Best Mason Bee Kits with Bees

Mason bees are great pollinators, even better than honey bees. The best mason bee kits available come with mason bees and other solitary bees that beekeepers raise for pollination purposes. Mason bee kits with bees are great for both home gardens and large agricultural purposes. Mason bees form nests that expand quickly. They take about one year to go through a full lifecycle from cocoon and back to the cocoon stage. Starting a mason bee population requires you to first have some cocoons. Once the mason bees emerge from cocoons, they use the same space they emerged from as their nesting area. They lay eggs in the same nest and the larvae from these eggs form cocoons that will give you the next generation of mason bees.

Using Mason Bee Kits With Bees

Starting a mason bee population with cocoons is easy. You buy the cocoons from sellers such as Crown Bees and install them in the mason bee house. In a small period of time, you will have a large number of mason bees in the nest. You can buy the mason bee house separately from other items you need such as nesting tubes and attractants. Mason beekeepers also have the option of getting everything in one package. It is best to go for the complete set which includes the mason bee house, nesting tubes, and attractant since it makes purchasing the requirements easy. You do it once, instead of making multiple purchases, sometimes from different suppliers. In this article, we will discuss the best mason bee kits that come packaged with bees.

 

Overview of the Best Mason Bee Kits with Bees

5. Bee House Upgrade Kits with Solitary Bees

Upgrade your existing mason beekeeping operation with this kit from Crown Bees. The kit gives you an impressive set of additions to use in mason beekeeping. It also works well with other solitary bees such as leafcutter bees. Crown Bees offers this upgrade kit in two options: Spring Garden Upgrade Kit and the Summer Garden Upgrade Kit. The spring garden upgrade kit is tailored for rearing mason bees, whereas the summer garden upgrade kit is more suited for use in leafcutter bee production. Accessories to mason beekeeping are the major items included in the Bee House Upgrade Kits with Solitary Bees. This means that there is no housing included in the upgrade kits.

Mason beekeepers purchasing the Spring upgrade kit are provided with nesting material, mason bee cocoons, and a guide to raising native bees. Cocoons of mason bees that come in the package are acclimatized to your region for better survival. They release fully developed mason bees into the nesting area you place them in. The mason bees then establish a colony quickly in the nesting area and provide you with pollination services. During purchase, Crown Bees gives you the option to have reeds or reusable mason bee wood trays included. Reeds are great for mason beekeeping because the bees love them. They cannot be reused, so you need a fresh set of nesting materials once the season is over. Wood trays used in mason bee nesting areas are easy to take apart, clean up and reuse to lower costs and save money.

Highlights

• The components of this kit work very well with your other mason beekeeping equipment. Crown Bees includes a complete set of the components for your use rearing mason bees.
• You can choose between two nesting options with this kit; natural reeds or wooden trays. Natural reeds are one-time-use while wooden trays are reusable.
• Attractant to bring more mason bees to your mason bee house is included in this upgrade kit.

Other items you get in the Spring Garden Upgrade Kit include HumidiBee hydrating pack to keep the mason bees cocoons hydrated. This ensures the best maturity of the mason bees and easy escape of the bees from their cocoons. You also receive the mason bee attractant, InvitaBee Plus+ in the package. Use it to attract more mason bees into your mason bee house. In the package, you also get an instructions sheet, a mason bee mud mix, and a BeeGuard bag. The BeeGuard bag is a bag for protecting mason bee cocoons when they are developing. A fine mesh is used in manufacturing the bag so that it prevents predators from accessing the mason bee cocoons. Mud for mason bees is also provided so that they have the type of mud they prefer best.

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4. Cabin Bee House Kits with Bees

The Cabin Bee House Kits with Bees package gives you a multi-purpose mason bee house solution. It combines housing for both mason bees and leafcutter bees. This package is set this way so that you have the option to choose between mason bees that are active in spring and leafcutter bees that are active in summer. You can also go for a mix of both mason bees and leafcutter bees. Having both types of bees in the house gives you pollination in both the summer and spring seasons of the year. This cabin bee house kits with bees make the raising of mason bees quite easy and fun for you.

