Mason Bee 2009 successes
At end of 2009 I collected together all my sealed mason bee reeds, paper straws and some tubes to show off the successes of the year. They are in cocoon phase so no bee visible. Having access to the tubes allows me to gently break open and disinfect (clean out) all the failed cells – of pollen mites and parasitic flies that feed off the work of these solitary bees and starve the young bee larvae. Doing this means the population of Osmia cornuta is less infested and starts off stronger for the next year. 400 cocoons were created from the previous year’s population of c.100 bees. Very pleasing results.
5 Responses to Mason Bee 2009 successes
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IMHO this is the best style of mason bee house, with instructions.
masonbee.blogspot.com
mmeds11
February 4, 2012 at 3:45 pm
Nicely done! your videos are always interesting and informative
andrewsreclaimedDIY
February 4, 2012 at 3:58 pm
@solitarybee Brilliant result. Thanks for the explantion. Unfortunately my moderate attempt at getting some solitaries to move into some tubes did not show any results this year. Maybe next year. However, I have been able to document the life cycle of a 6-spot burnet. We had hundreds in our garden. Unfortunately some cocoons were attacked by parasites and the moths died in their larval stage or just before eclosion.
rosmarinusofficialis
February 4, 2012 at 4:15 pm
@rosmarinusofficialis You were very quick off the mark! I had only loaded the video up two minutes ago, so the description is lacking. I am showing off all the sealed tubes from 2009 which resulted in c.400 mason bees, and the young bees are inside in their cocoon phase. I would later open up and clean out the parasites and count the cocoons (how I know I would have about 400 bees). Only 15 failed to emerge.
solitarybee
February 4, 2012 at 4:22 pm
Where are the bees then?
rosmarinusofficialis
February 4, 2012 at 4:34 pm