Mason Bee 20 tube Starter Kit
Mason Bee Nest Kits
Z-Mason Bee Kits
Take the Sting Out of Bee Keeping
Native Orchard Mason Bees are widespread throughout North America. They are superb early season pollinators of fruit trees, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries-and better than honeybees, because they're active in colder temperatures and their hairy bodies carry more of the pollen that fertilizes your blossoms. Each female Orchard Bee makes her own nest in a series of tubes, sealed with mud. They are useful, small and docile-and they hardly ever sting unless severely provoked.
You can attract them to your garden with our nesting kits that provide exactly the right size holes the Orchard Bees are seeking in early Spring, in which to lay their eggs. Place the nest kit in a sheltered, sunny spot facing East or South.
Each tube is made from strong PVC pipe, containing a smooth, paper inner liner that can be replaced with a fresh paper insert, after the new generation has hatched each year. Extensive research by USDA has found that smooth 6" paper-lined tubes are preferred by the bees over short 4" holes drilled in wood blocks. The 6" tubes also insure a higher female ratio among the eggs produced.
Each nest comes with an informative leaflet. The Nest Kits were originally designed for the USA by Oxford Bee Company, in association with Oxford University in England.
NOTE: NO MASON BEES ARE PROVIDED WITH THESE KITS! These kits are meant to provide ready homes for the mason bees that may be native in your area. The starter kit is meant as an economical and easy way to check and see if Mason bees are around. Again, NO MASON BEES ARE PROVIDED WITH THESE KITS!
Pricing
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Homeowner Growing and Maintenance TipsTry to provide fresh nesting tubes for your Mason Bees, to replace tubes that have been used last year. This helps protect against a buildup of parasitic mites that can carry over in used tubes. Unused tubes are still good, of course.
Mason bees won't give you any honey, but they are more tame and gentle than honeybees, and won't chase you or sting you, unless they are severely provoked.
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A Little HistoryMason Bees are more effective pollinators than the common honeybee, which has been cultured and kept by beekeepers for hundreds of years. Now, the common honeybee in North America is threatened by a new disease called "Colony Collapse Disorder". Scientists are working to discover the causes and how to stop it, but many beekeepers have lost thousands of their hives to it.
Mason bees are more interested in pollen than the nectar and their hairy bodies are more effective in collecting and spreading it than the honeybee. It may take only 250-750 Mason Bees in an orchard to pollinate an acre, where it might take 60,000 to 120,000 honeybees to do the same job.
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Characteristics & Attributes
