Red mason bees

Some shots of red mason bees in and around a bee hotel.

Brian V.

Male red mason bee

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2ekx​ELD

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2ekx​EMa

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2fHH​tTc

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2fHH​tNn

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2fHH​tPz

Nice set Brian!

I'm pretty sure all of the male reds and blues are gone here. Still have females filling up cardboard mason bee tubes. I took the filled ones out a few days ago and added some empty ones. 67 capped and in a net bag to protect them from predators. Counted another 19 filled last night, so might get close to 100 full tubes by the time the season is over. Looking for a new bee house since the one I have is about 5 years old and is falling apart.

Got a couple of shots of them hatching a few weeks ago -tricky cause they don't mess around when they decide to come out

How are the solitary bees doing in your area Brian? Here the population seems healthy since everyone is planting a lot of flowers, and I have several species nesting either in my yard or within a few hundred meters.

Nice, how many rooms were taken, I’ve only got one guest so far?

Dalantech wrote in post #18854143
Nice set Brian!

I'm pretty sure all of the male reds and blues are gone here. Still have females filling up cardboard mason bee tubes. I took the filled ones out a few days ago and added some empty ones. 67 capped and in a net bag to protect them from predators. Counted another 19 filled last night, so might get close to 100 full tubes by the time the season is over. Looking for a new bee house since the one I have is about 5 years old and is falling apart.

Got a couple of shots of them hatching a few weeks ago -tricky cause they don't mess around when they decide to come out

How are the solitary bees doing in your area Brian? Here the population seems healthy since everyone is planting a lot of flowers, and I have several species nesting either in my yard or within a few hundred meters.

Thanks John - after a slow start we seem to have quite a few mining bees (Andrena sp) and obviously the mason bees. Only seen a few others.

Brian V.

racketman wrote in post #18854144
Nice, how many rooms were taken, I’ve only got one guest so far?

Thanks Toby
Had around 70% of about 150 canes filled from last year- have added a big extension now with about another 100 canes.

Shot below- the new one is on the right.

Brian V.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2fEJ​1ou

Glad you posted your houses Brian -I think I need to do the same thing (several smaller houses instead of one large). I'm getting rid of my reeds after this year cause mites and other parasites will build up in them over a few seasons. The cardboard tubes that a few sites sell (like Crown Bees) work well, but can get expensive when you have to put out several hundred. Looking for a cheaper way to raise them and cut down on the parasites. I've used blocks that have holes in them, and that come apart for cocoon harvesting and cleaning but they have a tendency to warp.

LordV wrote in post #18853683
Some shots of red mason bees in and around a bee hotel.

Brian V.

Male red mason bee

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2ekx​ELD

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2ekx​EMa

Two male mason bees chatting over the fence

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2fHH​tTc

Red mason bees mating

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2fHH​tNn

https://flic.kr/p/2fHH​tPz

Wonderful set Brian.

Lester Wareham wrote in post #18866667
Wonderful set Brian.

Thanks Lester

Brian V.

When is it safe to take them down for cleaning ie there wont be any inhabitants?

racketman wrote in post #18867257
When is it safe to take them down for cleaning ie there wont be any inhabitants?

Not sure it is ever safe - they seem to start filling up the cells shortly after the females start emerging. I certainly have not cleaned them out with the oldest being about 10 years old.

Think you would have to do something like put some mesh over the front so they can still emerge but cannot easily fly back to the cells to lay eggs.

Brian V.

racketman wrote in post #18867257
When is it safe to take them down for cleaning ie there wont be any inhabitants?

For Mason bees it depends on your area. Here they are almost gone for the year, and I've been removing tubes when they are full and putting them into a net bag (to protect them from predators). They need the heat over the summer to mature, so I keep them in the bag outside in a covered area. After the Mason bees come the Leaf Cutters. Masons prefer an 8mm diameter tube, and Leaf Cutters a 6mm tube. But I've been told that sometimes Leak Cutters will use the 8mm ones as well. The two mature differently. Masons will be fully formed and dormant by this October, and the Leaf Cutters winter over as grubs and don't pupate (not sure if that's the correct term) until it gets warm again next year. Once the Masons are gone I remove all of the 8mm tubes and leave the 6mm and smaller ones out. I'll harvest the Mason bee tubes this winter, I usually wait until November yo put them in the refrigerator. Crown Bees has a lot of info on how to raise them.

I'm also going to stop using the large reeds that I have cause there's no way to harvest the cocoons without destroying the reed and after a few seasons a lot of mites build up in them. So this fall I'm going to split them and harvest the cocoons, and then toss them into the fireplace.