Mason Bees (Osmia Rufa) nesting in bamboo bee hotel

[MrDavidh49]

great video

[pixiebaggins]

@MrDavidh49 Thank you!

[paleosmoker]

I would like to make one of these but don't know anyone that owns one for me to examine. It would be helpful (and I would greatly appreciate it) if you could answer a few questions.

Is the back side a solid piece of wood?

How are the segments of bamboo held in place?

Thanks,

Paleo

[pixiebaggins]

@paleosmoker Hi Paleo. Yes...it has a solid piece of wood on the back...and the segments of bamboo are just rammed in so they don't shift. It's important not to use wood that's been treated in any way and put on north facing wall. I also have some on the ground that are very popular (one made by filling a piece of drainpipe with lengths of bamboo)

If you make one this weekend you may still catch the last of this year's Masons plus Leafcutters that are just starting to look for nests.

[howshawthebrave]

Nice bit of info about their pollinating prowess. I missed the opportunity of hosting some Mason bees. I watched them try every single nail hole on my garden shed at home & of course they gave up & moved on.

[geordiemilne]

Awesome!



[Ova40]

Do you know when the eggs will hatch and will you be filming it?

[pixiebaggins]

@Ova40 They will become fully developed adults by the end of this winter, then feed on the bee bread till they're ready to emerge next spring...and i'll be waiting with (hopefully) a proper video camera!

I'll store the bee hotel in an outside shed over winter to give them protection from the worst of the weather, but put it back out in the same position sometime in Feb 2012.

The adult females you can see in this video will die before the end of the summer.

[pixiebaggins]

Hee hee....it's fun isn't it? Off to film the hoards of b. pascuorum & b. pratorum on my comfrey now..... :)

[howshawthebrave]

Wohoo! You joined the film makersclub. Well done & keep it up!