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 being said needs a closer look. Sometimes concealed with a synonym, those words often accompany a flawed statement. Meat is never […] Read more
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 be BPA-free, food safe, and FDA approved. The bees like that. But the thing that attracted me was […] Read more
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 keep, which means mason bees are no exception. Don’t get me wrong—I adore mason bees and I have kept them for ten […] Read more
Mason bees, leafcutting bees, and other cavity nesters are incredibly easy to please. The hype you hear about their tubes needing to be a specific diameter, or a special length, or placed in a particular location is mostly nonsense. Left alone in the wild (as they were for millennia) the bees find all types of […] Read more
Yesterday I got my first sting of the season. That would not be remarkable except for one detail: the culprit was a mason bee. A mason bee! I have never before been stung by such a creature. I’ve been keeping mason bees for about seven years, and during early spring the area around my patio […] Read more
You’d think my backyard was some kind of bee bordello. Behind my house, a large group of male mason bees is hovering, darting, circling and bumbling along the roof line. Occasionally one lands on the pollinator housing to rest, while another suns himself on the windowsill. But a newly-hatched female Osmia peeking out of her […] Read more
Caught in the act! This mason bee threesome was photographed by UK beekeeper Philippa Burgess. She got the shot a couple of years ago as the little tower of bees perched in her back garden for thirty minutes or more. Although we don’t have this species in the states, these bees appear to be Osmia […] Read more