Comments on: Bees start nest-building http://solitarybee.com/blog/2008/04/bees-start-nest-building/ Orchard Mason Bees and other native bees Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:20:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: sb http://solitarybee.com/blog/2008/04/bees-start-nest-building/comment-page-1/#comment-408 sb Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:17:09 +0000 http://solitarybee.com/blog/2008/04/03/bees-start-nest-building/#comment-408 Jen - I think they are effectively all having sweet dreams of abundant nectar so yes @50°F I would wait a little. For millions of years the bees and blossoms have synchronized perfectly their internal clocks with that of the pollinators. So if the sleeping bees in your locality are hesitant, the blossoms will also be. They'll also have the energy to sit it out so the uncovered flower buds can stay like that for several weeks. I know that over here in northern France it won't be till mid-march that there's even a chance of emergence of males in the natural population, and it's not before until April that the females really get going. Jen – I think they are effectively all having sweet dreams of abundant nectar so yes @50°F I would wait a little. For millions of years the bees and blossoms have synchronized perfectly their internal clocks with that of the pollinators. So if the sleeping bees in your locality are hesitant, the blossoms will also be. They’ll also have the energy to sit it out so the uncovered flower buds can stay like that for several weeks. I know that over here in northern France it won’t be till mid-march that there’s even a chance of emergence of males in the natural population, and it’s not before until April that the females really get going.

]]> By: Jen http://solitarybee.com/blog/2008/04/bees-start-nest-building/comment-page-1/#comment-407 Jen Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:04:02 +0000 http://solitarybee.com/blog/2008/04/03/bees-start-nest-building/#comment-407 Paul - Thank you for the advice! I think a few more weeks are in order, we are not yet getting temperatures above 50 degrees consistently and I took a close look at the neighboring cherry blossoms and you are right, they have not fully bloomed and I have not seen much in the way of other bee species just yet. A few, but not many. I hope my little guys and girls are happy to wait in the fridge for a while longer yet! Paul – Thank you for the advice! I think a few more weeks are in order, we are not yet getting temperatures above 50 degrees consistently and I took a close look at the neighboring cherry blossoms and you are right, they have not fully bloomed and I have not seen much in the way of other bee species just yet. A few, but not many. I hope my little guys and girls are happy to wait in the fridge for a while longer yet!

]]> By: sb http://solitarybee.com/blog/2008/04/bees-start-nest-building/comment-page-1/#comment-406 sb Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:01:52 +0000 http://solitarybee.com/blog/2008/04/03/bees-start-nest-building/#comment-406 Oh and another tip to encourage the bees to your block: When the bees emerge from the cocoons you have been supplied with, you may notice - not too far away from the cocoons were placed - that there are droplets of brown fluid that they dump before flying off (you'll see this dump occurring within seconds in the the above video). To other scanning bees this excretion (perhaps because of it's odour) may be a sign that this was a nesting place, and therefore probably a safe place to locate new cells. So if you are not squeamish, recover, dilute and smear any of this fluid over the front tunnel entrances of your new bee home and bees investigating your habitat may react more positively. It seemed to work with a freshly drilled block that I put in place last year. Despite having other tunnels available, they were using the block within 90 minutes of it being drilled and placed. ...and of course don't forget to place your block facing East, or at least where it will get sunlight for a good part of the day. It helps them get up in the morning. Oh and another tip to encourage the bees to your block:
When the bees emerge from the cocoons you have been supplied with, you may notice – not too far away from the cocoons were placed – that there are droplets of brown fluid that they dump before flying off (you’ll see this dump occurring within seconds in the the above video). To other scanning bees this excretion (perhaps because of it’s odour) may be a sign that this was a nesting place, and therefore probably a safe place to locate new cells.

So if you are not squeamish, recover, dilute and smear any of this fluid over the front tunnel entrances of your new bee home and bees investigating your habitat may react more positively. It seemed to work with a freshly drilled block that I put in place last year. Despite having other tunnels available, they were using the block within 90 minutes of it being drilled and placed.

…and of course don’t forget to place your block facing East, or at least where it will get sunlight for a good part of the day. It helps them get up in the morning.

]]> By: sb http://solitarybee.com/blog/2008/04/bees-start-nest-building/comment-page-1/#comment-405 sb Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:51:29 +0000 http://solitarybee.com/blog/2008/04/03/bees-start-nest-building/#comment-405 Hi there Jen... It's a very good question - thanks for asking it. To recap on my bee loss problem in 2008: direct sunlight on the window heated up the shed that my box was stored in, a bit like a greenhouse, however the outside temperature outside remained too low for the bees to fly. So many of them made all the effort to get out, and - finding it just too cold to properly warm up to fly off - ran through their energy stores as they couldn't restock on their necessary nectar sources. I have noted that my <em>Osimia cornuta</em> or "Red" Mason orchard bees (you may have the prevalent <em>Osmia lignaria</em> or "blue" Mason bees in the US) need at least 14/15°C (58°F) to adequately warm up their wing muscle metabolism and fly-off to find the blossom (or dandelion which is another favourite). They also need about two to three days of these temperatures before they come out of their cocoons. So, see whether your cherry blossoms are fully open (not just the outer petals showing like uncovered buds) and let nature guide you; check that other insects (not just bumble-bees which need lower temperatures) are flying into and around and into the open blossoms inferring they can obtain nectar. When this is the case and you have at least a two or three days stretch ahead of the necessary temperatures, I think it would be safe for you to bring your cocoons out. If there is a frost afterwards, this is not necessarily a bit problem. The blood of insects is glycol-based not water-based so the bees won't necessarily perish because of a frost. They will take shelter in nooks and crannies - even sitting in the tunnels you have provided to 'defend' any unfinished cells - and providing they have enough energy stores in their bodies - they will re-emerge into the sun and continue their work when the frost/low temperatures are over. Hi there Jen…
It’s a very good question – thanks for asking it. To recap on my bee loss problem in 2008: direct sunlight on the window heated up the shed that my box was stored in, a bit like a greenhouse, however the outside temperature outside remained too low for the bees to fly. So many of them made all the effort to get out, and – finding it just too cold to properly warm up to fly off – ran through their energy stores as they couldn’t restock on their necessary nectar sources.
I have noted that my Osimia cornuta or “Red” Mason orchard bees (you may have the prevalent Osmia lignaria or “blue” Mason bees in the US) need at least 14/15°C (58°F) to adequately warm up their wing muscle metabolism and fly-off to find the blossom (or dandelion which is another favourite). They also need about two to three days of these temperatures before they come out of their cocoons.
So, see whether your cherry blossoms are fully open (not just the outer petals showing like uncovered buds) and let nature guide you; check that other insects (not just bumble-bees which need lower temperatures) are flying into and around and into the open blossoms inferring they can obtain nectar. When this is the case and you have at least a two or three days stretch ahead of the necessary temperatures, I think it would be safe for you to bring your cocoons out.
If there is a frost afterwards, this is not necessarily a bit problem. The blood of insects is glycol-based not water-based so the bees won’t necessarily perish because of a frost. They will take shelter in nooks and crannies – even sitting in the tunnels you have provided to ‘defend’ any unfinished cells – and providing they have enough energy stores in their bodies – they will re-emerge into the sun and continue their work when the frost/low temperatures are over.

]]>