Named for their use of “masonry” such as mud to build their nests, mason bees are not to be confused with carpenter bees. Though both are, undoubtedly, busy bees. Unlike carpenter bees drilling holes in wood (including wood used around your house) for laying their eggs, mason bees build their nests in naturally occurring cavities (e.g., cracks between stones), hollow stems, or already existing holes. Identified by the Honeybee Conservancy as “among the easiest to raise, while also being gentle and amazing pollinators,” mason bees have become a popular, more novice-friendly alternative to raising honeybees. While they do not produce honey, as hardworking pollinators they help take some of the load off the stressed honeybee populations. They’re also not aggressive and, if you do manage to somehow irk a mason bee, the venom they release in a sting is described as “very mild.” Because they are solitary in nature, mason bees do not live in hives. Further, the impressively independent female mason bees “build their own nests, gather their own food, and lay their own eggs.” In short, they are far too busy to mess with you. As a measure of their growing popularity, Costco now sells mason bee houses.
If you’ve had a hankering to do a little beekeeping but find the prospect of hives, smoking hives, and all the protective gear typically associated with beekeeping rather daunting, the gentle mason bee may be the bee for you.
These super pollinators are not as picky as honeybees in pollen transportation (wetting it and sticking it to their hind legs is the honeybees’ preferred mode of transport). Rather, like so much Cheeto dust on your favorite t-shirt, carried from couch to laundry basket, mason bees carry dry, loose pollen on their bellies which results in more pollinated flowers. And, fun fact, they love bluebonnets. Want to foster more wildflowers on your property? Put down the crunchy orange snacks and get ready to raise mason bees.
How to keep mason bees
You will need to create an environment attractive to the bees: a place to nest (a hole where they can crawl in, lay eggs, and cap with mud), flowers for food, and a source for mud. There is an abundance of helpful resources online to help you in your mason bee journey. In an effort to be bee helpful, we’ve narrowed down a few to get you started.
Understanding the mason bee timeline. Rent Mason Bees has a helpful timeline which, in a nutshell is as follows: In the spring, males and females hatch out of their cocoons (males first, then females). They mate. That’s it for the males. RIP bee. The females then spend the rest of April and May collecting nectar, pollinating, and laying their offspring. By June, the females’ lifecycles are all wrapped but, behind the mud plugs in their houses, are their eggs which will develop to fully formed bees in their cocoons by September. Fall and winter is their hibernation time. If you’re so inclined, this is when the cocoons can be harvested and refrigerated until next spring. Learn more from Rent Mason Bees.
Determining where to locate your mason bee house. “You will want to set up your mason bee house off the ground, roughly at eye level, so that you can look into it and inspect it easily. The morning sun will warm up the bees, giving them a boost of energy to start their day. So make sure your house faces east, towards the sunrise.” Learn more from the Honeybee Conservancy.
Building your own mason bee house. Hobby Farms presents “Options for Making Your Own Mason Bee House” which range from the very simple (using bundled homemade paper straws) to the slightly more involved but with simple, easy to follow directions. They also provide helpful tips like: “Paint or draw a design near the entrance of at least half of the holes to help the bees orient themselves. The less time mason bees spend trying to ‘remember where they parked,’ the more time they can spend pollinating.” Learn more from Hobby Farms.
Purchasing a readymade mason bee house. As noted previously, you may be able to pick up one at Costco. For more specificity on a variety of current houses, the BeeKeepClub has created a “Top 10 Best Mason Bee Houses (2020). Learn more from the BeeKeepClub.
Providing a mud source. “Mason bees require mud with a heavy clay texture. If this is not naturally occurring in your area, you can purchase bags of clay-mud to mix and put out for your bees. They are sensitive to the moisture level of the mud, so be sure to water it frequently.” (Source: Bee Built). Further, you’ll want your mud source about 25 feet from the mason bee house and a frequently found suggestion is to dig a vertical hole. While these folks are also trying to sell you their “Mason Bee Mud,” this video is helpful to show you what type of soil you’re looking for and how to dig your hole: watch the “Mason Bee Mud Basics” on YouTube.
Deciding what flowers to propagate to encourage mason bee activity. Native Texas wildflowers that bloom at varying times will help keep your mason bees buzzing. In section 2 of WikiHow’s How to Attract Mason Bees, the article covers “Growing Beneficial Flowers.” While it’s not Texas-specific for native wildflower choices, use it as a helpful guide. For example: “Grow blue, purple, and yellow flowers to attract the bees. While bees love lots of types of colorful plants, they’re attracted to these colors, along with white, the most. Choose bright blues, purples, and yellows to plant in your garden, if possible. Lavender, crocus, and salvia are perfect purple flowers. Sunflowers and black-eyed Susans are great yellow flowers. Butterfly bush, catmint, and common heliotrope are options for blue flowers. Pear blossoms and daisies are white flowers that attract mason bees.” Learn more from WikiHow.
Preparing for next season. For those of you who are so inclined, mason bee cocoons can be harvested and refrigerated until the next spring. But it’s not as simple as shaking them out of their house and tossing them in the vegetable crisper. For detailed instructions, check out “How to harvest and clean mason bee cocoons.”
Buying mason bees. Yes, you can buy mason bees. CrownBees sells and ships cocoons. They’re located in Washington but say they “strive to source mason bee cocoons that are raised locally to you and acclimated to your region.” Learn more from CrownBees.
