Building Managable Mason Bee Housing
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- čas přidán 3. 03. 2015
- Mason bees are solitary bees. They pollinate 75-150 flowers a day. These bees nest in holes. The depth of the hole seems play a difference on the sex of the eggs laid. Females eggs are usually laid in holes 6" deep and as fills the holes getting closer to the entrance she will lay male bees. The male bees emerge first since they are at the beginning of the tubes.
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Great idea...suggestion...when folding the parchment paper at the back maybe fold it downwards just to make sure no moisture gets in.
Just one note to add on the parchment paper. Last year I "cut" the parchment paper by laying a ruler on it and ripping it into the size required. I was amazed when the bees started nesting they would chew pieces of the parchment and throw them out the entrance. When I harvested these channels they still produced lots of cocoons but perhaps 10 percent of the paper was gone. Under a magnifying glass I see the edges of the paper was quite ragged and it appears the bees were trying to eliminate this edge to make a smoother tunnel. So this year I cut the strips with a guillotine paper cutter and the edge of the paper look very smooth, even under a microscope. It worked! My fear is that even though the harvest was good in this case, the poor bee must have spent a lot of energy cutting paper which should have been put to use making more family. I think a good set of scissors would also accomplish this.
So lovely that you care so much to notice and rectify this. 🥰 And thank you for the top tips. I’m desperately trying to learn more about how to look after the bees and every comment helps. 😃😃
I used old soft bricks, drilled 6 in deep longwise, with 6 holes. I leave them wedged in crotch of trees. lifetime home.
Thanks for video.I am always amaZed that folks put so much into mason bees home building.All you need is a drill and drill bit.I drill holes all over. Old logs, chunks of wood. I even have a tool rack that I have drilled holes down the legs.According to the mason bees ( almost all holes (1000's) are in use)) this is a really good method.
Wow - really nice, especially the parchment paper. Easy and smart. Many Thanks.
This man gives a lot of great statistics and information. Great watch, thumbs up!
Really easy design. Everyone should have at least one native bee house in their yard!
Awesome video, love the design. This is something anyone can do - to help our propagators. Does not have to be a beekeeper!!
fantastic design. Thanks a bunch.
It was a great idea to use the parchment paper Jason, I did wonder why you had done that until you later explained why. I also used my old steel toe-capped work boots either as planters for my wife's garden or as a nesting site for birds. To fix them to the wall you have to screw through the soul into the wall.
Thank you for this video. I'm new to Mason bees, and will give this a try. :)
Hey Jason, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your videos. I know I speak for everyone that watches you. You are so full of knowledge and information that most of us simply do not have. I look forward to every one of your videos like a kid waiting for Santa Claus...lol. Thanks again young man.
Well thanks for the kind words. I enjoy making the videos and helping everyone. I am trying to upload more often but it's time consuming making and editing videos but I will do my best to keep them coming as much as I can.
I can’t thank you enough for this excellent How To video. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Having watched many many videos and reading info online, this seems to be the perfect way to easily build a bee house. It seems to be a culmination of all the things I’ve learned that the bee needs and that I need to be able to easily harvest cocoons and re use the house after cleaning. The only thing I find that most people don’t mention is that the wood needs to be untreated. Maybe that’s just taken for granted where you are. I’m in the UK. Thanks again. I really feel I can get started on making these now. 😃
Glad the video was helpful. Best of luck!
Great video!!
Excellent quality photos!
Thanks!
Well done! Thank you. :)
Jason, thanks for this idea.
+Oscar Gasalatan Yes, I will be making an update video on this soon. I want to show how to remove the tubes and what to do with all the eggs. The mason bees have been very busy this summer.
cool! I like the parchment procedure in particular. is it important that the holes be drilled parallel to the grain as shown? Thanks again and a thumbs up for sure!
Thanks Fredrick!
@ERIC HUYNH There are thousands of species of Mason bees in the US alone. So. Yes they do. :)
brilliant
nice idea!
Nice. The bigger the overhang on the roof, the better.
I was told not TOO large on the overhand as they like some sun in the morning.. ????
Here's an idea: use hamburger patty parchment paper. It's already cut for you. I've seen them at the dollar store, but your video just gave me this idea
That is a good idea!
Hi Jason I really enjoyed your tutorial but you didn't give any details on what type of wood you used.
also what voltage it's needed to drill deeper holes my 5./16 didn't fit my small drill!
