Orchard Mason Bees

What’s The Buzz?

Bees–A Tree’s Best Friend

Bees are essential for pollination. Mason Bee colonies can do over 200 times the pollinating of similarly sized honey bee colonies. Unlike honey bees, Masons are small, black, non-territorial bees, thus they are less likely to harm humans or pets. They are also native to most of North America.

Keeping bees In the wild, mason bees find holes in trees to nest in, they build their homes using mud, hence the name Mason. To invite them to stay around your garden you only need to have food for them (flower pollen) and a shelter for them to breed and live. The Nesting Block is the perfect home for Mason bees. The blocks are made of Douglas Fir and have 40 holes in them. Maintenance and productivity of your Nesting Block is greatly enhanced by inserting the Paper Nest Liners in each hole.

Buying Bees Bees are available for purchase only when they are dormant (November 1st - March 1st). In early spring, they awake from hibernation and head out to find food and a home. If you plan to build your own nesting block or if you have suitable habitat for bees you can order Orchard Mason Bees in tubes of 20 bees. A good way to get started with Mason bees is the Can of Bees. It includes 20 hibernating bees plus tubes that are a good starter home. To learn more about the lives, history and propagation of the Orchard Mason Bee, pick up Brian Griffin's 128 page, softcover book The Orchard Mason Bee. It covers all those topics, plus building homes for the bees, bee predators and parasites and more.