02/11/2024
The latest research proves you cannot outsmart Instinct. When the female Mason Bees pick a nest, they are unlikely to nest unless they have 3-5 nesting empty tunnels available to nest in.
An order of twenty cocoons has an average of eight females. Eight females need at least twenty-four nesting tunnels (two nesting blocks).
“Usually, a female blue orchard bee will construct two to four nests (tunnels), each with two to four female eggs and five to eight male eggs.”
“Mason Bee females can lay two to three eggs daily for twenty days.”
Providing an easy-to-clean and reusable for many years is critical to long-term success. After each season, you must remove your Mason Bee cocoons and clean the Mason Bee nesting site; it is easy to do with these reusable Mason Bee houses.
If you use Kraft paper nesting tubes, your mason bees are not protected from predator wasps, and Kraft paper tubes are a bitc* to clean. If you don’t clean them the following year, you’ll lose your bees to mold and pollen mites. Bamboo tubes are safer but even more challenging to clean, and neither are reusable.