Thanks
Thanks also
You spoke of "harvesting the cocoons." I thought you would just let the bees hatch out naturally. Why do you harvest, and what do you do with the harvested cocoons?
This very day, I received and hung my first mason bee house.
Harvesting the cocoon is done so you can start more mason bees homes. The cocoons are put in a box to hatch close to new home. Best of luck with you new bees.
After you collect the cocoons where do you keep them and in what do you keep them? I'm guessing you can't keep them in a air tight container and wait for spring? What month do you take them out. Don't you have to build a special home so they can hatch on their own time table and fly away outdoors? I would think the construction of a predator free cocoon holder would be as interesting as their "house."
After you collect the cacoons you put them in a container in your fridge I don't think you have to use it but crown bees sells a humidibee which is pretty much an incubator🐝🐝🐝
@@bluescout7758 Very sad that so many videos and informative sites concentrate on how to harvest the bees but don’t follow through what to do after that. I eventually found one idea of a bee house that incorporated what looked like a bird house at the top. The front opened out so you could put the cocoons inside and It had a small hole in the front for the bees to come out of. Seems like the best idea I’ve seen. Someone else suggested you put the cocoons back into the tubes in spring. Personally I would like to know the tubes are empty for new bees so prefer the first idea.
great video thanks
Now that’s a clever design! Do you ever have to clean the inside of the holes? I’m wondering if a fungus or bacteria could set up shop in the hole and come back next year?
So if i live near Detroit, Michigan, are the winters considered cold enough that i can leave the cocoons undisturbed in the wood for the whole year? And if so, would the maintenance be to change the papers at spring after they have hatched? And do you think wax paper can be used as a substitute?
what kind of wood would you recommend? I don't think treated outdoor wood is suitable? was yours treated? Would it hurt the bees. Cheers!
Thanks for this wonderful video! I would like to give this a try this year. I am not sure how to hang the hotel. Should it just be left on the ground? That doesn't seem right to me. Hang using an L bracket perhaps? Can you advise on the best way to place hotels in garden/yard? Thank you!
I see a lot mounted to the side of garden sheds, usually under the over hang so they stay dry. Mine are sitting on a shelve in my open sawmill.
Hi Jason, I'd like to use up some of my rough milled pine boards and make some Mason bee houses, and hope to plant more flowers this year. This video along with comments answered many of my questions but I was wondering if I do not want to collect the cocoons can I not let them hatch and emerge naturally?
~thanks
Sounds like a great plan. Yes, you can let them hatch naturally. Best of luck!
what do you do with the cocon ?
Another very good/interesting video. Brilliant - very well done.
What size is the drill bit and are the drilled holes. 6, 8, 10 mm ?????
The back is brilliant idea, but would it not have been better idea to let the roof overhang a wee bit prevent water seepage.
I am just wondering, i don't know, i am making my first one this week, that why i ask.
I Bought some. And some better buzz. I hope it works
Awesome. Best of luck!
I had some tini bee open feeding mega bee back like January or first of February sometime. Little black one. Moving so fast I only saw him for a second.
Should make a bunch of these. I see them frantically sniffing around firewood, cant remember exactly the timing. Thinking later in the spring or so... Almost can be mistaken for a honey bee until you look a little closer.
Ralph Jones III They do look like a honey bee at first sight.I started seeing Mason bees about 5 years ago. We were sitting on the deck and the wife was getting upset because these bees where making a nest in the wind chime tubes. The following year I noticed them coming out of out T111 siding. At the bottom of the siding there are grooves and they seemed to like them. Then last year they found some of my archery arrows with open ends and made nest there. They are not too picky about their nest I guess.
From what I have read they can not harm anything. They do not drill or chew. They are not aggressive at all.
Check out the observation mason bee house growing-gardens.org/our-programs/workshops/past-workshops/
I used your design to build 2 "hotels". How do you keep the ends of the parchment paper from "de-forming" so that the entrance to the channel is not blocked. Over half of the ends are curled inward and blocking the entracnce. I have to believe you had to deal with the same problem. What did you do? How do you get the parchment to hold its shape?
You are correct the paper does get messed up on the ends. I haven't mastered how to fix that. I do wonder though if dipping in bees wax would help? Good luck!
Informative! Love this.
