey bees on it. I can't say I see my mason bee buddies working out in the garden much. I just see them making their cocoons in my holes. At last count there were 145 mud encased holes. They should be done pretty soon. It's been cold and rainy the last few days.

Simsuz,

I think it takes a while to get native mason bees. I had a drilled block out all last year and got none, but this year the bees have started filling the holes. I hear that it is important that the bees be able to access mud to fill the holes with -- so a nearby water source is useful. You might also want to do some research on the web into where the optimal place to put the blocks is.

I just started raising mason bees this year. I tried to trap some to start from a local supply last year, I did get about a dozen mud plugs in my trap nests, but none of them were mason bees (not entirely sure what they were - they still haven't emerged yet this year). I bought some mason bee cocoons on eBay - this did not turn out to be a good supplier - his cardboard tubes only averaged about 3.5 cocoons per tube, and fully 63% of those where dead on arrival (died in larval stage - I could not tell what killed them, did not look parasitized to me).

Anyway, I started with 25 tubes, and ended with 39 so I guess I can't complain too much although if my starter bees had been healthy I should have ended up with at least 100 tubes. I am optimistic about next year.

I should also note that my 2 year old apple trees have hundreds of apples (not all varieties bloomed, but about 5 of my 10 trees bloomed). My friend who planted his trees at the same time doesn't have any apples. I can't say for sure that this is because of my bees, but I bet they helped!

One question I have is this - I want to protect my new mason bee nest blocks - do you put up screen over them to keep predators away (wasps, woodpeckers, etc)? When is it OK to move the blocks? I know they say to wait until September to actually remove cocoons and clean them, but is it OK to move the blocks before then or could that harm the growing bees?

I still noticed a little mason bee activety this weekend. Things are really slowing down. I'll get a closed hole total later in the week. Last count was close to 200.

I have never done any moving or protecting of my mud blocks. I didn't even do anything with my cardboard tubes. But this year I counted last night and there were 217 closed mud holes. So I plan on replacing the paper liners in the tubes but I plan on waiting till October or november to do this. I want to make sure they're dormant. My friend got a wood block filled with bees from a relative but he stored it in a non heated garage over the winter and no bees emerged!??* I really notice a lot more cherries this year so I'm hoping for a great crop!

Sure makes me wish I didn't live in a condo. What fun a person could have! And a great learning experience for my kids.

Has anyone used dwellings other than wooden nesting blocks?
I use a 4" plastic tube (painted gray to match the fence post it is mounted too).

In my location I get mason bees and leafcutters using the same dwelling, so I have to leave the dwellings or tubes in place until the fall. I usually collect the tubes in September and store them in the hay loft of the barn.

Has anyone had success placing a container of mud near the dwellings? I have placed a container out for the mason bees for the last two seasons but,the mud never appears to dwindle nor do I see any bees getting mud from it.

Someone wrote that they cannot have mason bees because they live in a condo. I read somewhere that a gal either attached a dwelling to a post on their deck or on a fence post in the back yard. (just a thought)