Successfully expanding mason bee habitats
Partly because of the vast amount of activities I have observed this spring (too many happening in parallel) and now summer, and partly the vast amount of changes in my professional life in the week days away from my bees (which is usually when I catch up on writing). I simply haven’t had the time to give satisfactory detailed accounts at the time it was all happening with my main population of O. cornutas, beyond my mason bees emerging and the male bee party post.
However I have also been busy trying to spread the word about Solitary bees on Facebook (250 members as of today!), although perhaps neglecting my tweets on Twitter account a little. Nevertheless I am happy to say that 300+ people and organisations are now following and listening to what I am up to. It’s a shame that I can’t read everything that’s going on there, but I am trying, it’s equally a shame that I can’t realistically listen to all the honey bee keepers that add me.
This lack of time to launch my plan to save the world through solitary bees, and watching other people develop their bee saving projects, has of course made me really focus in on what I want to do, or more clearly what I can do… and that is focussing on expanding solitary bee populations, starting first with mason bees.
Now that my main bee nesting activities have ceased, I have now decided that the best thing I can do is shift to to theme-based postings. I can be more useful to the emerging community solitary bees on the web, if I spend my time focussing in on particular experiences and events.
April 4th, 2011 at 10:02 pm
hi there, I am on salt spring isl, I saw your talk at the conservancy and loved it.
I have been neglectful of my mason bees house for a few years.
this year, after your talk I was inspired to go and buy a new set up, a nice wooden one that is easy to clean and take out the larva.
anyway, i decided to pull out the cardboard tubes, open them and clean them out as they had not been done in a few years, not sure what to find.
some had viable bees just emerging and nice looking larva.
other cells were full of something I do not know.
lots of pollen, jam packed into little spaces.
not sure what to do with these guys?
any idea what it might be?
thanks!