Bee Care: What's Next for Your Bees? End of May Update

What’s Next for Your Bees? End of May Bee Update

It’s that bittersweet time of year when mason bees begin slowing down and laying their final eggs. If you released your bees in late April, you may still see activity around your bee house. If your bees went out earlier in spring, they are likely nearing the end of their short 6–8 week life cycle.

Because our hosts live in many different climates across the country, your bees may be at different stages right now. Some mason bees are still actively nesting, while others have already finished for the season.

Whether your bees are still working or have wrapped up, now is a great time to begin checking cocoons, preparing nesting materials for safe summer storage and getting ready to put your leafcutter bees out.

In this blog learn:

• How to Examine Cocoons & “Snip the Tip”
• When to Remove Mason Bee Nesting Materials
• How to Store Mason Bees Safely Over Summer
• When to Put Leafcutter Bees Out
• How to Check for Mono Wasps
• Updates From the Houdini Fly Research Cages

As mason bee season winds down, summer pollination is just beginning. Leafcutter bees love warm weather, veggie gardens and summer blooms, making them the perfect next pollinator for your habitat.

Examine Your Cocoons & Snip the Tip

This step is completely optional. You are not required to do it. However, some bee hosts enjoy taking a closer look at their cocoons to see if any bees haven’t emerged yet.

In the video below, we’ll show you how to gently inspect your white PVC tube, snip the tips of any unopened cocoons and take a peek inside. You may find healthy, developing mason bees, or you might discover mono wasps, a harmful predator that should be carefully removed and discarded to protect future pollinators.

It’s a simple and informative process for those who want to dig a little deeper into solitary bee care.

When to Remove Your Mason Bee Nesting Material

Once your nesting material is full or you no longer see mason bee activity, it’s time to gently remove it.

Watch the videos below for step-by-step guides.

When to Put Out Leafcutter Bees

Leafcutter bees are summer pollinators and arrive in the larval stage, securely tucked inside the nesting block. If your mason bees are done, you can gently remove them. Then, wait one week before putting your leafcutter bees out.

Once temperatures are consistently 70+ degrees for the remainder of spring and summer, they’ll “wake up,” begin feeding on the pollen loaf and start their transformation into adult bees. Nighttime temperatures can dip lower, but daytime temperatures should be 70+ degrees.

Depending on your climate, this process typically takes 6–8 weeks. The warmer the weather, the sooner they will emerge and begin pollinating.

Mono Wasp Prevention: How You Can Protect Your Bees

Now is the time mono wasps will start to emerge.

During our fall harvest, we light all the cocoons and pick out the non-viable cocoons or the ones we can tell have mono wasps inside. However, when cleaning 3 million cocoons, we may miss some.

Watch the video above on how to examine your cocoons.

Meet the Leafcutter Bees

Leafcutter bees are tiny superheroes in the garden, barely bigger than a watermelon seed. Just like mason bees, they are experts at gathering loose pollen with special belly hairs called scopa. With this incredible skill, they can pollinate up to 95% of the plants they visit.

Because they are so tiny and agile, they can move around even the smallest flowers. That means more blooms get visited, helping your garden produce more food and a stronger harvest.

Leafcutter bees are the garden’s secret helpers, supporting summer blooms, veggie gardens and greenhouse pollination.

Visit our store to order leafcutter bees for summer gardens: Order leafcutters

We’re Here to Help

Let us know if you have questions. We’re here to help every step of the way!