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Diving a bit deeper into IA, we catch up to the 7013 again at Greenfield Ave. to witness an upgrade haul through a valley of soybean and corn fields.
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...
Looking in the cab of Stephen Gaal's 3 1/2" gauge Mason Bogie locomotive on the elevated line at the Steam Locomotive Society of Victoria.
Miniature Railway, Model Engineering and Amusement Railways through the years.
Mason (Kas' big brother) and my sister-in-law Sandra. Sandra and my brother Rodney graciously invited us all to their Tennessee country home for a reunion.
Mason and Alyssa both lost the same tooth! They were so excited and so cute together, a matching set! It's too bad we cannot see the missing teeth in this picture, but what cute matching smiles!
Street sign near Mason Mill Park. The beginning point for Mason Mill Road. Emory Parc -- Decatur, GA -- May 2011
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...
Photos from Mason's Fun fair visiting Naphill, Buckinghamshire in June 2011.
Most of the fair artwork is by Lee Meech, see the official website:
Stuart Roberts1:48pm Mar 20
you can see the 2 protrusions on the clypeus
Comment History
Stephen Boulton
Stephen Boulton12:25pm Mar 20
Osmia bicornis (red mason bee)
Original Post
John Pitts
John Pitts10:44am Mar 20
Assunming this to be a leaf cutter bee Megachile centuncularis?
The clypeus is one of the sclerites that make up the "face" of an arthropod. In insects, the clypeus delimits the lower margin of the face, with the labrum articulated along the ventral margin of the clypeus. The mandibles bracket the labrum, but do not touch the clypeus. The dorsal margin of the clypeus is below the antennal sockets. The clypeus is often well-defined by sulci ("grooves") along its lateral and dorsal margins, and is most commonly rectangular or trapezoidal in overall shape.
The post-clypeus is a large nose-like structure that lies between the eyes and makes up much of the front of the head in cicadas.[1]
In spiders, the clypeus is generally defined as the area between the anterior edge of the carapace and the anterior eyes.[2]
Osmia rufa or Osmia bicornis is a species of mason bee, and is known as the red mason bee due to its covering of dense gingery hair. It is a solitary bee that nests in holes or stems and is polylectic, meaning it forages pollen from various different flowering plants. These bees can be seen aggregating together and nests in preexisting hollows, choosing not to excavate their own. These bees are not aggressive; they will only sting if handled very roughly and are safe to be closely observed by children. Females only mate once, usually with closely related males. Further, females can determine the sex ratio of their offspring based on their body size, where larger females will invest more in diploid females eggs than small bees. These bees also have trichromatic color vision and are important pollinators in agriculture.
Nest structure[edit]
The nest of O. rufa consists of an array of partitioned cylindrical cells[13] in holes in wood or reed tubes.[14] These bees accept a diverse range of pre-existing cavities as nest sites.[15] The cells are arranged linearly within a narrow tube. If the internal diameter of the tube exceeds 12 mm, then this linear arrangement may be forced into two rows instead of one. The length of each cell can vary from 10 to 21 mm.[16] The inner sides of the partitions are rough and convex while the outer sides are smooth and concave. Between the cells and the terminal plug is a space known as the ‘vestibular cell’.[13] The vestibule acts as a form of protection against volatile environmental conditions. The bees whose nests are exposed to the sun and heat build vestibules more frequently.[14] The material used to build the nests is mud mixed with their mandibles,[16] however the sides of the tunnel in which the nests are located are usually not lined with mud, with the exception of some irregularly arranged nests.[13] Females construct around 6 cells per nest on average; however, larger females construct more cells than smaller ones.[17] When it is time for females to lay their eggs, they will add pollen to each brood cell and lay one egg in each cell next to the pollen.[18] The sequence of nesting behavior is as follows: cell construction, provisioning, egg-laying and sealing the cell.
A cross-sectional view of an O. rufa nest. Partitioned cells can be seen in a tube.
Cells containing females are typically larger than those containing males, due to the sexual dimorphism of the species. Additionally, cells containing females are situated towards the back of the nest, while those with males are closer to the nest entrance. Because of this, male offspring leave the nest sooner than females. Due to the linear arrangement of cells in the nest, the youngest bee leaves earlier than older ones.
A female Blue Mason Bee (Osmia caerulescens); resting on a plant stem. Only a hint of blue iridescence in this individual.
Mason was found and cared for as a stray. After calling six microchip providers, we found out his microchip is untraceable. He is sweet, affectionate and good with other cats, dogs and children. He is in good health, and has a handsome glossy black coat which he spends quite some time grooming. Mason has been with us since April 17th, 2010, enjoying the cat condos in the Memory Lane room and watching the world go by through the window. He seems to have no interest in going back outside, so would be a great cat for an apartment or other small home.