Pollination

Mason Bee Cocoons

Osmium lignaria ssp. lignaria
Ten dormant mason bee cocoons come in a small glass vial. Store the vial in a safe spot in the refrigerator until about a week before crops begin to bloom. When the nest site has been cleaned and prepared, remove the tab from the vial and secure it to the nest site. Be sure that it doesn't fall out. As the sun warms the nest site, the bees will emerge. Mason bees mate soon after emerging from their cocoons and then female bees begin foraging for mud and pollen which they deposit in the nest site. Complete instuctions included with each vial of cocoons. It is important that the nest site receive good morning light.
Sold out for spring 2012!
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They come in a package that measures 10cm wide x 8cm tall x 10cm long.

Mason Bee Complete Care Kit

This pollinator kit contains everything you need for keeping mason bees. Perfect for the novice bee rancher who wants to support these hardworking native pollinators, this kit makes being a bee helper simple and straightforward. The Complete Care Kit makes a great gift, and provides a unique educational opportunity for kids. Kit includes a starter cottage, book, poster (ZHG524A-available all year) or with 10 bee cocoons. (ZHG524B-bees are available for shipping with the kits November through May each year). Each version of this kit comes in a package that is 21cm wide, 8cm tall, and 28cm long.

Mason Bee Deluxe Care Kit

There are few simpler ways to educate yourself and your family about the life cycles of beneficial garden insects than to cultivate docile mason bees. Everything needed for a large garden area in one convenient package: The Mason Bee Heritage House with predator guard, 20 bee cocoons, five Quick-Lock Stacking Trays with room for thirty bees, the Bee Scoop for easy removal of fall cocoons, the Mason Bee Lifecycle Poster, the book "Pollination with Mason Bees",  Save money with this comprehensive kit! The package for both versions of this kit is 25cm wide, 27cm tall, and 32 cm long.

Mason Bee Heritage House

This attractive cedar house provides a long lasting shelter for 30 bees. Inside the house there is a stack of 5 nesting trays which can be removed and separated for easy annual maintenance. The space above the trays can be used to place hibernating cocoons over the winter to encourage their safe emergence in the next pollinating season. The house comes with a predator guard and basic instructions. This Heritage House is 20cm wide x 18cm tall x 23cm long.

Mason Bee Lifecycle Poster

This laminated poster is ready to hang in your workshop area as a reminder of what to do and when for successful management of your Mason Bees throughout the four seasons. All your questions are answered on one page. This poster makes a great educational tool for kids. This poster is 21cm wide and 28cm long.

Mason Bee Observation Box

This glassed in, closable case has a hole at one end for mason bees to get in and out. The enclosed tubes allow you to watch us they build their chambers, store food for their yoyung, and lay their eggs. The larva then mature and spin cocoons for their winter rest. This is a fantastic teaching tool, and reveals the private lives of mason bees! This observation box is 20cm wide, 6cm tall, and 12cm long.

Mason Bee Scoop

This Mason Bee harvest scoop is the perfect tool to remove mason bee cocoons from their nesting tunnels. The curve of the scoop is set to maximize ease of use and minimize damage to cocoons. Mason bee cocoons are harvested from nests in October to December. Directions: Open the Beediverse Nesting Trays and set them on a flat surface. Each nesting tunnel contains the smaller male cocoons at the front of the nest and female cocoons at the back. Hold the scoop at a 33 degree angle with the pointed end of scoop at base of nesting tunnel. Gently push and lift scoop to ease mason bee cocoons out of each tunnel. This scoop is 22cm long.

Mason Bee Starter Cottage

The Starter Cottage contains 20 nesting tubes for 20 female bees. In early spring, wild mason bees search for nest sites such as the Starter Cottage. Mason bees can also be bought and placed inside the Starter Cottage if you create a space by removing one or two of the tubes. In the fall, the bee cocoons are removed from the tubes for annual cleaning and storage. Replacement tubes are also available. The "A" size package is 8cm wide, 8cm tall, and 21cm long. The "B" size package is 8cm wide, 11cm tall, and 21cm long.

Mud Muffin

A mason bee Mud Muffin is a ball of specially selected clay that you can hang somewhere near your mason bee house. The females will land on it and remove small amounts for use in their nests - these bees really are masons. They use the clay to seal off sections of their nesting tubes, laying one egg, and depositing one portion of food in each section. Providing them with the clay in an obvious source nearby makes their job easier - particularly if your soil is not high in clay content. Each Mud Muffin has a string attached for hanging in the vicinity of your mason bee house.

Nesting Tubes

Cardboard Mason Bee nesting tubes are attractive to the solitary mason bees and are an inexpensive way of getting started. The 35 tubes are closed at one end and ready for use. Make your own Tubes are a one-time use nest, but unoccupied tubes are re-useable. In the fall (Oct-Dec), unfurl tubes to gather, wash and store the hibernating mason bee cocoons. This item is 7cm wide, 7cm tall, and 16cm long.

Quicklock Stacking Trays

These Mason Bee stacking nesting trays are made from biodegradable corn plastic trays are interlocking and long lasting. Easy to assemble and clean, you can create your own shelter design (try a birdhouse look or a pipe) to protect the trays from weather. Set the stack of 5 (2part) trays horizontally into a dark container 5-8cm (2-3") deeper than the 15cm (6") trays. One set provides 30 nesting sites.

Wild Bee and Ladybug House

Mount this specially designed wild bee & ladybug house in your garden to provide beneficial insects with an over-wintering shelter. The variously sized bamboo tubes will attract a range of different wild solitary bees, and the solid wood block is perfect for ladybird beetles (ladybugs). Made of FSC cedar. Note: this house is not suitable for mason bees, as it does not disassemble for annual maintenance.