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April 21, 2009
Bee Condos
This spring, I am working with the Exhibit Museum to construct and set out a series of cavity-nest sites for solitary bees and wasps. Some of them will be placed in what has been called the "Butterfly Garden" at the side of the Ruthven Museums building. I call it the bug garden, because most of the insects that have been attracted are wasps and bees.
The Bee Condo as shown here is very simple to make yourself. There are three 2x6x18" boards with 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2" diameter x 4.5" deep holes spaced about 1.5" apart. You can space the smaller diameter holes closer together, mix up the sizes per board, or keep them all one size, depending on what species you may want to attract to nest in them. Dan Erickson came up with the curved top and a piece of aluminum flashing to act as the roof. The 2x6" boards are simply nailed or screwed together. You can put a screw eye on top to hang the nest box, or set it on a pole or simply rest it against a fence or side of a porch. Use some scrap wood. Don't paint or coat the wood with anything.
You can expect to see some mason bees (Megachilidae, genus Osmia) nesting in May, followed by leaf-cutter bees (Megachilidae, genus Megachile) in June and throughout the summer. There will likely be nesting in the cavities by mason wasps (Family Eumenidae), grass-carrying wasps (Family Sphecidae, genus Isodontia), and spider wasps (Pompilidae).
It's great to have a garden where these insects get nectar and pollen, but including a place for them to actually nest in will be a wonderful addition. I'll work with the Exhibit Museum to come up with some educational and informative signage about the Bee Condo. I look forward to seeing the units occupied as soon as they become available.
There are a lot of resources on managing non-social bees (meaning everything else that's not a honeybee or bumblebee), as some of them are great for pollinating orchards and alfalfa fields. Since most mason bees are native, they can endure the weather and emerge in synchrony with flowering fruit trees.
Some Resources on the Web:
Managing orchard bees
Orchard Mason Bees
Osmia lignaria life history
New Mexico Native Bee Project
Solitary Bee Resources
About Leafcutter Bees
Posted by mfobrien at April 21, 2009 12:15 PM