What's Next for Your Bees?

It’s that bittersweet time of year—when mason bees begin to slow down and lay their final eggs. If you released your bees in late April, you may still see some activity. If they went out earlier, they’re likely nearing the end of their short life cycle – mason bees only live 6-8 weeks.

Whether your bees are still working or have wrapped up for the season, now is a great time to check your cocoons and see if any haven’t emerged before you remove them and safely store them over summer.

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.

See videos below with step-by-step guides too:

• Remove your mason bee nesting block

• How to store it safely over the summer

• How to swap it out for your leafcutter bees

🚫 Please do not ship nesting blocks back until September—your developing bees need time to fully mature in their cocoons.

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… wait one week… then you can put your leafcutter bees out.

Once temperatures are a consistent 70+ degrees for the remainder of spring and summer (Night time temps can dip lower, but daytime needs to be 70+ degrees.) they’ll “wake up”, begin feeding on the pollen loaf, and start their transformation into adult bees.

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

IF YOU’RE SWAPPING FROM MASON TO LEAFCUTTER BEES WATCH THIS VIDEO TO LEARN HOW!

IF YOU RENT YOUR NESTING BLOCKS FROM US, WATCH THIS QUICK GUIDE ON HOW TO SAFELY STORE THEM OVER THE SUMMER BEFORE MAILING THEM BACK TO US IN SEPTEMBER TO BE CLEANED.

IF YOU HOST YOUR OWN MASON BEES, WATCH THIS VIDEO TO LEARN HOW TO PROPERLY STORE YOUR NESTING MATERIAL OVER THE SUMMER AND KEEP YOUR COCOONS SAFE UNTIL YOU CLEAN THEM IN THE FALL.

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 or ones we can tell have mono wasp inside, but when cleaning 3 million cocoons, we may miss some.

Here is how you can see if you have mono wasps inside any unopened cocoons:

1. Dump out your cocoons onto a paper towel
2. Sort cocoons into two piles: Emerged and Not Emerged
3. Snip open the cocoons that have not emerged: (Watch video below to see how to do this.) If you do find mono wasps, please dispose.

LIMITED SUPPLY! ORDER LEAFCUTTER BEES

YOU CAN USE THE SAME BLACK HOUSE AND THEN SWAP BLOCKS

Meet the Leafcutter Bees! They’re the tiny superheroes of our garden, barely bigger than a watermelon seed. Just like their buddies, the mason bees, they’re experts at gathering loose pollen with their special belly hairs, known as scopa. With this awesome skill, they can pollinate an incredible 95% of the plants they visit!

And because they’re so tiny and agile, they can dart around to even the smallest flowers! That means every single bloom gets a visit, helping them produce more food for a magnificent harvest. Leafcutter bees are like the garden’s secret helpers, making sure we have a bounty of delicious fruits and veggies to enjoy!

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