Beekeeping/Solitary Bees
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Unfortunately, it is not always possible to keep bees wherever one lives. Because of this, if bees are still desired, solitary bees are an option. There exist solitary bees that are native to most regions of the world. In this classification of bees, there is no queen bee, and thereby every female is fertile. There are no worker bees for these species, as essentially laying females act as both a worker and queen in and of her self. Solitary bees typically don’t produce honey or beeswax on a harvestable scale. Solitary bees are especially important as pollinators as many feral social bees are in danger, due to dwindling numbers and parasites.
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[edit] Bee Types
[edit] Orchard Mason Bees
(Osmia)
Orchard Mason bees, also commonly referred to as mason bees, are opportunistic when it comes to their home and nesting site. Orchard Mason bees lay their eggs in holes which they do not bore themselves. Rather mason bees depend on preexisting holes to lay eggs. When preparing a nest site, the female bee will affix a dab of mud at the end of the nest. The bee then begins to place up to twenty loads of nectar and pollen at the end of the tube. Once sufficient food has been collected, an egg is laid and she then seals that segment of the nest with a thin mud plug. This process is repeated for the length of the nest until a tube-like nest is filled to the opening.
Mason bees will complete their life-cycle entirely on their own. However, most species of mason bees will nest close together, to increase breeding diversity and lower predation rates. This gregarious behavior of the bees makes it possible to keep mason bees in some capacity.
Orchard mason bees are fantastic pollinators of early spring plants and fruit trees. Mason bees are high-speed flyers, and will pollinate many flowers in a short period of time. The bee’s high rate of activity, even during poorer weather, makes it an attractive pollinator for early crops. Much like honeybees, Orchard Mason Bees will gather nectar in their honey sack as they forage. Any collected nectar is eaten directly by the foraging bee or saved as provisions for its nest. However, unlike honeybees, mason bees do not have modified hind legs to store and carry pollen, rather pollen is collected within rows of stiff hairs that are located beneath the abdomen.
The Orchard Mason Bee may appear black in appearance, but is actually a dark metallic greenish blue color. Because these bees look strikingly similar to common flies, be sure to identify them before dismissing them. The female is about half an inch in length, the smaller male is more slender and of a stouter[1] length. Males can be distinguished from females because of their long antennae and the existence of a light colored hair on the front of their head.
Orchard Mason Bees are known to be shy and fly away when disturbed, and thus are difficult to spot for long or even adequately observe. Because of this bee’s tendency to fly away instead of lingering, it is not uncommon to have bees in an area that are wholly unknown to any body but those looking for them. Even at their nesting site females will not display defensive behavior, even though they are more than capable of stinging.
[edit] Blue Orchard Bees
(Osmia lignaria)
The Blue orchard bee is noted for its metallic blue appearance. This bee is known to be a terrific pollinator for blueberry plants.
[edit] Hornfaced Bee
[edit] Leaf Cutter Bees
[edit] Carpenter Bees
[edit] Attracting Solitary Bees
[edit] Plants
Typically, any plant that is considered good for honeybees is considered proper for solitary bees. However, solitary bees often tend to start forage earlier in the morning, and thereby may pollinate some plants better. Also, some bees, such as a specific species of the leafcutter bee, are much more adapt at pollinating and harvesting nectar from alfalfa, where other bees may fail. Some plants may be visited more often or more efficiently by differing types of bees, therefore a bee variety means better pollination.
[edit] Building Solitary Bee Houses
A solitary bee house for orchard mason bees can easily be built from scraps of non-treated wood by drilling a number of holes so as they don’t come though the other side. Each of the holes is what the solitary bees will make their nests in. Each individual hole is a separate nest for each individual female bee.
- Orchard Mason bees seem to prefer 5/16 in (8mm) in diameter holes. Holes should be drilled between 3 to 10 inches (7—25cm) deep for best results. The deeper the holes, the more females will be created.
- Other non-specific holes may attract solitary wasps.
- Put houses facing south to southeast to allow morning light to warm the houses and encourage foraging.
[edit] Buying Bees
Some solitary bees may be purchased locally at some garden centers or nurseries. If they can’t be found locally, mason bees can in addition also be found from special retailers and mail order catalogs. When purchasing mason bees through the mail they often arrive in an un-hatched form within a cardboard tube.
[edit] Sources
- Bee Diverse
- Sells Mason Bees to select regions, along with books and other associated supplies.
- Raintree Nursery
- Sells Mason Bees and mason bee houses to the US.
[edit] Links
- Government of British Columbia’s Blue Orchard Mason Bee Page
- USDA’s Bee Biology and Systematic Library – How to build a nesting block
- USDA Agricultural Research Service- Building a Nesting Block
[edit] Notes
- ↑ The word 'Stouter' refers more to width than length. A better wording is needed here.
