Mason bee (family Osmia)
Okay, to start, I gotta tell you, I'd been itchin' to make a bee box for many, many moons. I got a bee in my bonnet (so to speak) about it last year but never did a thing about it but think on it. A couple weekends ago I got to talking about it (*again*) and then just quit talking and up and made one.
If you don't know what a bee box is, you might be impressed.
That's about to end. Because it really is quite simple...
You get yourself a drill, a drill bit (5/16-inch), a block of wood, a couple nails and some screws and *voila* -- you've got yourself a bee box.
Mason bees are solitary bees who lay their eggs in holes. If they can't find holes, they lay fewer eggs...so if you build yourself a bee box, you'll likely find mason bees quickly on the scene. And that is a good thing because mason bees are pollinators...so they'll help your garden grow. And since they don't have a hive to protect, they aren't pushy - unless you squeeze or step on one, you aren't likely to get stung.
What these bees do is, they lay an egg and then go get some mud and build a wall around the egg and then lay another egg, mud wall it, and so on...and so on...until the hole is packed shut with mud (and eggs!)
The bee box I built ten days ago is just about ready for the 'no vacancy' sign so I drilled up another one Monday. I seriously giggled - well, I mean to say, I'm serious about the fact that I giggled - when I saw that almost all of those holes from the first unit were filled. As I stood there smiling with extreme satisfaction, a fuzzy wee bee peered out of one of the holes - like she was saying hello. She caught me by surprise. And then she flew away.
I ran and got the camera and then stood sentry in front of that box...with my hands held over my head, my camera at the ready should another bee appear.
It took a while and my arms went numb more than a few times...but I did get some fun photos.
I am *so* delighted by this.
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