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Author Topic: Any mason beekeepers here?  (Read 12782 times)

Offline BjornBee

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #20 on: December 13, 2008, 09:40:23 pm »
Bjorn, I don't fully understand the need for disinfecting the cocoons.  Is this solely for preparation for sale or transfer?

Thanks.

Mites (not v-mites) are a problem with masons. I think taking out the cocoons and cleaning/disinfecting them is a way to combat that. It also allows you to change out the paper inserts or the cardboard tubes, and ensure the next generation will be raised in new tubes.

You also get from my observations, many "false" tubes sealed with mud. I'm not sure if it's a built-in defense of the mason bees, where they plug all the tubes, so parasitic wasps will spend time and waste resources trying to open tubes with nothing inside. But I guess if your going to sell mason bees, you would want to make sure your selling a good tube with actual cocoons inside.

I'm not suggesting that you NEED to open mason bee tubes. I'm just mentoning this as something with a meaning, and is certainly a well stated procedure that is proven. Up till now, I have just let them multiply. But I want to ensure that I have the type bees I say I have, and want to further my limited expertise on the finer points of mason bees.
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Offline 1of6

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #21 on: December 13, 2008, 10:44:28 pm »
Bjorn, I don't fully understand the need for disinfecting the cocoons.  Is this solely for preparation for sale or transfer?

Thanks.

Mites (not v-mites) are a problem with masons. I think taking out the cocoons and cleaning/disinfecting them is a way to combat that. It also allows you to change out the paper inserts or the cardboard tubes, and ensure the next generation will be raised in new tubes.

Interesting stuff - I'm glad this thread caught my attention.  From what I just read it sounds like that's one of the major downsides of using the wooden blocks drilled with 5/16" holes - germs, debris, and parasites left behind from previous years...now I understand a little better.

From  http://www.farminfo.org/bees/mason-bees.htm :
 
"Bare wood holes are acceptable to mason bees, but over time the become fouled with debris and germs. If not cleaned, the hole loses its attractiveness as a subsequent nest cavity. Mason bees tend to "go away" from such nest blocks after the first year or two. Diseases and parasites may build up in unhygenic nest blocks. The best nest system for orchard bees is a smooth wood hole with a porous insert or liner (straw) which can be replaced each season."

"...they are subject to diseases, parasites, and predators. These include fungal diseases of the developing bees, various types of mites, which compete with the larval bees for food or parasitize them, and predatory insects or larger predatory animals like woodpeckers. The most serious of these problems are the diseases and parasites..."

Also:
http://www.redmason.net/

and

http://www.masonbeehomes.com/ - this site sells the 'bee boxes'.


Bjorn, do you make your own straws?

Offline johnnybigfish

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #22 on: December 13, 2008, 11:07:37 pm »
Actually, they arent mud dabbers....I think they plug the holes up with slices of leaves..Although, The mud dabbers clog up all kinds a things around my place!!!...mowers, tillers, other boat engines under the cowling....But the dabbers are good cuz they

 kill black widows!..I dont think they sting either..I even have some dabbers what are shiny blue/black! and some what are red!

your friend,
john

Offline BjornBee

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #23 on: December 14, 2008, 10:40:14 am »
1of6,
No. I bought mine from Ace paper tube Co. They were about 7 cents each. However, that was the price for 5,000 tubes three years ago.

The tubes are so easy and allow easy expansion, that the blocks are quickly forgotten for the reasons you posted.

 
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #24 on: December 16, 2008, 12:01:51 am »
MILTA, off topic, but just thought I would mention this.  I read your stuff avidly, you seem to know an awful lot of the insect world, and I have briefly looked at your blogspot, I will read more when I have time, you and it is interesting.  Have a wonderful and awesome day, life, healthy good wishes for us all. Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline CapeCod

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #25 on: December 16, 2008, 07:38:36 pm »
Can someone post pictures of the 2 to compare?
Carpenter // Mason
« Last Edit: December 17, 2008, 06:12:54 am by CapeCod »

Offline BjornBee

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #26 on: December 16, 2008, 08:42:59 pm »
Can someone post pictures of the 2 to compare?

Pictures of what?
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Offline Mason

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #27 on: October 24, 2009, 12:19:12 pm »
I was thinking that home made Mason Bee hives could make nice Christmas gifts.  Especially since I picked up a free drill press off of crags list and my name is "Mason".....get it.

I live in Georgia.  Do we have enough mason bees here to populate the hives?  What are some thing you could do to improve your chances of actually getting some bees to move in?  I see that some people bring their hives to remote locations to populate them but does anyone have any idea as to why these areas?

