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
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 posted to iNaturalist on Sunday, March 31. The bees are in the genus Plebeia, a member of the Meliponini tribe, which […] 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
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 tramp across the tristate area and survey bumble bees. Butterfly nets, catch jars, and t-shirts were stacked next to doughnuts, coffee, […] Read more
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, stones, and gravel, then cement them together to form a structure that can be pounded by the elements. The resulting nests are both impressive and […] Read more
What do I do on a rainy winter day? I look at bee photos, of course. During bee season I take a zillion portraits, but I rarely have time to study them because there are always more pictures to take. But finally the time has come. Here are some favorite bees I recently found in […] Read more
This mesmerizing photo, shot by iNaturalist member “Stonebird,” is the best depiction of a mating lek I have ever seen. It is so dense with bees, it almost looks like a honey bee swarm. I cropped the photo a bit so you can see the details, but the branch holds many more of these striking […] Read more