Advanced Native Beekeeping

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Would you like to get more involved with managing your bees?

I love supporting my Orchard Mason 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 OMB 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.

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 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!  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!

Now, once you've got your cocoons separated from their straws, find a small plastic container with a lid.  Poke some air holes in the lid, and stuff a few tissues in the bottom - then place your cocoons inside.  Add another tissue on top, pop on the lid, and store the container in the crisper draw 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 with about a 1/2" of water.  Check the sponge periodically to be sure it stays wet.

Unwind the used nesting straws before you toss 'em:

For a couple of years I waited until I thought all the bees had hatched from their nesting straws and then I tossed the dirty, used straws in the trash.  Big mistake!  Once I started unwinding the straws before I threw them out - just out of curiosity - I was astounded and appalled at how many gorgeous, healthy (mostly female) bees flew out!

Moral of the story:  always unwind your used nesting straws before you put them in the garbage.  You'll save the lives of many spunky female Native Bees!