Instead, they feed on the pollen and nectar stored for the bee larvae, thus starving the bee to death. Unlike the varroa mites that plague honey bees, pollen mites ( Chaetodactylus krombeini) do not feed on bees or spread disease. Each of these problems can be mitigated with a little planning. The most common problems of mason bees are pollen mites, mold, parasitic wasps, and predation by birds. Housing should be variable and constantly renewed. Stumps and berry canes rot, the holes in the ground wash away, the beetleīurrows may be picked apart by birds. In addition, nests in the wild are not regularly re-used. For that reason,Īfflictions that appear occasionally in nature, become overwhelming problems in One individual, it can spread quickly with nothing to stop it. Just like a feedlot or a chicken factory, once a disease affects Similarly, a predator who consumes one nest is unlikely to find all the other nests.īut in artificial nesting, we tend to put all the individualsĬlose together. Because the distance between each nest may be considerable, the chance of pestilence passing from one nest to another is small. For example, some bees may nest in a rotting log, some choose dead berry canes, and some are happy with old beetle borrows. In natural environments, most animals occur somewhat randomly. Just like honey bees, mason bees have naturally occurring pests, parasites, and predators that can sicken or kill them. Understand why things go wrong and then try to avoid those situations. To provide the very best housing for mason bees, it helps to Regardless of the material, tubes should be replaced every two to three years. Some of these purchased bamboo tubes seemed too large, but the masons used extra mud to constrict the openings. These are the very best bees, locally adapted and likely disease free. If you start by erecting your mason bee housing in a good location, you will get a few bees the first year - ones that randomly discover your wonderful condo! During the second year, the females that emerge will each fill several tubes with cocoons, and by the third year you are likely to be overrun. No licensing or registration is required to sell bees, so no one monitors what’s inside those expensive cocoons. He had a better emergence rate, but fully 20% of the live cocoons contained parasitic wasps instead of mason bees. Recently, a friend did a similar experiment with mason bees. To my surprise, only 30% yielded leafcutters and the others had been consumed by chalkbrood disease. Three years ago, I ordered some leafcutter bees from a local company and allowed them to emerge inside a mesh container. If you don’t buy mason bees, starting is a bit slower, but the results are worth the wait. Raising mason bees is as simple as buying or making suitable housing and placing it where it will be discovered by the bees that already live in your area.
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