Mason Bees

Beekeeping is not only one of the most fulfilling hobbies, but it also a most rewarding venture for agriculturists. There are, however, some limiting factors, including honey bee predators, being one of the biggest challenges to beekeepers. Some of these include: beetles, rodents, wasps, ants, mammals, and birds. Poor hive management that leads to improper mitigation of these pests and predators certainly weakens the bee colony. While honey bees may instinctively keep off most of their enemies using their stinger, they sometimes require some assistance from the beekeeper. The tiny bee is a target of small to large predators making it an insurmountable task for a single colony to defend itself from all these predators and pests. Some predators eat the honey bees as a whole whereas others are parasitic, sucking the life out of the bees. In this article, we will discuss how to protect honey and mason bees from birds.

A major affliction of honey and mason bees is the chalkbrood disease, which caused by the fungus Ascosphaera Apis. The diseases afflicts colonies of the honey bee the world over. It mummifies the larvae of honey bees, leaving larvae in bee brood cells hard on the outside and white on the inside. The mummified larvae looks like a piece of chalk, hence the name chalkbrood. This disease of honey bees affects both sealed and unsealed brood in a colony. These mycelia multiply and eventually engulf the entire larvae inside the cell and kill it. This guide helps you with chalkbrood disease treatment for honey and mason bees.

Mason bees are highly sensitive and require little management when compared to the honey bee. They are particularly prone to pesticides. It is therefore the responsibility of those who use pesticides in their lawn or garden, to ensure it does not drift into the mason bee houses. Flowering plants should also be free from pesticides, since the bees forage on these plants. This is not the only challenge faced by the mason bee. Pests, parasites and predators target mason bees as well. Consequently, they should be protected. This should be an all-season work on your part, leaving no chance for these enemies of the mason bee to attack.

Of all the domesticated bees in existence, the mason bee is perhaps one of the easiest to manage and maintain. It neither demands sophisticated tools nor require specialized skills to keep. In most cases, the mason bee will demand maintenance that takes about 3 hours or less and this is done about once a year. Of course, this will depend on the number of mason bee houses you have. Mason bees are a target to many pests, parasites and predators, and hence the need for maintenance. This is carried out in the fall and winter months. In this article, we'll discuss how to clean a mason bee house and why it is important to do so.

The process of harvesting mason bee cocoons is an important one. Harvesting in this case does not mean honey harvesting. Mason bees are kept for purposes other than honey. They are beneficial solitary bees that are used for pollination purposes. As a matter of fact, mason bees are more efficient pollinators when compared to the honey bee and other types of bees. This species of the bee is easy to keep and is usually active in early spring, a time when other pollinators are not.

If you would love to keep mason bees, then you have two options with regard to housing: DIY or buy commercial made mason bee homes. Irrespective of what you choose however, you will have to protect your mason bees from their natural predators, which include wasps. In this article we'll discuss different measures you can take to protect mason bees from wasps.

The making of a homemade mason bee house is an exciting project that involves simple woodworking that will take just a few minutes to get through with. This is a project that the kids will love to take part in; watching the bees as they construct their nest will definitely give yourself and the kids a sense of fulfillment.

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The Esschert Design WA38 Bee House is hardy and great for keeping successive generations of mason bees. The bee house is built with a set of unique features that sets it apart from other mason bee houses. Indeed, it is well worth considering for all mason beekeeping nature lovers. Let’s …

The Niteangel Natural Bee House is a cute little insect habitat built in a house style. It features a double slanting roof covering the area where bees and other insects will stay. The insect house is largely made of wood. It has some mesh covering the uppermost and lowermost sections. …