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Troubleshooting mason bee survival rates
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Posted by magala WA Z8 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 30, 09 at 15:46
| I started off this year with two sources of mason bees..about forty that I collected and cleaned from my locking plastic tray system last year, and another 20 that I bought from a local source on Craigslist.
When I was cleaning my coccoons in the fall, I observed that five of the cocoons had the parasitic flies in them. I discarded those and cleaned and kept the remaining 40. After everything had hatched this spring I discovered a couple more coccoons had been full of parasitic flies...but the flies hadn't been able to escape the cocoon. Overall my mite/flies problem seems to be minimal.
The one thing I am seeing with about 20% of my own coccoons, and 100% of the ones I bought from craigslist is cases where an egg was laid but the larvae never developed into a bee. When I cut open an uponened coccoon to check it out, I see the remains of a little white grub and some pollen...but there's no evidence that it ever matured into a bee before it went dormant in the fall.
Anyone know what conditions might cause that, or if there anything I can do to prevent it this year? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Troubleshooting mason bee survival rates
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I can think of one possibility. One way or the other, the larvae may get separated from his pollen-ball. Once separated, they have no means of reattachment and will starve. They have hook-like jaws that keep them firmly attached to the pollen-ball, but it's not hard to imagine that failing sometimes. This is one reason I handle my Mason Bee "houses" very carefully, like I'm carrying nitro-glycerine. Other than that, I would think there are various fungal or bacterial diseases that would take their toll.
Are you saying that 100% of the cocoons you got from the Craiglist source were dead and undeveloped? If so, perhaps they were roughly handled before pupating. They may have fallen or been dropped at some point. Just a possibility. |
RE: Troubleshooting mason bee survival rates
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| Thanks, good idea. It looks like the bee was still close to the pollen ball, but it could be that 1) close isn't good enough, it has to be attached or 2) there just wasn't enough pollen to sustain it. Yes, 100% of the bees I bought from craigslist were undeveloped---just little white grubs inside small, hard yellow coccoons. They looked very differet than regular cocoons that had a more soft, loose, papery brown covering. I don't have the contact information for the sellers any more otherwise I'd call them to find out how they handled the bees. :-/ Thanks! |
RE: Troubleshooting mason bee survival rates
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| I've seen all kinds of mysterious problems inside unhatched cocoons or undeveloped cells. I'm sure there's various fungal diseases that can wreak havoc. Unidentified parasites. Mites. Bacterial diseases. Pesticides in the pollen and nectar. Extreme temperature exposure. Who the hell knows. I figure it's survival of the fittest. |
RE: Troubleshooting mason bee survival rates
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- Posted by jean001 z8aPortland, OR (My Page) on
Sat, May 23, 09 at 1:16
| You said "They looked very different than regular cocoons that had a more soft, loose, papery brown covering." Could be a different kind of bee. In last fall's "bee wash" with a group of about 15 persons, we found 4 different types of cocoons in the mason bee tubes. Some larvae hadn't yet pupated. |
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