I have honey bees, carpenter bees,  dirt divers (mud daubers), yellow jackets, European hornets....would love to have some mason bees join the party.
Former beekeeper until March....maybe next year...RIP

Offline BjornBee

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #28 on: October 24, 2009, 12:36:27 pm »
Hello Mason,

What a great idea for Christmas gifts.

Mason bees require a food source (early fruit trees, etc), a suitable place to nest, and a chemical free environment. They are very sensitive to chemicals.

Mason bees can be finicky and if they are not happy with the location, they will leave the area. They will thrive in one area, and be void in another.

I would, just as it's good advice for honey bees, get a book on masons. There are some paperback books that can be bought for 10 dollars or less.

Masons pollinate for a given timeframe, about 6 weeks, then are inactive the rest of the summer. You must protect them from predatory wasps after they complete there cycle. I mention this, because they do take some special care if you are to see them thrive and multiply.

I have no idea if masons live in the south.

And if you do make the homes out of wood, invest in the thin paper tubes that can be changed out and clean ones replaced.

Good luck and I'm sure you will love the world of masons.
« Last Edit: October 24, 2009, 02:13:49 pm by BjornBee »
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Offline lakeman

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #29 on: October 24, 2009, 02:03:15 pm »
Can someone post pictures of the 2 to compare?
Carpenter // Mason

A carpenter bee looks like a bumble bee, I cannot tell the difference. I hate the carpenter bee, as I have an abundance of them, and they are drilling holes in everything made of wood. A couple of months ago, I went to dig a hole, stepped on my shovel forcing it into the ground, put force on it to dig a shovel full of dirt out, and the handle broke, the danged carpenter bees had bored into it, turned and drilled a hole for about 16 inches up the handle. G-R-r-r- I hate them. They bore holes into anything made of wood and not painted, leaving piles of saw dust and holes everywhere. [size=1024pt]G-[/size]G-R-R-r-r-r-r
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Offline Sparky

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #30 on: October 24, 2009, 09:02:18 pm »
If you look at the abdomen of a carpenter bee it will be smooth, black, shinny that gives the appearance of a hard shell. The bumble bee will have hairy abdomen. The Bumbles are cool. I too had a shovel that was sticking in the mulch pile for two days and went to use it and noticed something rough under my hand. It was a fricken hole that them buggers bored about 3/4" deep. I found when I was working beside my shed they were coming and going under the timber of the floor. The WD-40 knocks them dead in flight.

Offline lenape13

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #31 on: October 24, 2009, 10:39:54 pm »
Up at the ranch they fill every hole they can. Maybe I should think about selling some next year.

I'd be a potential customer.  Been trying to find them for a couple of years and the suppliers I find are always sold out.

Offline rdy-b

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #32 on: October 24, 2009, 11:04:54 pm »
Up at the ranch they fill every hole they can. Maybe I should think about selling some next year.

I'd be a potential customer.  Been trying to find them for a couple of years and the suppliers I find are always sold out.

well todays your lucky day  :lol: how many would you like  8-) 
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=234988

Offline solitarybee

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Re: Any mason beekeepers here?
« Reply #33 on: December 20, 2009, 06:02:34 pm »
This morning, I was playing around with cutting open some tubes from some of my mason bee colonies. I came across two things that I have questions about. Hopefully someone can chime in.

The first is a tube that was filled with 5 harden type cocoons, which are not at all like anything I have seen before. They were separate chambers with mud plugs. but they have a somewhat hardened casing to the cocoon. They are "flared" at one end as the picture shows. More of a kind of "capsule" than a spun cocoon. Anyone have a clue as to the type of bee this be from?  Thank you

The second picture is from cocoon type that would be far less than what the average mason bee cocoon would be. It was shallow in it's construction and the larvae simply fell out of the cocoon as I opened it. For the 11th of December, I would of thought the mason bee would of been fully developed at this time. But I have never opened mason bees at this time before, so I am not sure. Anyone have a clue if this COULD be a mason bee, or just simply another later developing bee?  Thank you.



Hi there,

It's only my second post so I cant share images that I have... however the indications are that these were of solitary wasp species.  I had something similar this year 2009.  Both the capsule/cocoon (with a sort of flare), and a larvae that freely fell out of the cocoon when I opened it up.  The larvae appeared fairly lifeless, but I put in a flat bed scanner and forgot about it, only to find that it metamorphosed on the scanner 6 weeks after the emergence of my solitary bees.  I also saw the pre-cocoon development (as it was in a clear plastic tube) and rather than pollen stocked in the cell, there were c.12 anaesthetised small fruit tree type caterpillars.

Another thing I noticed on a bee block was several concave mud seals as opposed to the convex ones of the bee species I have... I think these are a sign of the wasps.  

Hope this is useful.