Using the Cabin Bee House Kits for mason bee rearing is not difficult. Both beginner and experienced beekeepers are able to do it. It even has a keyhole slot in its back for your easy installation of the bee house. Of course, the keyhole slot also makes removing the bee house from your chosen location easy. The kits come with a house, reeds or wood trays, an attractant, and a guide to rearing solitary bees. When making your package purchase, note that reeds are great for mason bees. They are, however, not reusable. Wood trays that you can include in the package give you a reliable option to raise mason bees, and they are reusable. It is, therefore, better to go for wood trays if you are keeping mason bees on a long-term basis.

Highlights

• This kit can be used with mason bees and other solitary bees for the best pollination in your garden in both the spring and summer seasons.
• A keyhole slot in the kit’s bee house makes installation and use of the bee house easy for you.
• Crown Bees makes this bee house kit using wood that is friendly to mason bees. It is also high-quality wood that lasts for a long time.

In this package, the cabin bee house is built using wood. It has a peaked roof and wooden sides. The peaked roof drains water and snow to the sides of the cabin bee house. Outer surfaces of the wooden walls of the cabin are ridged. They look very stylish and add beauty to the cabin bee house. You have six compartments in the cabin bee house. Two compartments at the bottom of the house are square in cross-section. They are great for use with reeds. In the middle, there are two rectangular compartments. They are great for use with wood trays. In the upper section of the cabin house, under the roof, are two triangular cross-section compartments. They are great for the release of your mason bee cocoons when starting a population of mason bees in the cabin.

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3. Station Bee House Kits with Bees

This is a mason beekeeping package kit with a diamond-shaped bee house. In the package, you get a bee house, some attractant for solitary bees, natural reeds for bee habitation, a guide booklet for solitary beekeeping, and mason bee mud mix, among others. It is important to note that the package allows for the rearing of both mason bees and leafcutter bees. Compose your package before purchase to tailor it to your specific needs. If you are into keeping mason bees only, go for the spring kit option of this package. For keeping mason and leafcutter bees, go for the spring and summer option of the package. Natural reeds are provided in this package. Mason bees love them and establish a population in the bee station without any hesitation. The guide included in the package is a great help in your mason beekeeping.

Keeping mason bees with the spring and summer option is great. It makes the bee station bee house kits with bees one of the best mason bee kits with bees. In the package, you get a bee station made of northwest cedarwood, 10 mason bee cocoons that are acclimated to your region, and a BeeGuard bag made of fine mesh. Use the provided BeeGuard bag to protect mason bee cocoons in the bee station.  HumidiBee is also provided in the package. It keeps the mason bee cocoons in the bee station hydrated until young mason bees are ready to emerge from the cocoons.

Highlights

• The components of this kit are well-thought-out and ensure your mason beekeeping is successful. They make a great package for the rearing of mason bees in a favorable environment.
• You are provided with mason bee cocoons upon purchase of this kit. The cocoons are acclimatized to your region.
• The design of the mason bee house in this kit is very good. It allows the house to be functional and aesthetically appealing.

The Bee Station Bee House Kits with Bees come with a peaked-roof bee station. It is made using wood and features a roof with enough overhangs to keep water and snow from the inside of the bee station. There is adequate space inside the station for holding all the reeds provided in the package. Installing the bee station is also easy once you settle on a location. The bee station has a single compartment, so all reeds are together. During installation, make sure the reeds are not all of the same lengths so that your mason bees are able to find their respective reeds easily. Beekeepers using this bee station package are provided with enough cocoons to start a healthy nest of mason bees. They also get some attractant to lure more mason bees.

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2. Tower Bee House Kits with Bees

Townhouse Bee House Kits of the burgundy roof type with bees are a solution that gives you great space for mason beekeeping. The house features three compartments for mason beekeeping. Wood is the material that Crown Bees uses in manufacturing this townhouse’s floor, sides, and roof. Making this house applies a stylish design. It has two large compartments and a smaller floor compartment. The floor compartment is great for holding your mason bee cocoons. Having two large compartments allows for use of many nesting reeds and the large wood tray in raising mason bees. The house measures 12 inches in height, 9 inches in width, and is 9.5 inches in length. On the rear side of the house, there is a keyhole slot for ease when installing or removing the bee house.

