Rent Mason Bees

Sustainable Solitary Bee Pollinators

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WHAT ARE SOLITARY BEES? Solitary bees are a remarkable pollinators that differ significantly from the social honey bees we often associate with beekeeping. Solitary bees lead independent lives, each female working solo without the presence of a queen, hive, or honey production. She lays all her own eggs, gathers food and finds her own nesting chambers. This unique lifestyle makes solitary bees gentle, friendly, and non-aggressive. Unlike honeybees, they pose no threat to your children or pets, making them ideal companions for your garden.

NATURE'S MOST PRODUCTIVE POLLINATORS Solitary bees exhibit distinctive behaviors that set them apart as one of nature's best pollinators. While honeybees collect pollen on their back legs, solitary bees employ a fascinating "belly-flopping" technique. They land on blossoms and collect loose pollen all over their bodies, making them highly effective pollinators. With the ability to visit over 2,000 flowers in a single day, solitary bees astonishingly pollinate 95% of the flowers they encounter vs. their honeybee cousins 5% pollination rate. This staggering number contributes significantly to the vitality of plant life and ecosystems.

PROPER CARE & MAINTENANCE Mason bees are renowned for their ease of hosting, but they require some care in the fall to thrive. Neglecting the harvest of cocoons and the cleaning of nesting blocks can leave them vulnerable to evasive predators like pollen mites and Houdini flies, which lay their eggs on the mason bee pollen inside the nesting holes. When you rent mason bees from us, you can leave these concerns behind. Simply return your nesting block to us in September, and we handle the rest. During our mason bee harvest, we meticulously clean millions of mason bee cocoons and sterilize their nesting blocks to eliminate predators. This means that the bees you rent from us are predator-free, robust, and healthy, and your nesting block is clean and ready for use. In addition to providing healthy bees, all our bee houses and nesting blocks are crafted in our wood workshop. We produce thousands of bee homes designed to enhance the aesthetics of your backyard and promote pollination. Our nesting blocks feature precisely sized holes to support egg-laying and ensure the safety of their offspring. To protect against predators, we apply a cardboard backing to the rear of the nesting block, creating a dark tunnel for bees to lay their eggs, ensuring their safety and well-being.

OUR BEES ARE CERTIFIED Our bees are certified by the Orchard Bee Association (OBA).Working with mason bees entails strict adherence to guidelines established to safeguard bee populations. We diligently follow these recommended measures, ensuring that all our bees are regionally segregated. This ensures that when they are dispatched the following spring, they return to their respective regions of origin. Furthermore, we strictly adhere to OBA guidelines and the best practices for the safe shipment of live mason bee cocoons. To minimize any risks, we ship only dormant cocoons and use an ice pack to maintain a cool environment to reduce the likelihood of premature emergence during transit.

Gentle. Non-Aggressive. Low Maintenance.

Spring Mason Bees

Blue Orchard Bee, Osmia lignaria (western U.S. only*)

The blue orchard bee is a docile bee native to North America. Adult bees emerge from their cocoons in the spring when fruit trees and many of our native shrubs and herbs are in bloom. These highly efficient pollinators increase fruit production as well as improve the overall health of their ecosystems. This mason bee uses mud to build nest partitions and protect their young from invading pests. They are fun to watch throughout the spring and are an important member of western ecosystems. (*This bee species is available in the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.)

Horn-faced Bee, Osmia cornifrons (midwestern and eastern U.S. only*)

Horn-faced bees are found throughout the midwestern and eastern United States, and are used around the world for fruit tree pollination. Similar to blue orchard bees, adult horn-faced bees are also active during spring when many trees, shrubs, and herbs are in bloom. In addition to mud, this mason bee often also uses leaf pulp to construct their nest partitions. Horn-faced bees are better suited to humid environments than are blue orchard bees, and can also tolerate cold climates. (*This bee species is available in all U.S. states EXCEPT: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.)

Summer Leafcutter Bees

Leafcutter Bee, Megachile rotundata (Nationwide*)

Leafcutter bees are found across North America and are used around the world for alfalfa pollination. Honey bees do not efficiently pollinate alfalfa due to a spring-loaded pistil mechanism in the alfalfa flower which they avoid. The small leafcutter bee effectively pollinates by “tripping” the pistil, and is responsible for creating the majority of feed for pigs and dairy cows. They are an equally gentle generalist bee that will visit a majority of types of flowers in your backyard during their flying months of July and August, including your flowering vegetable garden. As their name suggests, leafcutter bees use leaf pieces, which they cut using their mouth-parts, to construct their nests. (*This bee species is available in all U.S. states EXCEPT: Alaska and Hawaii)

When you rent bees...

You help populate the environment with more bees.
You grow bees to help local farmers.
You create a healthier environment.

Rent Your Bees Today

Bee Amazed

Mason bees
visit up to
2,000
flowers a day
400 Mason bees
do the work of
40,000
honey bees
One Mason bee
block can hold
500
eggs
Farmers
release
1,000
bees per acre
to pollinate their
crops