Last year I tried 80-100 count of mason bee on my small orchard but I only saw a few pollinating and no cocoons.
This year I went big and put in 3 homes with 280 bees count. I bought from crownbees.com and masonbeeforsale.com.
Will post here what happens.
I live in Sacramento area with a zone of 9a.
Homes facing south-east, mud available, cocoons put out 2nd week of February
Anyone here who had success with mason bees?
My Mason bee farm started over five years ago,after a co-worker introduced them to me.I’m not too far away from Crown Bees and that’s probably who supplied the initial little box of about a dozen,that was bought at a local hardware store.
From that first group,there are probably hundreds.There may be some locals mixed in.
A forum member in Arizona was having trouble starting his,so I sent a bunch,but it sounded like they didn’t stay around.
Where are your cocoons kept outside,just before they hatch?Is that the plastic tray?The house I have,has a lid on top and some holes for them to crawl out of.
Thanks for the reminder, I need to make some bee homes. Maybe this afternoon it will be a craft project.
Oh we have the same set up. I have 2 of that and the other one they are kept on the reeds. How many have you harvested before on your own cocoons? Keeping my 
.
I made one too using old logs in case they don’t want the house i bought for them.
Your block is about the same size as mine.They usually fill over 3/4 of the spaces,plus some in two other smaller ones.
If you have alot of woodpeckers you may want to bubble that screen outward in a U shape instead of flat. You could do it with what you have by attaching it to the inside of the board not the outside.
Mason bees are very big in France. Most gardens have them
We’ll see, I’m very hopeful. I dont know if this non stop rain will affect them.
I don’t think I have wood pecker here but thanks for the idea.
For what is worth, the mason bee condominiums are not the greatest approach. In nature they are solitary bees, putting them that close together makes them prone to disease and the dreaded bee mites. Is like setting up a buffet for those tiny bastards.
I harvested the cocoons today and here is a photo of them.They still need cleaning.Probably 150 of them.
I didn’t clean the boxes last year and noticed more dead ones and also small eggs from another insect.
Good to know. I’m a beginner when it comes to mason bee. Any suggestions?
Wow that’s a lot. I hope i can get to the same level. Only one have hatched so far. What time and month of the weeks are they active on your area?
Usually when air temperatures reach about 60F,the bees wake up and are hanging around the area,sunning themselves and waiting for warmer days.That’s probably in May and activity lasts 1-2 months.
Oh no my flowers would be done by then but I’m in zone 9a. We have so much rain in California. I know in Washington it rains a lot. Do you still see them when it is raining?
They may be active in your area,a month or more before mine.
That’s an interesting question,about the bees in rain.Something I haven’t paid attention to.It seems by the time temperatures are warm enough here,the precipitation fades.
Sometimes,I did see a few of them,waiting inside the box holes,during colder days.Maybe that’s what happens during heavy downpours.
What plants are your main targets for the bees?
There are Asian Plums and Pluots here,that usually bloom before they’re active.So,berries get most of the attention.
I got some mason bees a couple years ago & need to check the box. They have been active (blue masons) when apples bloom in eastern WA. The green are active the following month when my thornless summer bearing raspberries bloom - along with plenty of bumbles and solitary types throughout the season.
