I hung this bee house up a few months ago under the edge of my garden shed and pretty much forgot it. About two weeks ago I noticed that two of the holes were filled. Late this afternoon I took a picture and then decided to turn on the flash and take a straight on shot. Looks like I have more than two holes being filled. I haven’t actually seen what is doing the filling but I’m hoping that it is pollinators.
View 1
Looks like mason bees to me. Nice to have!
I hope they are mason bees.
The time i am most likely to find mason bees working on there home is in the afternoon when it is cooler
Thanks for the tip.
whats ID of those tubes?
I’m assuming ID is inside diameter. When it stops raining I will measure.
I don’t understand what a bee house does for bees. It looks like mud, like mud they bring fill in my can lights on my deck to make a wasp nest. I just let em’ do it cause I let them fly around me. I don’t bother them, they have other things to do too.
Thanks, Bill, anyone.
Dax
They lay eggs in the tubes for reproduction next year (i hope). The mud separates the eggs and protects them.
The tubes also allow them to be stored until they are ready. I haven’t stored any but I think sometimes they are put in cool/cold storage.
True. I know a guy who does that; also candles the eggs to make sure they are mite-free, and then distributes nests around town.
The bees using those tubes are different than the wasps making mud nests in your lights. I assume the wasps you have are what we call mud daubers. The bees using the tubes are excellent pollinators for your orchard. The tubes are designed for mason bees, they collect pollen to pack in those tubes for their offspring. Thanks again for the scion this year, Dax.
I have two questions. Can I just let these stay where they are and they will emerge next year? Could I have inserted paper tubes and slipped them out for storage and cleaning?
Not sure about your first question; I think that up here they might freeze out. But as to the second question, definitely yes.
They are pretty wonderful and low maintenance. I leave mine out all year and they seem to do good. I think a higher survival rate would be had if I were to do the coccoon thing in the fridge and all that stuff. I may move it into my shed for our crazy spikes but most years i just leave it and this year i did not at all and things always work. I keep mine as out of the wind as possible in a spot near my house that gets morning sun.
These are in afternoon shade so harder to get pictures of
This one is even in more shade and even harder to get pictures of but look at the little lady staring out of the smallest hole on the right!
Lots of action going on here as you can see they do not care if its motel 6 or the ritz really. Going to try to use my honeybee wax to seal up that corner one day.
Good to hear they can be left in place outside which is most likely were my bees will stay. If they can survive in Denver surely they will make it in Alabama. The Denver area is beautiful. I was fortunate in getting to spend about a week there on a business trip (around 1990).
Thank you! I do love it here and all its crazy weather i think we will be one of the cities that makes it 
These guys like most bees just need to be out of the wind and the direct afternoon sun and that covers them summer to winter! The other thing is to make sure within 100’ you have a water source like a birdbath fountain or crik and that there is a open spot near the houses for them to gather mud. I always wanted to drill holes and make my own mason bee houses out of stacked logs but instead i put those into my raised beds this year. Its important they lean forward so any water that gets in them drains out and please someone else chime in here that is about it for things they need to have a successful home.
Thanks
