Keeping native bees happy

[ZZman]

A couple people at my work have honey bees. I didn't want to go that route but decided to help the native bee population as they are much better pollinators anyway. I bought some bee mud and put out this bee house and already the bees are laying their eggs and sealing off the chambers with the mud. I also planted lots of varied flowers.

You can even see a bee in one of the tubes.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

A couple people at my work have honey bees. I didn't want to go that route but decided to help the native bee population as they are much better pollinators anyway. I bought some bee mud and put out this bee house and already the bees are laying their eggs and sealing off the chambers with the mud. I also planted lots of varied flowers.

You can even see a bee in one of the tubes.

I've neve seen a mason bee.

 

[Trav]

It is good to take care of them, without them the eco system would be seriously impacted, just don't rile them up.

 

[ZZman]

I've neve seen a mason bee.

Leaf cutter and Mason bees are quite common. They are small so they could be confused with flies or other insects.

 

[walterjay]

The bee in that tube appears to me to be a wasp.

 

[kschachn]

A couple people at my work have honey bees. I didn't want to go that route but decided to help the native bee population as they are much better pollinators anyway. I bought some bee mud and put out this bee house and already the bees are laying their eggs and sealing off the chambers with the mud. I also planted lots of varied flowers.

You can even see a bee in one of the tubes.

I should get one of those houses.

 

[ZZman]

Aren't those wasps, not bees?

No, wasps have smaller abdomens

 

[ZZman]

I should get one of those houses.

Wasps have smaller abdomens

 

[kschachn]

No, wasps have smaller abdomens

Yeah, sorry I changed my post. I have lots of mud daubers around my house and I was confusing them with what you have here. I like that house and I'm going to get one.

 

[ZZman]

The one in the pic might be a leafcutter bee.

 

[ZZman]

Two pics of leaf cutter and Mason bees. These bees are a 100 times better at pollination then honey bees.

 

[ZZman]

I've neve seen a mason bee.

They live very short lives.....

 

[doitmyself]

If you live near a large university like me, they also may be known as aboriginal, indigenous, domestic, endemic, autochthonous, etc. bees.

But, it seems "native" is still a permissible descriptor for bees - the federal government still uses the term: https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-role-native-bees-united-states

Not sure about proper pronoun use to distinguish between the queen and the male drones/female worker bees: she/her, he/him, they/them,etc.. Technically, the drones are just Gigolos. Just making sure you all stay in line.

 

[JHZR2]

Love honeybees. I’d be happy to give them more places to exist. Yellow jackets, wasps, and carpenter bees (I know they pollinate well) not so much…

 

[ZZman]

Love honeybees. I’d be happy to give them more places to exist. Yellow jackets, wasps, and carpenter bees (I know they pollinate well) not so much…

Some pics of my co workers honey bees

 

[Lubener]

Some pics of my co workers honey bees

I take it the bee with the pink spot in the first pic is the queen?

 

[ZZman]

I take it the bee with the pink spot in the first pic is the queen?

Correct

 

[PimTac]

Bees love Heather and lavender. Plant some of that around. We have lavender plants and they get full of bees.

 

[thastinger]

My neighbor has honey bees, I don't have to do anything as his bees actually spend most of their day at my house. I'm going to buy a thousand tiny shock collars and one of those invisible fences.
I have a lot of flower bed, garden and an inground pool so they love my place.

 

[walterjay]

You will need more than a thousand of them. The average bee colony is comprised of approximately 40,000 bees. And the queen can lay 1,500 eggs a day.