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

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.
Hope Watts grew-up in the bee business helping her grandpa and her father with leafcutter bees in Watts Bees Company. She learned the importance of how to care for bees and their environment. Hope has been an educator and teacher for nearly a decade and wanted to blend her education and bee background to teach youth the importance of pollination and bees. Hope created our educational materials and downloadable packets for parents and teachers so that kids could become backyard scientists.
Thyra McKelvie started out as a mason bee host and quickly discovered why so many people love solitary bees. She enjoys teaching her young children about pollinators and getting them involved in hosting mason and leafcutter bees. Her passion to educate and teach more people about solitary bees has inspired her to produce educational videos, write articles, speak at events and get involved in the community so that more people learn about solitary bees and how to care for all our pollinators.
Nina Tran has volunteered with Rent Mason Bees over the years and prior to joining our team, worked with gardeners at Kent East Hill Nursery to help them create and plant sustainable gardens that would promote healthy ecosystems and create gorgeous yards. With a B.S. in Environmental Science she has learned the importance of raising awareness of conservation and sustainability as the world continues to change environmentally. Nina looks forward to working with our bee hosts, farmers and our solitary bees to make an impact and a difference in our world.

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