What’s so great about Orchard Mason Bees?
Our native Orchard Mason Bees are incredibly efficient pollinators of spring fruits and flowers. Here are some other traits that make them very special:
- Working on the final mud cap.
- They are called Orchard Mason Bees because they are excellent pollinators of orchard fruits, and use mud like mortar to partition their nesting spaces.
- They are shiny, metallic blue-green and a bit smaller than honey bees (about 1/2” long).
- They have a fuzzy, white face patch and long curved antennae if they’re male, and a black face with short, pointed antennae if they’re female.
- A emerging male with long antennae and fuzzy white face.
- They are not capable of burrowing their own holes, so they nest in cavities that they find in bark crevices, hollow stems of pithy twigs, or tunnels formed by wood-boring insects.
- They have a laid-back personality and are classified as solitary (they work alone) but gregarious (they like to nest near each other).
- They are not aggressive at all since they don’t have a Queen or honey to defend. Only the females have stingers (really ovipositors for egg laying) and they almost never sting, even when handled.
- Her fuzzy body easily collects pollen.
- They don’t make honey or wax. They gather nectar and pollen only as a food source for themselves and their offspring.
- They are very efficient cross-pollinators of spring fruits and plants because they tend to move from tree to tree.
- They are such efficient pollinators that it would take more than 100 honey bees to match one female OMB’s productivity.
Where can I buy OMB and leaf cutter bees? What is the pricing?
I will have OMB cocoons for sale beginning in late November, and will mail them when the temps are cool enough. I will harvest them in early October, and once I know how many I have to sell, I’ll make them available for purchase on the website. The cost will be about $30 for 20 cocoons, with discounts for larger numbers.
Thanks for the interest!
Great blog. Very insightful.
I too am looking for 2012 cocoons from this part of the US (I’m near Wilmington, NC). Will be watching your store but would welcome a heads-up email when you are ready to take orders. Thank you.
Thanks so much for your nice comments. I’ve added your name to my list of folks who might be interested in purchasing bee cocoons for next spring, and will zip you an email when they are available for purchase this fall.
Best regards,
Denise
Can I put duct tape on the back of my mason bee house to keep the bees from coming out the back or will the stick to it? Sally Independence OR
The bees will cover the duct tape with mud, but I’d still be concerned that they might stick to it in the process, so wouldn’t recommend it. I don’t know what style bee house you’re using, but could you place the nesting tubes into a container with a back instead – like oatmeal or milk?
When do I put out the mason bee houses? I live in NW Arkansas zone 6b-7.
Thanks for any info!
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
The bees normally start nesting when temps are consistently in the mid-50s, and flowers and trees are blooming in your area. I suggest that you sign up for my ‘stress-reducing’ Newsletter, since it will give you suggestions re: what you could or should be doing with your bees throughout the year. There’s also lots of good info here: http://ournativebees.com/season-by-season-instructions-2/
Thanks for your interest in native bees!
Denise