Mason Bee Cocoons
Last year my wife opened the refrigerator to discover the Mason bees were starting to hatch…this year we were determined to hang the nests before that happened. We ordered the cocoons from Knox Cellars in Western Washington. They provided this little ‘launch box.’
Ready to place cocoons into box
I saw some great plans on Dave’s Bees on how to build the nests so I got started yesterday.
Saw off 1/2″ (1 cm) off 2x6x8″
Drill 3/8″ (9.5 mm) holes more or less in a straight line about 3/4″ apart
I hope the bees don’t have a measuring tape…someone can’t drill straight!
I didn’t want to buy a longer bit, so I started with the top one and ended with the blade bit. Don’t start with the blade type…it’ll take forever to drill.
Assembly on kitchen table. My wife is knitting a
bee hive hat…how appropriate.
The rolled up parchment paper liners are sticking out. They will be bent flat when the 1/2″ piece of sawed-off wood is fastened back on to seal it off. See Dave’s Bees excellent video.
March 23…Mason Bee Nests in place with launch box taped securely
Grass trimmed under nests to make bees more visible if they fall below. The drones (males) will emerge first and wait for the females. Sometimes the females will emerge and fall to the ground.
After about a week of waiting we start to see some activity…
One shy bee showing in 2nd row 2nd from left
March 30…Mason bee entering straw tube in wood block
Keeping mason bees is one of the easiest method of beekeeping. Some interesting facts…200 mason bees will outpollinate 2000 honey bees. Mason bees rarely sting.
A female Orchard Mason Bee visits more than 1,600 blossoms per day for about 45 days! Will fly in temperatures as low as 50 F. (10 C), and is not bothered by rain.
Mason Mud tray. Since the Masons use mud to close up their tubes, it’s recommended that you provide a nearby source of mud.
Six tubes filled already.
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 
I’ve never heard of people buying in mason bees before. Fascinating. Does this species live locally to you in the wild?
According to Brian L. Griffin, author of the book “The Orchard Mason Bee,” it is native to the US and Canada west of the Rockies. The official name is Osmia Lignaria Propinqua Cresson for the Mason bees west of the Rockies, and Osmia Lignaria Lignaria Say for the Masons east of the Rockies.
I’ve never really seen them before I started providing a place for them, but I wasn’t really looking for them. I find it curious that they are not bothered by the rain.
I’ve also seen bumbles foraging in rain. The honey bees seem to be fussiest about rain and cold temps.
Great post!!
Thank you, Deborah.
So interesting. Thanks for sharing. We have an abundance of carpenter bees here in Virginia. I’ll have to look for mason bees. I bet we have them too – I just haven’t looked closely enough.
Hi Jo Ann…Your Masons are going to be the Osmia Lignaria Lignaria Say. The only difference are the facial horns which project horizontally for the western Mason and at a 45 degree downward angle for the eastern Mason.
You’re going to have real good eyesight to see that!
My mother in the States gave me one of those mason bee-type hives that look a little like a pan pipe. Although I believe there are no mason bees here in the UK, we hung it up anyway to see if it would attract any kind of flying thing. No luck so far!
Is there any good time of the year to build and put one of these up?
The sooner the better. Our mason bee season is late March to mid June. If you provide tubes for them, they will use them. I have even cut bamboo tubes. If a pencil fits or a little smaller than a pencil diameter, it’s perfect. Anything hollow including stems or reeds. Covering the bundle of tubes to protect from the elements is probably a good idea.
As soon as you see a mud seal you’ll know they are using them if you’re not lucky enough to actually see bees entering or exiting. I hope you’re able to put some up. Each year you’ll get more, and your fruit trees will benefit.
Thank you Pat, I’ll see if I get a chance over the next few days whilst I’m at the house, a couple of warm dry days ahead of us.
All the best, Eddy
Mason bee fail. I purchased a nesting box and house from a company in WA, put it in a nice location which faced the morning sun, even made a mud container! But all my bees flew away and never returned. I received them a little late and they were already hatching when I put them out at the end of April. What did I do wrong? I’m going to order some next year and try again.
I’ve had bad luck on my first two attempts. What did you do wrong? Probably nothing. If they hatched and they left your area, there’s not much you can do. That happened to me this year. Last year I put out 20 cocoons and got 108 in return (21 straws) by the end of the year. This year I put out the 108 cocoons and got only 5 straws filled…probably about 35 cocoons. The straws they filled were in new blocks of wood. None were filled in the year old blocks of wood. Can’t figure it out. I don’t think they like plastic housing, and I’m not sure they like parchment paper. I think next year, I’ll just use blocks of wood with 5/16″ holes and no paper.
Thanks for your response. Wow…you got 108 from 20 cocoons? I paid for 10 cocoons but was sent 30 because it was late in the season and they were trying to clear them out. I’ve read that the bees don’t like plastic. The tubes I bought are made of stacked wood with cut out tubes that match up so it can be easily taken apart at the end of the season. I think I’ve seen the bees on flowers in my yard. We have two acres south of Bandon with lots of old trees, rhodies, azaleas, and native plants…good places to nest everywhere…so they must have found a better place.