Mason Bee Emerging
I purchased my first, solitary, bee hotel in the spring of 2018. It was quickly discovered by Mason and Leafcutter bees and by the end of the first summer, I had almost "full occupancy." The bee hotel was placed on a shelf in the garage for the winter to protect the developing larvae from sub-zero temperatures. The following spring, it was placed back on the front porch in the same location near the garden where the bees forage. Unlike, honey bees, solitary bees only travel a few hundred feet from where they emerge. I added a second bee hotel during the early summer of 2019 and both hotels had nearly "full occupancy" by the end of the summer of 2019 and again in 2020. It has been amazing to observe the female bees go back and forth from the garden collecting pollen, cutting bits of plant material or gathering mud, then returning to the bee hotel to begin the egg laying process. Once they choose a “nesting tube” they crawl to the far end to begin. The female bee places her provisions, pollen with some sticky nectar that she rolls into a ball, then lays a single egg on the top. Next, she seals the egg into a “cell” with mud or leaf material (depending on which species she is) and repeats this process until the tube is filled the whole way to the front. One female solitary bee can lay about 5-15 eggs depending on the length of the tube. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the provisions, then form cocoons, and don’t emerge until the following spring. Each year, I would bring the bee hotels out from winter storage, but missed their emergence in 2019 and 2020. However, on March 31, 2021, our first really warm day, I happened to look out the kitchen window, which faces the porch and noticed a swarm of small bees flying around the bee hotels, the porch and even resting on the aluminum siding of the house. They were warming themselves in the sun! I was able to determine that these were all Mason Bees because the bees that were emerging were all breaking through the tubes that were sealed with mud. I observed the male Mason bees fly back to the nesting holes to check on whether the female bees were emerging. The males could apparently detect where the females were and would remain on the bee hotel, to attempt mating as soon as a female came out or would even enter the tube to mate before she emerged. At times, several male bees would pile onto the female, fighting to mate with her, often falling to the ground. As each new bee made its way to the opening of a tube, their tiny faces could be seen peering out from the tubes. Each emerging bee would cautiously come to the edge, clean their antennae with their feet, quiver for a moment, then take their first flight! Since the weather has turned cold again and there aren't many flowers yet, the bees are staying inside. On the intermittent warm days, they emerge to work on cleaning out the tubes, as evidenced by bits of dried mud all over the porch, just below the bee hotels!
As of the time of this posting, the Leafcutter Bees have not emerged, as the holes are still sealed with the plant materials used. This photo series was taken over two hours and is only a small portion of the total number taken of the amazing event.
onegreenworld.com/mason-bee-care/
ento.psu.edu/news/penn-state-pollinator-webinar-series-ma...
Mason Bee Emerging
I purchased my first, solitary, bee hotel in the spring of 2018. It was quickly discovered by Mason and Leafcutter bees and by the end of the first summer, I had almost "full occupancy." The bee hotel was placed on a shelf in the garage for the winter to protect the developing larvae from sub-zero temperatures. The following spring, it was placed back on the front porch in the same location near the garden where the bees forage. Unlike, honey bees, solitary bees only travel a few hundred feet from where they emerge. I added a second bee hotel during the early summer of 2019 and both hotels had nearly "full occupancy" by the end of the summer of 2019 and again in 2020. It has been amazing to observe the female bees go back and forth from the garden collecting pollen, cutting bits of plant material or gathering mud, then returning to the bee hotel to begin the egg laying process. Once they choose a “nesting tube” they crawl to the far end to begin. The female bee places her provisions, pollen with some sticky nectar that she rolls into a ball, then lays a single egg on the top. Next, she seals the egg into a “cell” with mud or leaf material (depending on which species she is) and repeats this process until the tube is filled the whole way to the front. One female solitary bee can lay about 5-15 eggs depending on the length of the tube. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the provisions, then form cocoons, and don’t emerge until the following spring. Each year, I would bring the bee hotels out from winter storage, but missed their emergence in 2019 and 2020. However, on March 31, 2021, our first really warm day, I happened to look out the kitchen window, which faces the porch and noticed a swarm of small bees flying around the bee hotels, the porch and even resting on the aluminum siding of the house. They were warming themselves in the sun! I was able to determine that these were all Mason Bees because the bees that were emerging were all breaking through the tubes that were sealed with mud. I observed the male Mason bees fly back to the nesting holes to check on whether the female bees were emerging. The males could apparently detect where the females were and would remain on the bee hotel, to attempt mating as soon as a female came out or would even enter the tube to mate before she emerged. At times, several male bees would pile onto the female, fighting to mate with her, often falling to the ground. As each new bee made its way to the opening of a tube, their tiny faces could be seen peering out from the tubes. Each emerging bee would cautiously come to the edge, clean their antennae with their feet, quiver for a moment, then take their first flight! Since the weather has turned cold again and there aren't many flowers yet, the bees are staying inside. On the intermittent warm days, they emerge to work on cleaning out the tubes, as evidenced by bits of dried mud all over the porch, just below the bee hotels!
As of the time of this posting, the Leafcutter Bees have not emerged, as the holes are still sealed with the plant materials used. This photo series was taken over two hours and is only a small portion of the total number taken of the amazing event.
onegreenworld.com/mason-bee-care/
ento.psu.edu/news/penn-state-pollinator-webinar-series-ma...