In this kit, you get useful components including natural reeds for mason bees. These are the 8-millimeter reeds that mason bees love. Crown Bees gives you 35 such natural reeds in the purchase package. You also get mason bee cocoons upon your purchase of the townhouse bee house kits – burgundy roof with bees. 20 mason bee cocoons are given to you in the purchase package for establishing a mason bee colony. They are enough for both beginner and experienced mason beekeepers. Mason bees set up a nest quickly and multiply their numbers very fast. Another major item you get with this kit is a native bee guide. It is a detailed step-by-step guide in the form of a booklet. Its 26 pages of detailed information help you start and run a successful mason beekeeping operation for your garden’s pollination.

Highlights

• A set of three compartments in this kit’s Townhouse Mason Bee House is well-thought-out. It allows the best use of space to provide nesting areas for mason bees and a cocoon holding area.
• The design and construction of the mason bee house in this kit are great. It makes the bee house beautiful and durable.
• Mud that mason bees need for their nests is provided in this kit.

Both major and minor components of this kit make it one of the best mason bee kits with bees. The minor components such as InvitaBee attractant, HumidiBee, Mason Bee Mud, and BeeGuard bag are all useful in the mason beekeeping process. InvitaBee attractant helps lure more mason bees to the nest for a larger starter population. HumidiBee ensures the best health and easy release of mason bees from cocoons. BeeGuard bag is great to protect your mason bee cocoons from predators until they release young mason bees. Crown Bees includes some mud for your mason bees to use in making compartments in their nesting tubes.

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1. Chalet Bee House Kits With Bees

The Chalet Bee House Kits with Bees is a dynamic option for rearing mason bees in an easy and effective way. The kit comes with a wide range of items that are of great help in your mason bee rearing operation. You can also choose from several customizations and add-ons when you are making your purchase of this kit. This variety in the kit makes the Chalet Bee House Kits with Bees a reliable way to go when you are starting mason beekeeping or expanding your mason beekeeping operation. In your purchase of the Chalet Bee House Kit, you get a bee house, natural reed tubes, native bee (leafcutter) cocoons, InvitaBee® attractant spray, and a detailed Native Bee Guide booklet. This makes up the Summer Kit option of this mason bee house kit.

In addition to the Summer Kit option, you can get this Chalet Bee House Kits with Bees in a Spring kit option. This adds HumidiBee® cocoon hydrator, Invitabee® Plus+, BeeGuard® protective bag, Mason Bee mud mix, and an instructions sheet to the package that you receive. While you get 200 leafcutter bee cocoons with the Summer Kit option, you receive 20 mason bee cocoons with the Spring Kit option. It ensures that you are raising the appropriate native bees for the season of the year. You may also want the more inclusive Dual Season Kit of this Chalet Bee House Kits with Bees. The Dual Season Kit gives you all the items that make up the Spring Kit in addition to coming with two (2) types of reeds and both leafcutter and mason bee cocoons.

Highlights

• This mason bee kit comes with bee cocoons that are ready to emerge and acclimatized to your region. It includes enough cocoons of mason bees and leafcutter bees which makes it a complete package for raising native bees.
• Chalet Bee House Kits with Bees comes with a beautifully designed and constructed bee house. It is built in a chalet style. The bee house is both functional and its visual appeal adds beauty to the area where you place it.
• Different items that make up this kit are well-thought-out and useful in raising the different types of native bees you might be interested in.

The chalet bee house of this kit is made using Pacific Northwest cedarwood. It is durable and attractive to both mason bees and leafcutter bees. Crown Bees makes the roof of the house in a garbled design that is great at keeping the interior spaces of the mason bee house dry and protected from weather elements. Additionally, the kit comes with 70 natural reeds of either 6mm diameter or 8mm diameter. Leafcutter bees prefer the 6mm reed tubes, and rearing mason bees is best when you do it using 8mm natural reed tubes.

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Conclusion

Crown Bees has established itself as a reliable provider of mason beekeeping supplies. The company is a great companion for beekeepers going into mason beekeeping. It has various product packages including single items and bundled kits. Products by Crown Bees for mason beekeeping include houses, nest tubes, and attractants among others. Bundled products make useful kits that make the acquisition of everything you need easy. Kits allow you to also purchase items you are sure will work well together. They are great for both beginner and experienced beekeepers. Use these best mason bee kits with bees to raise your mason bees and other solitary bees.

What are your thoughts on the best mason bee kits discussed above? Leave a comment below and let us know.