8th
2008
Bee Box: Drew put bee boxes onto the south sides of two trees. The boxes are for solitary bees of different sizes, hence the different sized entry holes. Thanks to Mike McGraw for the bee boxes. Go to this web site for detailed information about bee boxes: http://www.xs4all.nl/~jtemp/sol_bees.html. And, thanks to my photography mentor, David Jones, for info. about placement of the boxes. By the way…check out David Jones’ awesome website http://www.MyBitofthePlanet.com for all things birds, bees, hedgehogs, and more.
We are probably too late in putting the bee box out, but at least it will be ready for next year. Here is what happens inside the box…solitary bees (like mason bees) cannot create their own nest holes, so they look for ready-made ones in rotten wood, for example. The female gathers pollen and nectar, and deposits it into the tube, backs in and lays one egg, seals off that part of the nest tube with mud, and repeats the process until the hole is filled with egg chambers. Go to this web site for a detailed description of the life cycle of the orchard mason bee: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchard_mason_bee
