Solitary bee nesting activities

[fishingcostarica]

A little trick with plastic tubing. Place the cut lengths in a fry pan and cover with a little water and bring to a boil. In front of your eyes, they will become perfectly round and strait.

[jmmydl]

This is a really cool idea. I'll definitely be trying it out. Where was this video shot by the way?

[solitarybee]

Hi jmmydl - the videos (and of course the bees I have) are from Northern France. It won't be long until I post a video of how to make a bee observation box just like this one but much better.

My bees have just come out in this last week (end March 2010) and they are already taking to the tubes.

[solitarybee]

@jmmydl - just posted 'How to make a mason bee osbservation box' hope you like it, and give it a thumbs up!

[copefarms]

what an awesome design I may have to try something like that.

What size are the tubes ?

[solitarybee]

The inner diameter of the tubes on this box is about 9mm although you can go as small as 7 or 6 mm with certain mason bees. I just put in place a box with 10mm tubes and I think it will work also... my bees don't seem to mind... will post a video of the new box in the next ten days.

[solitarybee]

@copefarms - just posted a new video of 'How to make a mason bee osbservation box' hope you enjoy watching it - give it a thumbs up if it's useful!

[simbirdcom]

Brilliant ! I see the tubes are placed horizontal onto the wall and you are filming looking down on them from the above window ;-)

[solitarybee]

Yes, its position was chosen because either side of the door below (with the window above) the existing wild population has been nesting between the sandy wall bricks. It was an ideal choice and hence why I could position the box where they would find it.

[sigma1920]

very interesting!

are the tubes placed vertically?

what happens to the nests if it rains?

[solitarybee]

The tubes are vertical and I have a removable lid which is only taken off for a matter of minutes. They are so busy competing for the nesting opportunity that they don't slow down their activities.

[Hawkeladye30]

Hi,

I am going to try to attract mason bees to our home this spring by putting out nesting boxes. It was too late to order them. We just planted fruit trees and hope that we can attract them and then keep them. I've been researching mason bees and came across your video. It is a great thing to do to help our planet by saving the bees!

[solitarybee]

Thanks. These guys once established only require that you keep offering them more tunnels each year to expand and pollinate your trees (as they do mine). Apparently if offered enough nesting tunnels they can increase by a factor of 6 - although maybe more than half  will necessarily be males. Good luck with your nesting boxes.

[mondevivant]

Cool !

[solitarybee]

C'est bien comme passe-temps. Si vous avez le temps, il faut essayer de construire les nichoirs pour eux en 2009. Ils sont tellement importantes pour notre planète.

It's a great hobby. If you have time, consider building a DIY habitat for them in 2009. they are very important for our planet.

[mondevivant]

Hello, oui vous avez raison, sans les abeilles, pas de fruits, de légumes, Einstein avait dit : "Si les abeilles disparaissent, l'humanité n'aurait plus que quelques années à vivre !" En plus des nichoirs, ne pas utiliser d'insecticides et favoriser le bio ! Pourriez-vous me donner des conseils pour faire un nichoir, les tubes en plastiques ne sont-ils pas dangereux pour elles, est-ce que les larves supportent bien l'hiver dans ce nichoir ? Merci et encore bravo !

[solitarybee]

Désolé pour le temps que ça m'a pris pour les conseils pour faire un nichoir. Je suis en train de construire un nouveau modèle et dès que j'ai crée la vidéo je vous envoi le lien. Sans problème de suite je mets le nichoir dans un endroit pas trop humide.

[solitarybee]

Thanks Loona. I think it is. I get to see and film all their activities, and there are some 'new' formerly hidden events that have come to light: in one solitary bee cell, multiple larvae hatched and then they ate eat other to have one very large survivor. It may be a parasitic wasp, or perhaps another bee species whose internal life-cycle has never been seen before. I am tracking its development and will shortly post a video about it.

[LoonaBimberton]

What a neat idea!