Just a reminder- these bees DON’T produce honey.

Orchard Mason Bees – are commonthroughout North America. They arecalled by different names such as theblue orchard mason bee. The masonbee can do the job of 100 honeybees.

There are two main reasons for this:First, the orchard mason bee does not

http://www.homeorchardsociety.org/article/23/

tuck the pollen tightly under the hairs onher legs. The mason bee does not have thebarbs on the hair to keep the pollen fromfalling off from flower to flower. Second, the mason bee lands directly on the femalereceptacle of the flower, thus, the pollenis transferred at a higher rate to produce fruit.

The articles reference dead trees withholes from beetles or wood peckers.Cracks in wood from sheds and reedsfrom the wetlands are also mentioned.

There are commercial paper tubes thatare available as well, I have some of these.

Here, I took some reeds from the localwetland. These reeds are from an inva-sive grass called phragmites. I first use adrill bit that is about 12 inches long witha diameter of 5/16ths of an inch. This isthe preferred size for the width of themason bees body. I use this bit to findreeds with the correct hole opening.

I then cut the reeds with a Dremelcutting wheel so I won’t crush the reed.The cut is on the back side of the leafnode. This allows for the reed to be bloc-ked off from the back side. The finallength of the reed is 6 inches.

I then use the drill bit to hone out theinside of the reed to make sure there isnothing inside allowing the bee to getstuck. Don’t use reeds that are split or cracked. This will allow mites and otherinsects or parasitic bugs/wasps to gainaccess and possibly destroy next yearsbrood.