Need help with pollination? Are your fruit trees not producing as much as you would like? Don't want all the responsibilities that go with keeping a bee colony all year? If the answer is yes you should find out about the many advantages of the Orchard Mason Bee, one of 3,500 bees native to North America.

Osmia lignaria, commonly called the Orchard Mason is a solitary bee, meaning they do not live in colonies nor do they have queens or drones. They are not wax or honey, spending their life gathering pollen and laying eggs instead. The mason bee is native to the Pacific Northwest and ideally suited to the sometimes wet rainy and cool springs, emerging earlier in the season and working on days that are too rainy for the honeybee. Best of all they are immune from the varroa and tracheal mites that are affecting the honeybee population.

Since the mason bees life is devoted solely to laying eggs gathering pollen for it's young they are extremely efficient at pollination. While it takes 20,000 honeybees will accomplish the same job. What's appealing to the busy farmer is mason bees require 10 to 15 minutes worth of attention yearly and will increase about 5 times in population each spring.

The wake-up call fruit trees get from Mother Nature tells the mason bee it its time to go to work. The bees emerge from their cells, males first, then the females. At this point they mate and the males die within several days. The females look for an area to gather pollen and a place to lay her eggs. Ideally she is looking for a clean 5/16" hole. University studies indicate holes 5 3/4" deep produce the best female to male ratio, and since the females live longer and are more active they do a better job of pollination.

Once a nesting cell is located the female packs mud at the bottom of the hole, then flies from flower to flower collecting pollen and nectar to deposit in the hole for her young to feed on. Females eggs normally are laid first, then another mud pack, another egg, repeating the process, producing one to two eggs each day through early spring.

In a few days the bee larvae hatches from the egg and feeds on the pollen and nectar for the next 10 days. The larvae spins a cocoon and pupates. Towards the end of summer the bee transforms into an adult and waits in it's cell through winter for spring before hatching, starting the yearly process over again.

In early spring about 2 weeks before your trees start to bloom set out the nesting blocks with bees. If the target crop blooms late you can keep the bees refrigerated to better time their hatch. Set your nesting block in a south east setting where it will catch morning sun. The location should be as close to the area needing pollination as possible. The best location is the side of a shed or garage with and overhang to give protection from the rain. The wall gives a large background to help the females locate the nesting block and an area for the bees to land on get some sun. Setting a 4' x 8' plywood sheet in an orchard serves the same purpose. If no other site is available nesting blocks can be hung in trees but set them in a way so they don't move around much in the wind. There needs to be loose soil or mud under the nesting block for the females to use when they lay their eggs.

When the spring bloom comes you will start to see the mason bees hatching from their nesting blocks, they are not frightened by people so be sure to watch them as they go about their work. After about six weeks the mason bees job is completed and they will start to die off. Try not to disturb the nesting block through the summer as the bees transforming into adults. Care should also be taken to keep chemicals away from the nesting blocks as the bees pupate into adults.

When fall comes around in September or October carefully take the nesting bees. At this time check the holes in the nesting blocks, the holes that have eggs will have a mud plug at the end to protect the eggs. The nesting blocks available from March Biological have straw lines where the females lay their eggs. These straws should be removed for inspection and for ease of storage. Each winter the empty straws should be removed and replaced with a fresh straw as the females tend only to lay eggs in clean holes.

The following spring the nesting blocks should be set out again in the same manner. Fill a few holes with bees in straws, the majority of the straws should be empty to offer the females a clean place to lay her eggs. The number of bees should increase by 5 times each spring. By placing more nesting blocks each spring and spreading the bee eggs over a larger area your pollination coverage and number of bees will increase each year.

March Biological is offering the Orchard System, a 48 cell Styrofoam nesting block complete with 30 bees, instructions and straws. Over 330 bee eggs can be laid in this nesting block. Also available is the Homeowner System, a 16 cell wooden nesting block with 15 bees, instructions and straws. Over 110 bee eggs can be laid in this smaller block, perfect for the homeowner. Bees are available in units of 15. Bees are available for immediate shipping or you can give us the date you would like them shipped so we can take care of safe storage. Bee certificates are available so you can give a nesting block system as a gift and the certificates can be redeemed when needed. Replacement straws are also available so your nesting block can be renewed each year. We are also offering The Orchard Mason Bee Book by Brian Griffin. This is an in-depth book that tells you everything you would need to know about the orchard mason bee.

Full Unit Mason Bees 15 mason bees in straws	$12.00
16 pc Replacement Straws	$2.50
48 pc Replacement Straws	$6.75
Add $3.00 to system prices for Bee Certificates. Complete instructions included with every order. Bees are subject to stock on hand each season.