Mason Bee Basics – Learn All About Them Here!
Bees are an essential aspect of maintaining our food supply. That’s why so many people today are creating safe havens for Mason bees, a gentle North American pollinator that’s extremely productive in working with spring fruits, nuts, and flowers. Anyone can create a safe haven for Mason bees to help protect the bee population for future generations!
Raising Mason bees doesn’t cost very much money, and is so rewarding! These bees don’t require a lot of time to maintain. Their nest material, housing, and the bees themselves are affordable for any budget. And Mason beekeepers don’t need to use special equipment or protective gear when working with these fascinating creatures.
How much time does it take to get started working with Mason bees?
It will take you about 15 minutes to choose an appropriate location for your bee house and then set up your yard. In the summer, around June, you’ll need to bring the nesting material inside to protect the baby bees from being afflicted with pests. This is a project that only takes about 10 minutes. In the fall, you’ll need to harvest cocoons for winter storage which takes about 30 minutes. Annually, you can expect to spend a total of about an hour or two on your Mason bees to adequately maintain them.
Benefits of Mason Bees
Mason bees can increase your garden yield and believe it or not; they’re quite friendly! That’s right; Mason bees are gentle enough to touch! All Mason bees are solitary female queens, and they don’t defend their holes in the hive, so you can get close to these bees without fear of being stung. Just another reason to go ahead and raise your own batch of bees!
Each year, your population of Mason bees should double. The extra bee cocoons can be re-homed in some cases to other locations across North America to help continue building a stable population of bees across the country. Other gardeners in the Seattle area may be interested in your bees too. So, you can feel good about giving these important insects a place to live on your property because you’re helping the ecology of the entire country by fostering the growth of a population of Mason bees.
Mason bees are so easy to care for that it doesn’t matter if you have any previous bee-keeping experience or not. These tiny animals will keep you company in your garden and help your plants thrive. Greenwood Hardware can help you get started raising your colony of bees. We can help you choose the perfect habitat for your space requirements and your budget. Come on in, or contact us today.