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OfflinePsy Baba
That was zen, This is Tao
I'm a teapot User Gallery


Registered: 01/30/06
Posts: 16,430
Loc: The land of Ports.
Last seen: 2 years, 8 months
Mason Bees..... * 2
    #14175998 - 03/24/11 02:01 PM (12 years, 10 months ago)

For those who do not already know:

They don't sting, and are AWESOME for gardens, and you can buy them in dormant packages at plant nursery's.





Mason bee is a common name for species of bees in the genus Osmia, of the family Megachilidae. They are named from their habit of making compartments of mud in their nests, which are made in hollow reeds or holes in wood made by wood boring insects.

Species of the genus include the orchard mason bee, Osmia lignaria, the blueberry bee, O. ribifloris, and the hornfaced bee, O. cornifrons. The former two are native to the Americas and the latter to Japan, although O. lignaria and O. cornifrons have been moved from their native ranges for commercial purposes. The Red mason bee, Osmia rufa, is found across the European continent. There are over 130 species of mason bees in North America that are active from spring through late summer.

Spring mason bees (blue orchard and hornfaced) are increasingly cultivated to improve pollination for early spring fruit flowers. They are used sometimes as an alternative, but more often as an augmentation for European honey bees.

Unlike honey bees (Apis), they are solitary; every female is fertile and makes her own nest, and there are no worker bees for these species. Solitary bees produce neither honey nor beeswax. They are immune from acarine and Varroa mites, but have their own unique parasites, pests and diseases.

Most mason bees live in holes and can be attracted by drilling short holes in a block of wood. Blue orchard and hornfaced bees are excellent spring season pollinators and, since they have no honey to defend, will only sting if squeezed or stepped on. As such, they make excellent garden "pets", since they both pollinate the plants and are safe for children and pets.

A word of caution. To successfully raise mason bees, it is important to know the condition of the over-wintering cocoons. With drilled blocks of wood, you can not assess their health. As a result, pests can overtake the holes resulting in no or less surviving mason bees. It is advised to either place a paper insert into each drilled hole, or use straws/reeds/wood trays, any of which can be obtained through nurseries or online websites.

Harvesting cocoons in the fall helps reduce pests. Opening a portion of your straws will show pests (pollen mites, chalkbrood, etc.) that are present. There are websites that show you specifically what to do and what to look for. It is actually quite easy.

Osmia species are usually metallic green or blue, though many are blackish. Most have black ventral scopae which are difficult to notice unless laden with pollen. They have arolia between their claws unlike Megachile or Anthidium species. The number of Osmia species in North America is probably third in line after Andrena and Perdita.


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Sit up and meditate, there's no time to contemplate.
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Offlineurbanwolf
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Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 951
Loc: Universe; TX
Last seen: 7 years, 1 month
Re: Mason Bees..... [Re: Psy Baba] * 1
    #14176159 - 03/24/11 02:27 PM (12 years, 10 months ago)

It's like releasing a bunch of ladybugs into your garden, except you have to take care of these!

You know if we're going this far as to suggest mason bees, why not just go the distance and get honey bees?
Everyone loves honey.
Especially mead!


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"One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that, an unjust law is no law at all.” -- Martin Luther King Jr.

"Seek not abroad, turn back into thyself, for in the inner man dwells the truth." -- St. Augustine


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Invisiblethescientist
Registered: 03/09/02
Posts: 807
Loc: Dade County
Re: Mason Bees..... [Re: Psy Baba]
    #14178255 - 03/24/11 08:04 PM (12 years, 10 months ago)

There's also many more species of Lasioglossum than Osmia, due in part to a recent monograph on the subgenus Dialictus. The poorly revised cleptoparasitic genus Nomada may also have more species than Osmia in North America.

Western North America has an enormous diversity of native bee species. There are new species to be found and others facing extinction.

Bees!


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Offlinetwighead
mͯó
I'm a teapot


Registered: 08/27/08
Posts: 29,686
Loc: Glenn Gould's Fuck Windmill Flag
Last seen: 5 hours, 24 minutes
Re: Mason Bees..... [Re: thescientist]
    #14178274 - 03/24/11 08:07 PM (12 years, 10 months ago)

I love bees!



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¿Check out some art m8?



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