Advanced Native Beekeeping
Would you like to be more involved in managing your bees? I love supporting my Mason and Leafcutter Bees, and don't mind getting my hands dirty doing it! If you're like me, and want to be more hands-on with your bees in order to increase your populations (and mostly because it's really fun), there are many additional things you can do to ensure the good health of your bees. Following are some more advanced and interactive steps you can take to nurture your bees so they don't expend nesting energy on fighting predators, searching for mud or locating nectar and pollen.
Plant the early-blooming plants that they prefer:
Here are some of their favorite shrubs and trees: Blackberry (Rubus), Dogwood (Cornus), Fruit trees (apple, cherry, plum), Junebeerry (Amalanchier), Red maple (Acer rubrum), Raspberry (Rubus), Sumac (Rhus), Willows (Salix).
The flowers and herbs they prefer are: Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum), Asters (Aster), Bee balm (Monarda), Borage (Borago officianalis), Buttercup (Ranunculus), Coneflower (Echinacea), Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema), Impatiens (Impatiens), Milkweed (Asclepias), Mints (Mentha, Saliva), Marjoram (Origanum), Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum), Daisies, Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), Sunflowers (Helianthus), Tickseed (Coreopsis), Vervain (Verbena) and Wild buckwheat (Eriogonum).
Provide mud holes:
Once nesting begins, OMBs require a constant source of mud within 50 feet of their nests for sealing the brood chambers. Since the soil must have the right amount of moisture, they will excavate down at an angle, like a miner, until they find it. To make this exhausting process easier for them, I recommend helping them out a bit by providing them with a mud hole near the Bee House. Dig a hole about 6" deep, line it with plastic, and poke a few drainage holes in the bottom of the plastic. Fill it with sticky mud and, if your area is dry, poke a small hole in the end of a plastic milk jug to keep the mud moist. If you notice birds hanging around in hopes of snacking on the bees as they gather mud, simply lay a piece of chicken wire on top to protect them.
Cover the nesting holes:
As soon as the bees have stopped nesting - usually by early June - it's important to cover the holes to prevent infestation by insects, and predation by birds and squirrels. There are many ways to accomplish this, but you must be very careful not to move the house and dislodge the larva from its food supply. Now don't laugh, but I've found that Queen-sized control top pantyhose work the best! Just cut off the legs a couple of inches below the crotch and slide them from the bottom of the bee house on up. You can tuck them under the roof to further secure them. Another easy alternative is to purchase some very fine-weave material, such as curtain sheer fabric, and envelop the house in it like a bag, tying it off tightly around the hanging nail or screw. It might look a little strange but it will really protect your bees. Otherwise, I can guarantee that ants and tiny chalcid wasps will invade your nesting straws and kill many of your OMBs. Not pretty.
Move your bees out of the hot sun:
By mid-late June the threat of dislodging the egg from the food supply has lessened but is still a factor to consider. The egg has produced a larva which attaches itself to the food with small hook-like mouthparts, but it can still be dislodged if treated roughly. This is a good time to move your bee house out of the hot sun and into a garage or outbuilding, since too-high temps can kill the developing bees. Just be sure to lay the house on it's back with the mud-capped straws facing up, since that helps the larva stay in contact with its food supply. Also be sure to keep it covered, since insects and mice will have no trouble finding it.
Sort the cocoons in October/November:
Instead of leaving the cocoons in the nesting straws until they hatch the following spring, you can drastically increase your bee populations by removing the individual cocoons from the nesting straws. This assures that they will not be trapped behind a dead bee, won't have to crawl through mite-infested chambers, and won't be attacked by tiny wasps -- all before they reach fresh air!
So, around mid-October, I suggest that you spread out some newspaper and carefully unwind the nesting straws. Yes, some might think it's pretty gross to handle cocoons covered in tiny brown bee fecal matter, but trust me - you'll be fascinated by what you discover! (Check out my photos.) As you unwind the straws you'll find some cells filled with tiny, orange pollen mites, some cells filled with dozens of tiny chalcid wasp larvae, other cells empty because ants have invaded and stolen the bee larvae from its cell, and some containing the original pile of gorgeous yellow pollen and nectar, totally untouched. It's awesome!
Once you've separated the plump bee cocoons from the mud and crud, find a small plastic container with a lid. Poke some air holes in the lid, and stuff a few tissues in the bottom for cushioning - then place your loose cocoons inside. Add another tissue on top, pop on the lid, and store the container in the crisper drawer of your fridge. Just to be sure there's enough humidity to keep them from drying out, I also take a piece of old sponge and place it in a separate small plastic container nearby, with about a 1/2" of water. Check the sponge periodically to be sure it stays wet through their winter hibernation period.
If dealing with the mud and crud doesn't exactly sound appealing to you, just remove the inner nesting straws from the cardboard tubes and refrigerate them that way. Just make sure you protect them from getting shmooshed (a technical term) by placing them in a non-smelly coffee can or oatmeal container. Everything else is the same.
Unwind the used nesting straws before you toss 'em:
If you left your bees in their nesting straws over the winter, here's something to remember. By mid-June (or within two weeks of seeing the first bees emerge) all bees should have exited the straws, but it's important to unwind all of them before tossing them in the garbage. You'll be astounded at how many gorgeous, healthy (mostly female) bees are trapped inside!