Dianthidium bees make masons look like amateurs
Although they are not generally known as mason bees, the members of the genus Dianthidium certainly outshine Osmia bees when it comes to actually building something. Dianthidium bees collect pebbles,...
View ArticleFor healthy bees: Sow seeds, not war
The room was fluttering with bee conservationists. The seats were occupied by men and women from all over the Pacific Northwest who had agreed to donate considerable sums of personal time and money to...
View ArticleSix myths about mason bees
Wherever you find beekeepers you are likely to discover plenty of misinformation, fodder for the old joke about ten beekeepers having a dozen answers. It doesn’t even matter what kind of bees they...
View ArticleAre stingless bees moving north?
No one knows how they got there, but a colony of stingless bees was recently discovered at the Elizabeth Gamble Garden in Palo Alto, California. The scant information I’ve read came from an observation...
View ArticleThe best mason bee straws ever
When it comes to paper straws for cavity-nesting bees, I think I’ve tried them all. But last week, I was surfing around looking for a good deal when I came across SipSticks paper straws. They claim to...
View ArticleStalking Bees in the Oregon High Desert
Imagine e-mailing someone you met once, three years earlier at a beekeeping seminar. In a short note you write, “Why don’t I come visit you? You can feed me, entertain me, and chauffeur me around until...
View ArticleAre bamboo tubes causing mason bee Armageddon?
The scientist in me is wary of the words “always” and “never.” Although some things are for certain—like death and taxes—“always” and “never” hoist red flags in my mind, warning me that whatever is...
View ArticleWho’s that pollinating my garden?
It happens to nearly every beekeeper. You plant an array of flowering plants — from annual poppies to honeysuckle vines to crabapple trees — all tenderly selected to entice your darlings to forage. On...
View ArticleImmigrant bees that colonized North America
While humans were busy squabbling over the border between the United States and Mexico, a tiny black immigrant bee was discreetly homesteading in California. A new sighting of a Central American native...
View ArticleDistinctive domiciles for solitary bees
Who says bees don’t like castles and cabins, chalets and caves, or even cabanas and condominiums? As the saying goes, “Build them and they will come.” And they do. Pat Barberi of Barre, Vermont has...
View ArticleCultivating an obsession with bees
I awoke to wind. In the faint moon glow, I could see a chain of poplars silhouetted against the sky, the upper branches tossing and thrashing. Individual trees synchronized into a chorus line, bending...
View ArticleHow Can You Save a Bee?
You’ve seen posters and read bumper stickers. You’ve watched news videos and opened colorful solicitations for money. Cries of “Save the bees!” and “Protect our pollinators!” are ubiquitous, having...
View ArticleEmergence box vs hatching box: what’s the difference?
Sometimes I use the wrong word. Yesterday, when someone asked, “What’s a hatching box?” I felt sheepish. I should have written emergence box in my post on lovage. Here’s the question: I planted some...
View ArticleIt’s time to learn a new bee
Now that September looms and you’ve completed your crucial August mite management, I want you to take a breather. Relax for a moment and reflect on where you find beekeeping information and how you...
View ArticleThe eastern carpenter bee: an unloved nectar-robbing bee
Everyone wants to "save the bees" with one notable exception. What about this hardworking insect makes it a pollinating pariah? The post The eastern carpenter bee: an unloved nectar-robbing bee...
View ArticleOnce folk heroes, some beekeepers are targeted by ecoterrorists
Like most environmental problems, the question of how honey bees compete with native bees is complex. To answer the threats, you need to understand how bee competition works. The post Once folk heroes,...
View ArticleWhat happens when shrewd solitary wasps kill mason bees
Did you ever see a cloud of tiny insects nervously casing your mason bee house? If they reminded you or gnats or fruit flies, they may have been Monodontomerus parasitic wasps. The post What happens...
View ArticleLittle metallic green bees: a stunning surprise in your garden
Have you ever seen a tiny bee with a metallic green body buzzing about your garden and moving at the speed of light? That little bee might be an Agapostemon, also known as a metallic green bee. The...
View ArticleUpright hollow stems: much better than toxic mason bee houses
Toxic mason bee houses come from too many bees living together in a small area. To help the bees social distance, we can leave upright hollow stems in our gardens. Photo of western blue orchard bee...
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