Mason Bee houses...worth it?? - Page 2

claherron · January 25, 2014

Down here we call them carpenter bees and they are almost as bad as termites. I am shocked that you would want them near your property. Luckily my house is hardie board siding they don't chew on it, but my deck has been trashed by them. I have to set traps and to be honest they don't even mess with my flowers. I agree bumble bees much better.

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rwsacto · January 25, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by claherron

Down here we call them carpenter bees and they are almost as bad as termites. I am shocked that you would want them near your property. Luckily my house is hardie board siding they don't chew on it, but my deck has been trashed by them. I have to set traps and to be honest they don't even mess with my flowers. I agree bumble bees much better.

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Up here mason bees and carpenter bees are not the same. Carpenter (think wood) bees make holes, mason (think mud brick) bees find holes and plug them. Mason bees are only out in the spring. There for the fruit trees, not there for summer vegetables.

Rick

Worth1 · January 25, 2014

Yes Carpenter bees and mason bees are two totally different critters.
Carpenter bee.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.cWc&cad=rja

Mason Bee
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.cWc&cad=rja

Worth

loulac · January 26, 2014

Attracting wild bees in a garden can be an inexpensive non-polluting way of fighting pests. Personally I won’t drill again holes in a piece of wood, most were left empty when short sticks of brambles in which I had drilled 6 or 8 mm holes had all been filled. Bigger holes were rarely occupied I can’t guarantee US bees have the same preferences as French ones but making small bundles of bramble sticks can’t do any harm as long as you first cut off the thorns…

beeman · January 26, 2014

Solitary bees, of which there are dozens of species, are very particular regarding nesting size holes. Anything too big or too small will be totally ignored.
I believe the hole size for Mason bees is 5/16ths of an inch, and they also prefer other nesters along side them.
A prolific Mason female will fill a number of 6 inch tubes in their very short season.

claherron · January 26, 2014

It's seems I got mixed up again, the two bees must not get along well because I don't remember seeing any mason bees ever. Carpenter bees on the other hand are everywhere.

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Worth1 · January 26, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by claherron

It's seems I got mixed up again, the two bees must not get along well because I don't remember seeing any mason bees ever. Carpenter bees on the other hand are everywhere.

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Just remember carpenter bees are members of the carpenters union and mason bees are members of the masons union.

Worth

claherron · January 26, 2014

Haha!

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Labradors2 · January 26, 2014

Well who do you think has been re-pointing the stone work on our house? Whatever they use is as hard as cement, so I don't know how the little B's would ever manage to exit, but who knows?

Linda

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

Just remember carpenter bees are members of the carpenters union and mason bees are members of the masons union.

Worth

gssgarden · January 26, 2014

Early season pollination isn't a problem. Mid and Late season is. Just saw a drop off in bee's last year as the heat went up and the season went on.

Probably just plant some perennials that attract them.

Thanks,

Greg

troad · January 26, 2014

Just as a side note there is a type of Mason bee called a Hornfaced bee. Same genus as the Mason bee. Also a gentle solitary bee. They like holes that are 5/16 ". If the holes are smaller then more male bees are produced. Apparently the nesting mother bee can adjust the sex of the eggs according to the size of the hole. See http://www.pollinatorparadise.com/so...s/hornface.htm
Very interesting reading since it is too early to be in the garden.

troad · January 26, 2014

A related interest for people who enjoy bees:
http://tomclothier.hort.net/page38.html

Geezer · January 27, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

Just remember carpenter bees are members of the carpenters union and mason bees are members of the masons union.

Worth

Sorry Worth, y'all got it wrong. Mason bees know the secret handshake.

Worth1 · January 27, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geezer

Sorry Worth, y'all got it wrong. Mason bees know the secret handshake.

Now that you mention it I did see one with a tiny ring last summer.

Worth

January 26, 2014	#26
troad Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Des Moines, WA. Posts: 358	Just as a side note there is a type of Mason bee called a Hornfaced bee. Same genus as the Mason bee. Also a gentle solitary bee. They like holes that are 5/16 ". If the holes are smaller then more male bees are produced. Apparently the nesting mother bee can adjust the sex of the eggs according to the size of the hole. See http://www.pollinatorparadise.com/so...s/hornface.htm Very interesting reading since it is too early to be in the garden. __________________ There's a fine line between gardening and madness.

January 26, 2014	#27
troad Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Des Moines, WA. Posts: 358	A related interest for people who enjoy bees: http://tomclothier.hort.net/page38.html __________________ There's a fine line between gardening and madness.

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January 25, 2014	#16
claherron Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Mississippi Posts: 47	Down here we call them carpenter bees and they are almost as bad as termites. I am shocked that you would want them near your property. Luckily my house is hardie board siding they don't chew on it, but my deck has been trashed by them. I have to set traps and to be honest they don't even mess with my flowers. I agree bumble bees much better. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

January 25, 2014	#18
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Yes Carpenter bees and mason bees are two totally different critters. Carpenter bee. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.cWc&cad=rja Mason Bee http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.cWc&cad=rja Worth

January 26, 2014	#19
loulac Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: France Posts: 554	Attracting wild bees in a garden can be an inexpensive non-polluting way of fighting pests. Personally I won’t drill again holes in a piece of wood, most were left empty when short sticks of brambles in which I had drilled 6 or 8 mm holes had all been filled. Bigger holes were rarely occupied I can’t guarantee US bees have the same preferences as French ones but making small bundles of bramble sticks can’t do any harm as long as you first cut off the thorns…

January 26, 2014	#20
beeman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 692	Solitary bees, of which there are dozens of species, are very particular regarding nesting size holes. Anything too big or too small will be totally ignored. I believe the hole size for Mason bees is 5/16ths of an inch, and they also prefer other nesters along side them. A prolific Mason female will fill a number of 6 inch tubes in their very short season.

January 26, 2014	#25
gssgarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: N.C. Posts: 1,827	Early season pollination isn't a problem. Mid and Late season is. Just saw a drop off in bee's last year as the heat went up and the season went on. Probably just plant some perennials that attract them. Thanks, Greg