Native blue orchard mason bees are spring pollinators and leafcutter bees are summer pollinators I want to personally introduce myself and welcome you to our Bainbridge Bee Program. tricky, huh?) and I run the Pollination Program for Rent Mason Bees. We are based in Bothell and I live on Bainbridge Island. Over the last three years, we have donated and released over 160,000 native blue orchard mas
on bees to gardens, farms, parks and backyards all over the island. No, you're releasing bees and renting the nesting blocks that we then harvest and clean for you. These little bees do not sting and are very easy to care for. I started the Bainbridge Bee Program, because I LOVE to teach more people about these incredible belly-flopping pollinators that pollinate 95% of everything they touch. They enrich our habitat and make everything grow bigger and stronger. Since I live here and I'm back and forth to Bothell many times a month, I thought I'd help backyard gardeners, families and schools introduce solitary bees to their habitats and have fun while doing it. I have set times at my house for bee pick up times and once you order your bees, I will arrange a time to meet with you and then refund your shipping. No need to pay shipping, I will pick everything up for you and then in September collect all your nesting blocks so that they are harvested and cleaned. We'll have a "BLOCK PARTY!!"
Mason bee pick ups will be in April. All mason bees need to be released by the first week of May. Leafcutter bee pick ups will be in May/June. They are summer pollinators and need temps 75+ degrees, so usually July is when they are put in your yards. Feel free to reach out with any questions. My email is [email protected]
I recently wrote an article for West Sound Magazine:
https://wsmag.net/the-garden/2023-03-09/mason-bees/
Exploring the beautiful Kitsap Peninsula, one can find an array of treasures in all shapes and sizes. From awe-inspiring forests to picturesque beaches and harbors, this region is a paradise for nature lovers. What we don’t often take notice of are the smaller treasures that keep our habitat healthy and thriving – NATIVE solitary mason bees! Mason bees may be small, but they are one of nature's most efficient pollinators. These industrious little workers make up 90% of all bees on the planet, but unlike their social honeybee cousins they work independently. Instead of living in a hive and relying on a queen, each female lays all her own eggs, finds her own food and locates pre-made holes in her habitat to lay her babies. They don't produce honey or sting like other types of bees – making them safe for kids and pets to enjoy in their backyard. What makes solitary bees so efficient is the way they pollinate? They have tiny hairs on their abdomen called scopa which collects pollen when they belly flop onto flowers. This enables them to pollinate 95% of the flowers they land on, in comparison to the meticulous pollen gathering of honeybees who only have a 5% pollination rate. On average, each solitary bee can visit over 2,000 blooms daily, making them the unsung heroes of the pollinating world! Not only can they help us grow more food, but their indiscriminate pollen-collecting habits benefit our native plants as well. By making surrounding flora healthier and enabling them to flourish in size, solitary bee activity helps filter out pollutants from air and water streams – increasing overall ecosystem health everywhere these little guys buzz around. GARDEN BEES
Bees are becoming an increasingly popular addition to gardens - but not just the honeybees. Solitary bees, unlike their hive-dwelling counterparts, live alone and peacefully help pollinate plants without fear of stings or aggression. Native to the Pacific Northwest, Blue Orchard Mason Bees, have a greenish-blue iridescent sheen on their back and are often mistaken for a housefly. They emerge from hibernation in early spring when temperatures reach about 55 degrees and will seek pollen and nectar from early spring blooms. Their unique name derives from one of their main tasks; using mud for ‘masonry’ work while constructing nests. Their mandibles are not strong enough to cut wood, so they search for natural holes such as hollow stems, holes in wood made by insects or nesting shelters hung up by gardeners or farmers. Once they have found the perfect nesting cavity, mason bees will use mud to seal one end and build a series of intricate nesting chambers - each including an egg, pollen loaf and another layer of mud. She will lay about 15 eggs in her lifetime and then the egg will turn into a larvae that will consume the protein-rich pollen loaf and then spin a silk cocoon. The larva will then grow into a full grown bee inside the cocoon and emerge the following spring. The Kitsap Peninsula makes an ideal home for solitary bees, with a habitat full of treasures to feed pollinators. Mason bees love our climate and up and down the Peninsula you’ll find mason bees favorite food… Madrona and Big Leaf Maple trees that begin flowering in early spring. Due to this incredible habitat, Bothell based company, Rent Mason Bees, donated and released over 160,000 mason bees on Bainbridge Island to farms, community gardens, heritage orchards, parks and Bloedel Reserve. They are the largest solitary bee provider in the country and harvested and cleaned over 3 million mason bee cocoons and 40 million leafcutter bees to ensure that healthy clean bees are returned back to our environment. HOW TO SUPPORT SOLITARY BEES IN YOUR YARD? Anyone can host solitary bees. They are the easy bees for your yard with the maximum benefit of pollination.
1) FOOD – After solitary bees emerge from winter slumber, they’re hungry and need food. Talk to your local garden nursery to learn what blooms in early spring and summer for your area or visit www.Pollinator.org/gardencards to learn what to plant that will support pollinators.
2) MORNING SUN – Set up a solitary bee house with a roof or cover to protect the nesting material from getting wet. Hang the house in morning sun.
3) NESTING MATERIAL- Insert proper nesting material to ensure your bees remain healthy all year long. Stacking trays or tubes that can be opened and separated are the best nesting material for bees. Do not use bamboo reeds or holes drilled in wood (see #6 below).
4) MUD OR CLAY – Mason bees use mud or clay type of soil to plug their holes and lay their babies. Dig a hole about 10 feet away from their nest and stir in a mixture of mud and clay. Make sure its damp throughout the season.
5) NO PESTICIDES–Weed killer, slug bait and pesticides can harm all our pollinators. Remember that mason bees use the mud to place next to their babies, so any pesticides can kill developing babies.
6) CLEAN EVERY FALL – This is one of the most important steps in hosting your own solitary bees. You must harvest and clean your mason bees every fall to remove predators. Bamboo reeds or holes drilled into wood cannot be opened and cleaned at the end of the season which means mold, fungus and predators like Houdini flies and pollen mites can wipe out your solitary bees. If you want the benefit of pollination, but not the hassle of cleaning the cocoons and sterilizing nesting blocks, you can purchase bees and rent nesting blocks from Rent Mason Bees. Their program makes it easy to become a solitary bee host and will send you a starter kit with house, nesting block, clay and cocoons. Harvesting and cleaning the cocoons and blocks is a critical step when hosting solitary bees to remove harmful predators. When you rent, you release bees and then send back the nesting blocks in the fall and they will take care of the maintenance and cleaning for you. www.RentMasonBees.com
So next time you're out exploring the wonders around Kitsap Peninsula – remember to pay respect to these hardworking little heroes – they may be tiny but their contribution towards keeping our environment healthy is huge!
