Orchard Mason Bees

I have bees in my refrigerator. I posted that elsewhere online, and one of my more astute friends said, "Knowing you, that's probably on purpose." Yes, yes it is. I have three little cardboard tubes of hibernating bees tucked into my salad crisper. And I'm ridiculously excited about it. In fact, last night I dreamed about bees.

In my dream, I was out walking my property, and I noticed that there were bees coming out of my bee houses. I observed that they had short antennae, and decided they were females. I patted them on the head. And I was very happy to have bees.

What I have in my fridge are cocooned, hibernating adults of Osmia lignaria, the Orchard Mason Bee or Blue Orchard Bee. They're little, they're bluish black, and they do a heck of a good job of pollinating yards and fruit trees. Unlike Apis mellifera, the European honeybee, Osmia are very localized in their habits. They are a "gregarious solitary" bee that likes to nest very close together, making them easy to propagate. The fact that they're solitary means each female bee has to gather pollen and nectar and lay eggs, and they're not invested in the survival of the colony, so they're very non-aggressive and stay close to home. Their entire range is only about 300 yards, if they can get their requirements (food, clay-laden mud, and a place to nest) within that space.

For years I've been hearing about Orchard bees, and native pollinators, and I've wanted some. The source of mine is http://www.knoxcellars.com, which is located in the Puget Sound area just north of me. I got both the hibernating bees and the bee houses...one designed to appeal to Orchard Mason bees and one designed to appeal to leafcutter bees. Although it's likely there are orchard mason bees or leafcutter bees already in my yard, I wanted to be sure I'd have a starting population. I also purchased an Aphid eater wasp house. Contemplating a bumblebee house too.

Since the native solitary bees aren't subject to varroa mites or tracheal mites like Honeybees, and aren't hive-dwelling and so not subject to colony collapse disorder, they're a great alternative for pollinating. 250 adult females can pollinate an acre. If you provide ample housing and food for them, 600% year over year growth in population is expected. By the time I have fruit trees blossoming next spring, I should have a decent colony established one way or the other. They're only active in the early spring, so they work best for fruit trees and early blooming plants.

Some of the leafcutter bees are active later in the year, hence my desire to encourage them as well. A few circles cut out of my leaves is a small price to pay for pollination and entertainment! (The first time I saw or even heard of a leafcutter bee was 10 or 15 years ago at my parents' house, when I dumped out a window box and found a succession of little leafy "cells" leading back from the drainage holes, which were apparently just the right size for a leafcutter bee to call home.)

I just finished reading "The Orchard Mason Bee" by Brian L. Griffin, and available on the Knox Cellars site above. Great, easy reading with lots of information about solitary bees and how to keep them. We'll see how the spring goes with my new little workers!