16 June 2014 - Bees and Brothers

What do bees and brothers have in common? Both are industrious and both are full of surprises. 

My brother kept bees for many years. Just by being around him I soaked up a lot of knowledge about bees. Mostly by osmosis, not because I am interested in becoming a beekeeper. But I do like to know things, how they work and why and I have observed many different bees and their behaviors. 

Honey bees are in dire straits right now: they are being killed by farm pesticides and fungicides at an alarming rate, In addition there are colony collapse disorder and varroa mites doing them in as well. 

This has spawned a lot of interest in solitary bees and how essential they are as pollinators. David and I both have seen solitary bees in our respective yards. I have seen quite a few websites about building insect housing to attract good bugs to your garden. Fascinating stuff. People in Europe and the UK are quite enlightened about bees and bugs and the bug condos being built over there are downright amazing. This photo is from Permaculture Magazine, issue 59. It is made of stacked pallets.

 Or they can be fairly simple. Gardener's Supply Catalog sells these.

Because I have bamboo in my yard, I cut the stalks and made something similar to the one above for my brother.  I have enough cut bamboo to make another for myself, just haven't done it yet.

Here's the funny part. Today I was using the googler trying to find out what kind of miner bee I have in my lawn.  In doing the research I found a site about the mason bee houses like the bamboo house above. It said to hang them in the sun, but to make sure they are protected from the weather. 

I was writing an email to my brother telling him this when he showed up with his tool bag. I told him what I'd found out and he started walking around my yard, looking for perfect spots to put one. Of course I'm laughing at him because I haven't made mine yet. 

Turns out, he made me a mason bee house and was delivering it. And it had a perfect little roof to keep the rain off. David also charred the front as he had been reading that female bees prefer darker wood.

Siblings. It is scary when we sometimes act like there is a master hive mind connecting us.

So here is my brand new mason bee home! All installed. 

You can bet I'll be monitoring it daily to see when the bees find it. 
How fun is this?