Bee Happy Homes
When I started making bee homes almost 20 years ago I had no idea how popular they would become. Over the last few years there has been increasing awareness of, and sometimes even alarm at the decline in numbers of pollinators. There are many contributing factors in this - loss of habitat, climate change, harmful pesticides and disease. Of the 270 known bees in the British Isles, nearly all are in decline, with many on the endangered list, and one in ten species across Europe face extinction.
One simple way to help and support essential pollinators is to plant a wide variety of native, bee friendly wild flowers. Please see the links at the end of this article. Another is of course, to provide a nesting site for these solitary bees.
Solitary bees are believed to be many times more effective pollinators due to the fact they raise their young on pollen, rather than nectar as hive bees do.
Not only are they hugely beneficial to your garden, Dew Drop Bee Homes provide a fascinating window into the lives of these beautiful, harmless, yet essential creatures.
The two types of bees likely to use your bee home are Mason Bees, (Osmia Bicornis), and Leafcutters (Megachilidae)
Mason Bees tend to emerge first - typically from the beginning of April. The males are first out. They then wait around for the females to emerge, whereupon they immediately mate. The female will lay a number of eggs in one bamboo tube, and will lay female eggs first, at the back of the tube, with males placed in the front, to allow them to emerge first. These bees can travel up to 30m or so for pollen, and will make many trips to provide enough pollen for one egg. It is thought that they visit between 1500 and 2000 flowers just to feed one egg - you can see why they are such efficient pollinators! They can lay up to 50 eggs in a year-long life cycle, so that’s a lot of flower visits. I have found the number of Mason bees using the bee homes in our garden has increased year on year. The “Osmia” part of their Latin name means “odor”. They deposit a faintly lemony scent at the entrance to their nests - each bee has its own “signature” scent to enable them to find them later. Tests have been done - moving tubes around - and they are always able to locate their own nest sites. Last year, on my wife’s studio, facing east, was completely unused. This year it is completely full. So if your bee home doesn’t get too much attention the first year do not dismay.
This is a young mason bee - you can see where the plugs have been nibbled away. This bee home was only half full last year - this year it is nearly full.
Leafcutter bees emerge later than Mason bees, and can usually be seen from early June through till late August. They trim neat little pieces of leaves from nearby plants and use these to line the tubes. After laying a single egg they cap the end with another segment of leaf. They do not do any lasting damage to the plant as they are not feeding on it. (Remember plants are perfectly adapted to deal with pruning and dead-heading.) Leafcutters are phenomenal pollinators - in tests they have proved themselves to be capable of doing the work of 20 honey bees.
This bee home, in the back garden, doesn’t quite catch the morning sun. Last year it had NO bees in it. I left it out all winter, (which is not recommended!). This year it is completely full. I have placed another next to it which is now about half full. It is interesting to note what a wide variety of hole diameters is being used!
Siting your bee home
In my experience, the best site is the one that catches early morning sunshine. East facing is best, but it will still get used if facing south. Make sure your garden has plenty of flowering plants, ideally native to this country. Leave wild areas in your garden, and enjoy wildflowers taking up residence in your garden. Above all, don’t spray your garden with pesticides!
It is best to take it in to over-winter in a cool, dry setting, such as a shed or unheated garage. Don’t bring it indoors or they may think it is spring and you’ll get a nasty surprise! Bring it out again at the beginning of April, and enjoy seeing the emerging bees re-using the tubes for the next generation. If you are buying one, why not get another for your friend, or complement it with a similarly styled Dew Drop bird Box
Dew Drop Bee Home, Small Nest Box, and Large Nest Box
“If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live”
Resources
Bee Happy Plants - A great source of organic, native plants which bees love.
Pictorial Meadows - my favourite for wildflower mixes.
Buzz About Bees - A brilliant resource for learning more about bees.
Friends of the Earth - more about bee decline
Other stockists
I stock a small number of other outlets including the wonderful Great British Bee Company who sell all manner of bee related products and donate profits to support research into the conservation of British Bees. I also regularly sell through Made By Hand Online which is a wonderful company who sell the work of, and support the very best craft makers across the country.