Question: when you're checking the parchment tubes in fall for mites/insects, or performing other maintenance, what do you do with the cocoons? Have the bee eggs hatched by then so that everything remaining in the parchment
tubes can simply be discarded?
The cocoons are moved to a cigar box that is kept in the frig until Spring. The cigar box has a hole in the side so in the early spring I can remove from the frig and move out side then as the cocoons emerge they will fly out. I suggest setting this cigar box (or whatever you use) close to your mason bee houses. Then they will find them easier and move right in.
They need to be kept in frig so they do not emerge early. The cold frig makes them think it's still winter.
Of course, here in Vermont where the winters are routinely below zero, wouldn't I simply let them stay outside in the mason bee house until the weather warms up. I also wonder whether we even have mason bees this far north?
@@JCsBees .... 'fridge' is maybe better as frig is a naughty word
Great video. What kind of wood do you purchase to get the 5" wide x 6" deep? Also I am in Master Gardeners and need to know what research was done to find out how many native bees will do the work of how many honey bees. Thank you.
+John Calder I used ruff cut lumber. I own a saw mill. You can make the blocks any size. It's the holes that have to be a certain size. My research on the number of bees was taken from other video. Here's the video czcams.com/video/aqXubOScx6E/video.html
I hope this help and your able to get a few house made before spring. Good Luck!
+Jason “Beeman” Chrisman
Thank you the web site was perfect.
Hi Jason, regarding the mason bee.
Does it attack a honey bee or go after a colonies honey even though they are only a small number per hive house.
I've heard that the carpenter bee kills honey bees.
It's only 2 points that I feel would be good to answer.
We have 3 solitary hives here within our bee yard.
They were bought not made,yours are brilliant by the way.
I have never, ever seen a mason bee bother the honey bees or their hives. They seems to do well together. Glad you like the design and thanks for watching.
You pull out the cocoons...and what do you do with them? Check them and put them back?
Zerkbern Well, you check them for mites and then you can wash them in bleach/water solution. This will remove the mites and dirt. The cocoons are water proof and will float on the solution so roll them around a little to clean them. Then after they dry place them in a box with a hole so once the are ready to emerge they can escape but you will want the box to stay in a cold area until spring. Outside is fine as long as your a northern state that has a cold winters. If not stick the box in the refrigerator until spring. Whenever the box is taken outside place it where the houses (nest) are so they will move in to them.
I have seen videos here on CZcams that show the cleaning process. Do a search on it. You can also find videos of people removing cocoons from nest. Hope this helps and good luck with your Mason Bees.
how big of a drill bit?
+dymondwillow2 If I remember right I used a 3/8" bit. Once you insert the paper tubes that will reduce them some but that is fine.
2:05
I've heard 3/8 to 5/8ths. I've also heard up to 10 inches deep for more females. Your opinion? Also, do you think using a tube made of wax paper is a good or bad idea?
+Neil Bergenstein 5/8 is way to big and the deeper the better, you will get more females that way. As far as the wax paper I haven't noticed it harming them and it surely isn't causing them to avoid them. Good luck!
+Jason “Beeman” Chrisman I'm learning more every day, but 3/8 seems pretty universal. Is it too late to bother in Maryland?
should you place in sun or shade?
I have noticed one or the other to make a difference.
I can't get the dam holes straight. Any suggestions?
I used a drill press and it worked great. Are you using a hand drill?
Same issue my lager 3/8” & 5/16” holes worked ok. However my 1/4” & 3/16” look like Swiss cheese from the back 😮. I used a hand drill, started with a 5” bit to start the holes then a 12” bit to pass through.
I assume you hang these outside?
Yes, place them in areas that need pollination.
Do they make honey in that house?
no, mason bees don't make honey
6mm or 8 ???
I can't remember sorry. Ask Google. I do remember the hole needs to be at least 6" deep or you will only get male eggs.
about 15.5 cm
Jason, good for you to spread the design. However, it would have been nice to give credit to the person who first developed it, which would be me. I published on the Washington State University extension website long ago, and several points about "your" design obviously came from that work. Since you're using it to drum up business, it's only fair that you also point folks to the original, which includes more info than you provide.
Regards, Randy Person, mason bee wrangler in Tumwater, WA
Why not just skip the step of taking the cuccoons out and leave them in the home to emerge in spring?