The ABC's of Raising Solitary, Cavity-Nesting Mason and Leafcutter Bees

[@bobkretch614]

I'am glad to see bee's are taken care of.Bob

[@rgb5031]

For years I was told that Mason Bees did not sting, so when I moved to a new place and noticed many Mason Bees loving my peppermint plant flowers. I was very happy to see them once again, until I was stung, resulting in a surprise small sting on my finger, which I initially thought was virtually harmless. After a month of discomfort from the sting I realized that Mason Bees are not as harmless as I was (& am) lead to believe. It's a small sting, however, the Mason Bee venom lasts a long time, which lead me to believe that those who are allergic to bee stings, should be cautious around Mason Bees.

[@AA-dz5fc]

Sorry to hear about your sting. I have raised both mason bees and leafcutter bees for ten year and have never been stung. I used to get stung several times a year when I raised honey bees.

[@nathanhale7444]

🎶Don't know if I will But until I can find me A girl who'll stay and won't play games behind me I'll be what I be A solitary bee A sotary bee🐝🎶

[@2qlrn273]

I don't understand the part where you say: "Do avoid [using] harmful houses that are made out of Bamboo or just drilled blocks of wood." . . . What is harmful about Bamboo, or, drilled blocks of wood? Did you mean to say *chemically treated* Bamboo or drilled blocks of wood" . . . ?

[@itzlexz5767]

I think it’s bc you can’t clean out the bamboo or enclosed wood blocks. Parasites can infect the nest and it could affect bee production.

[@Joestacemazjojo]

Crazy how every diy video I have watched about bee hotels and this is exactly what they use to make them and no one has ever mentioned such a thing. Not doubting you by any means only trying to understand more. Would it be more beneficial to not have one at all or to make it from these methods? Can you give us some other ideas of how to go about creating a bee hotel without using these methods? I went back to rewatch the video thinking I missed something, but the whole video is images of bamboo or drilled out holes including what you are holding in your hand explaining. Just saying maybe give us some other ideas to help if you are going to tell us don’t go this route. Appreciate the knowledge of the bees though

[@BeetleBuns]

@@Joestacemazjojo the things in his hand are reeds, which are much easier to open than bamboo. They're found near rivers and you can gather tons of them to dry out! The drilled wood blocks they show in the video also are easy to separate, note that the boards are drilled at the seam created where two boards meet, so they can be removed and separated.

[@cherylcollins963]

​@@Joestacemazjojo Because they only want people to buy their expensive supplies! I definitely do not recommend this company! I bought a very pricey kit and have not received my leafcutter bees! I'm now stuck with bee supplies and no bees! I was refunded $27 for the bees because customer service was tired of trying to get me my order. Their shippers created a shipping label as if my order shipped but instead never shipped it!

[@irishlad9837]

@@cherylcollins963 Why keep posting this on here!? Did you reach out to Crown Bees regarding your shipment? Every time I've reached out to them I get a response within an hour and my shipments are always on time. They are a great company and really care about their customers and Bees!

[@WhiteFyre]

I'm from Australia, and I think I got Mason Bee cocoons on my hanging flower pots on my alfresco balcony rail. They are littered with these cocoons! Some have hatched and some haven't. I've not actually seen the bees hatch, and I've only seen one bee flying suspiciously close to the area and it was dark, short and fat. Does this mean the queen bee is laying her eggs in my hanging flower planters? The cocoons are just on the topsoil. I thought they were rocks at first, until I realised there were a lot of identical ones, and there were others that looked like they were hatched!

[@WhiteFyre]

@Joy King Yes! I've just sent you an email. There are six photos. Some hatched some unhatched. 🌸

[@ataaah]

Why is bamboo harmful to the bees? I have some bamboo tubes and it would have been fun to use those, line with hollow stems from fennel & sage. can you advise?

[@CrownBees]

Hi, It's not that bamboo by itself is harmful, it's that it causes a downstream issue. If your hotel room had never been cleaned for a few years, would you want to sleep in the bed? If you can't remove pests from a bee hotel (nesting hole), then pests remain in the nesting hole for next year's bees. The bee winds up feeding the pest and you lose most of your bees that next year to the hidden pest. Having clean nesting holes each year has you needing to open your nesting holes up. ...and bamboo is SUPER strong and brutal to open up to separate pests from good cocoons.

[@ataaah]

@@CrownBees Thanks for that very helpful info!

[@itzlexz5767]

This is our first year with Mason bees and Leafcutter bees. I’m in Maryland, is this too late to have Mason bees hatch and pollinate for this season?

[@37Iulian]

Hello! May I know the size ID of the hole for mason bees nest? Is it one or works better to have a variety of sizes? What would be the range: ex. 1/4" - 1/2"...?