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[Tzabaoth]

I kept honey bees in college and enjoyed the pleasure of their company.  We were always taught to look out for the mites and other diseases that could spread from hive to hive and to immediately sacrifice a hive if they were found to be contagious.  Now, with the increased use of pesticides and the decline of the noble honey bee, I am reading more and more about other pollenating species; specifically the Mason Bee.  A friend of mine just started nurturing them and said they are very easy to keep since they are more solitary than honey bees and don't sting.

http://www.gardeners.com/how-to/about-mason-bees/8198.html

Has anyone else tried using this species?

Thanks,

.: Tzabaoth

6 Likes New Wisdom, TBM, Sunshine, MadPlanter, thunderhorse and 1 more people like this.

[cunningplatypus]

I believe one of the great benefits to Mason Bees is that they tend to appear much earlier than honeybees. They're great for plants that flower in chilly, early spring, when it's still too cold for the honeybees (some apples, for example).

Plus, as you noted, they're supposed to be quite easy to keep. I've read of people using dried Teasel stems for their housing -- no need to spend money on bee tubes.

 

1 Like thunderhorse likes this.

[BubbleCat]

I love bumblebees, not necessarely Bombus Terrestris but what ever decides to inhabit the hives Very good character, pollinating, no sting and all... just fewer individuals per hive. But hey, offering bumblebees a good hive helps troubled species.

1 Like thunderhorse likes this.

[thunderhorse]

if you mean mason bees .. i hear the female will definitely sting you if threatened or squashed
the male wont  or at least as far as i know regarding the darker ones in usa i think you're reffering to ..
but then there's so many species perhaps they have different "stinging requirements"

Bombus terrestris are so friendly it almost doesn't matter that bad about their stinger cuz often they'll allow me to stroke them .. so long as they're not pissed off or beat .. and they love being fed honey , .. seems to revive them .
-not just those bees, any I/all I tried it with so far

however , if you just released one from half a day of tryna escape from a 60C greenhouse,
 don't expect it to not sting you if it crashes into you on the way out while you release it
- and lest it be in the armpit like what happened to me a couple of summers ago  - owwwww!

i can't wait to get mason bees here in uk .. its a different species
but i think 8 of these will do the work of 500 or something regular honey bees
because of the longer hours they work as mentioned already , ..
and the earlier start/later finish season times too .

there's some nice videos on youtube about them
here's one