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.