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Mason Bees
Please note: We are unable to ship mason bees outside of Canada.
Mason bees have the ability to fly in our weather conditions and at lower temperatures than other bees. They are relatively easy to stage and care for.
Native throughout continental USA and southern Canada, Blue Orchard Mason Bees are super-efficient, hard-working spring crop pollinators: They collect nectar and pollen at the same time by lighting on the flower, taking nectar by tongue and collecting pollen using their rear and middle legs. A single female mason bee will visit nearly 2,000 blossoms a day and a smaller home orchard can be adequately pollinated by 40 - 50 bees. Ten mason bees will pollinate thousands of blossoms.
Mason Bee Cocoons
Ten dormant mason bee cocoons come in a small glass vial. Store the vial in a safe spot in the refrigerator until about a week before crops begin to bloom. When the nest site has been cleaned and prepared, remove the tab from the vial and secure it to the nest site. Be sure that it doesn't fall out. As the sun warms the nest site, the bees will emerge. Mason bees mate soon after emerging from their cocoons and then female bees begin foraging for mud and pollen which they deposit in the nest site.
It is important that the nest site receive good morning light.
Shipping begins November 1 through March 31 each year.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions at 1-888-804-8820.
Sorry, but we are now sold out of Mason Bee Cocoons until November, 2010.
Mason Bee Complete Care Kit
This kit contains everything needed for keeping mason bees. Perfect for the novice bee rancher who wants to support these hardworking native pollinators, the kit makes being a bee helper simple and straightforward. The Complete Care Kit makes a great gift, and provides a unique educational opportunity for kids. The Kit includes a starter cottage, book, poster.
Mason Bees not included March 9th to November 1st.
Mason Bee Deluxe Care Kit
Everything needed for a large garden area in one convenient package: The Mason Bee Heritage House with predator guard, five Quick-Lock Stacking Trays with room for thirty bees, the Bee Scoop for easy removal of fall cocoons, the Mason Bee Lifecycle Poster, the book "Pollination with Mason Bees", Save money with this comprehensive kit!
Mason Bees not included March 9th through November 1st.
Mason Bee Heritage House
This attractive cedar house provides a long lasting shelter for 30 bees. Inside the house there is a stack of 5 nesting trays which can be removed and separated for easy annual maintenance. The space above the trays can be used to place hibernating cocoons over the winter to encourage their safe emergence in the next pollinating season. The house comes with a predator guard and basic instructions.
Mason Bee Lifecycle Poster
This laminated poster is ready to hang in your workshop area as a reminder of what to do and when for successful management of your Mason Bees throughout the four seasons. All your questions are answered on one page. This poster makes a great educational tool for kids.
Mason Bee Starter Cottage
The Starter Cottage contains 20 nesting tubes for 20 female bees. In early spring, wild mason bees search for nest sites such as the Starter Cottage. Mason bees can also be bought and placed inside the Starter Cottage if you create a space by removing one or two of the tubes. In the fall, the bee cocoons are removed from the tubes for annual cleaning and storage. Replacement tubes are also available.
Nesting Tubes
Cardboard nesting tubes are attractive to mason bees and are an inexpensive way of getting started. The 35 tubes are closed at one end and ready for use. Tubes are a one-time use nest, but unoccupied tubes are re-useable. In the fall (Oct-Dec), unfurl tubes to gather, wash and store the hibernating mason bee cocoons.
Pollination with Mason Bees
by Dr. Margriet Dogterom
Carefully written, and with great line illustrations, this book is a fantastic introduction for gardeners and naturalists to these useful little bees. This step-by-step guide discusses their life cycle and natural history, how to set up ideal nesting sites, and how to perform the annual maintenance that mason bees need to thrive.
Quicklock Stacking Trays
These plastic trays are interlocking and long lasting. Easy to assemble and clean, you can create your own shelter design (try a birdhouse look or a pipe) to protect the trays from weather. Set the stack of trays horizontally into a dark container 5-8cm (2-3") deeper than the 15cm (6") trays. One set provides 30 nesting sites.
Scoop
This is the perfect tool to remove mason bee cocoons from their nesting tunnels. The curve of the scoop is set to maximize ease of use and minimize damage to cocoons. Mason bee cocoons are harvested from nests in October to December. Directions: Open the Beediverse Nesting Trays and set them on a flat surface. Each nesting tunnel contains the smaller male cocoons at the front of the nest and female cocoons at the back. Hold the scoop at a 33 degree angle with the pointed end of scoop at base of nesting tunnel. Gently push and lift scoop to ease mason bee cocoons out of each tunnel.