Gardeners understand the critical importance of pollinators to our food and ornamental crops–we’d be in big trouble without them. Keeping mason bees is just one thing you can do to nurture pollinators in your little part of the world. Don’t let the word “bee” scare you. These are non-aggressive, non-stinging bees that will want nothing to do with you but everything to do with the pollen-laden flowers in your garden.
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Mason bees are native, non-stinging bees that are common throughout most of the US. There are about 140 species in North America and 200 species worldwide.
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Mason bees are non-social, solitary bees that do not form colonies. Every hole in a mason bee hive represents a different nest. The bees do not share nests.
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Mason bees live for only 8-10 weeks in spring, then the males die off and the females lay eggs that will hatch the following spring.
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Mason bees are super efficient pollinators. They can pollinate up to 20 times more flowers per day than honey bees.
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It takes just 2-3 mason bees to pollinate an entire mature apple tree.
