Rent Mason Bees

Sustainable Solitary Bee Pollinators

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Rent Mason Bees is the only company in the country that brings gardeners and farmers together with our bee rental program. Solitary bees are the easiest bees to host because they are low maintenance and do not sting. During our mason bee harvest we clean millions of mason bee cocoons and sterilize their nesting blocks to eliminate predators. We then return healthy, strong bees to farmers and our backyard gardeners.

OUR MISSION is to help the future of food production and promote the health of solitary bees that are critical pollinators to food and ecosystems. We are achieving this through community education, utilizing families and gardeners across the United States to host bees and we work with farmers to teach them how to maintain their crops safely for our pollinators.

Meet Our Team

Thyra McKelvie is the Director of Operations and Communications for Rent Mason Bees. She is responsible for the pollination program’s day-to-day operations, as well as its communication strategy. Thyra oversees our efforts to help gardeners host solitary bees, and she engages in public outreach to teach more people about solitary bees and the importance of taking care of all our pollinators. In addition to writing feature articles for National Publications, Thyra also produces educational videos that can be seen on our YouTube Channel. If you’re interested in having Thyra speak at your event, please click here: GUEST ARTICLES OR SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS – Rent Mason Bees
Nina Tran is the Logistics Manager and oversees all our shipping, returns and the harvest of millions of mason and leafcutter bees. Prior to Rent Mason Bees, she worked with gardeners at Kent East Hill Nursery to help them create and plant sustainable gardens that would promote healthy ecosystems for fauna and flora. With a B.S. in Environmental Science, she has a deep passion for environmental conservation and believes that working with nature is the key to a sustainable future. Nina looks forward to working with our bee hosts, farmers, and our little solitary bees to make an impact on our growing ecosystems in the years to come.
Jim Watts is the owner of Rent Mason Bees and Watts Solitary Bees. He is a founding member of the Orchard Bee Association, a non-profit which is focused on research and growth of the orchard bee pollination industry and protection of orchard bees. Jim grew up around bees working with his dad in the family bee business. His passion led him to start his own business operating now for over 25 years. His expertise includes commercial pollination with solitary bees, propagating native bees and helping local gardeners with their pollination needs.
Craig Watts is located in Portland, Oregon. He has been working with solitary bees for the past twelve years. His focus has been on the propagation of leafcutter and mason bees, and the development of products for the bee industry.
 

Learn How to Rent and Host Mason Bees

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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