Hellebores are winter’s and spring’s gift to the garden. Their rebirth begins even before the snow melts, and the beautiful flowers burst forth to brighten our gardens and help nourish our earliest native pollinators, the mason bees.
Homemade Mason Bee Nesting Box--do not use treated wood!
Have you heard about mason bees? They are bees native to America and are great little pollinators, who don’t sting unless they’re squeezed or stepped on. They look like a fly, so you have probably seen them, but didn’t identify them as the wonderful workers they are. Among other things, they are probably the best pollinators for apple trees, so having mason bees nearby are highly valued. Although they are able to find places to nest without causing damage, you can easily provide them with a suitable spot by either purchasing a mason bee nesting block, or making one. It’s so easy even a caveman could do it…oops, sorry cavemen.
Directions to make one is in the link below. Be sure to follow all the instructions.
http://www.nwf.org/backyard/beehouse.cfm
http://www.nwf.org/backyard/beehouse.cfm
What a fascinating post! I'd seen bat boxes before, but never a bee box. How cool!
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna look up Mason Bees...
I had a Japanese pear tree in my yard once. The fruit tasted great, but the blossoms smelled like dead fish! Why? Because they were pollinated by flies.
Speaking of cavemen, I recall hearing that there was going to be a sitcom featuring those disgruntled cavemen. Have you heard anything about it?
Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMason bees are the coolest critters around. Their life cycle is really fascinating.
Haha--that is interesting about the tree that smelled like dead fish. Ewww.
Yes, the Caveman show had a brief run on one of the major networks here. Alas, 'Cavemen' was short-lived...