Mason bees certainly have earned the title of super pollinator and are a backyard gardener’s new best friend. If you are a backyard gardener, these gentle insects can be the key to having an even more successful growing season. They are easy to raise, non-aggressive and native to North America.
Last spring, I decided to venture into the world of beekeeping. While keeping a large hive filled with honey can be rewarding, keeping solitary bees can be more affordable, more beginner friendly and less of a long term commitment.
Solitary bees do not live in colonies, do not make hives and do not produce honey. The mason bee is great at improving pollination efficiency and increasing fruit set 2x better than honey bees.
“When you pollinate with solitary mason or leafcutter bees rather than honey bees, you’ll see significantly more fruits, veggies and flowers in your gardens.” – Crown Bees
Now that we know that mason bees are solitary bees, let’s dive a little deeper! These helpful friends are only active in your garden in early spring for about 4-6 weeks. After that, they will be living inside their nesting chambers prepping for hibernation until temperatures become warm enough to emerge again in the spring.
Each spring, mason bees emerge from their cocoons once temperatures reach around 55°F/13°C. They will then spend their time in your garden collecting food, building nests, mating and laying eggs. Every female mason bee lays eggs, so every female is a queen!
If you want to get started with keeping mason bees, here’s what you’ll need.
- A protected shelter out of direct sun
- All natural reeds, cardboard straws or wood trays to use as nests
- A clay-rich mud source
- A garden filled with plants to pollinate
Last spring, my bee house was abuzz with activity in the vegetable garden
Since I’m a beginner, I knew I wanted to start out with a complete kit that had everything I needed. One of my gardening friends, who has had success raising mason bees, recommended I try ordering online from Crown Bees.
There are many different styles, shapes and sizes of bee houses to choose from to fit your garden space. I picked out a Chalet Bee House Kit with bees included! This kit allows you to customize and choose what you receive with seasonal add-ons and helpful extras.
I went with the chalet bee house, a bird guard, a cocoon hatchery, natural reeds, a mud mix, a native bee guide, the spring accessories package and 20 mason bee cocoons acclimated to my region. I really like how they offer kits like this with everything included. It makes it so easy and simple to get started!
Mason bee cocoons in the hatchery
MAKE SURE THEY HAVE A SUPPLY OF MUD!
You read that correctly! One of the most important parts of caring for these helpful bees is providing them with a close source of clay-rich mud! Having a natural source around definitely varies on where you live. My soil is on the sandy side, so I made sure to get the mud mix.
This mud is an essential nest building material. I had such a blast watching them collect mud balls and carry them back to the nest while I was planting in the garden!
A nice mud station for the bees
If you decide to use a mud mix like I did, make sure to add in some rocks and twigs from around the yard. Since I used a container and didn’t make my mud hole directly in the ground, I also made sure to add in some of my own soil.
Once it was mixed, I made sure to water it daily to keep it from drying out. I also stored it behind one of my raised beds so it was a bit more protected from predators like birds. You can also add a chicken wire strip on top for extra protection.
I learned so much about mason bees just from one gardening season. I’m continuing to learn more and more about them while raising and caring for them. It’s a very educational experience all while benefiting the environment around you. Here are some top reasons why gardeners (like me) love raising mason bees.
- They have no hive and produce no honey, so they are much easier to raise
- 1 solitary mason bee is equal to 100 honey bees pollinating
- Mason bees will usually stay within 300 ft. of the home
Curious about what mason bees eat? Their diet consists of pollen, nectar and honey. Pollen and nectar are both provided by flowers, and they aren’t very picky. They do have a preference for anything native, fragrant, purple and blue.
Along with using pollen as a protein source, they also use it to line their nests. When it comes to honey, they will collect it from bee hives and use it as a food source of their own.
Here are a few different flowers you can plant in your spring garden for your mason bees.
Poppies
Not only are poppies a stunningly beautiful cool season flower, they are also attractive to pollinators. If you are looking for species to add to your yard that are native to eastern North America try Papaver radicatum, or Arctic poppy. Another native that is in the same family is Sanguinaria canadensis, also called Bloodroot. Although not native to North America, I do enjoy growing Papaver somniferum, also known as Opium poppies. One of my all time favorite variety is called “Turkish Red“.
Crocus
When nothing else is blooming yet in the Northeast, crocuses are the first to the party. The earliest species to bloom is the Crocus chrysanthus or Snow crocus. I also like Crocus ancyrensism or Ankara crocus for early bloom. Another great early species is called Crocus tommasinianus, or the Woodland crocus. My favorite variety variety is called “Ruby Giant“. This seems to attract the bees in droves!
Jacob’s Ladder
Many Jacob’s ladder species have a gorgeous blue color. This plant also features some gorgeous foliage! Polemonium reptans, or Creeping Jacob’s ladder is native to eastern North America. One of my favorite varieties is called “Stairway to Heaven“. Polemonium caeruleum, which is also known as Greek valerian, is a hardy perennial flowering plant that is perfect for the bees. Polemonium acutiflorum, or Tall Jacob’s ladder can naturally be found in meadows and riverbanks.
Mason bees help to increase genetic diversity of plants, play a vital role in our ecosystem and will help out your garden. Now that you know a bit more about this fascinating pollinator, I hope you will add some to your yard! When you increase the supply of native flowers and give them with resources they need, you will, for certain, invite them to your own backyard!
Have you raised your own mason bees? Tell me all about it in the comment section below! I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you so much for visiting.
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