Monday, April 11, 2011
Native bee home
Jane is doing a poster on bees for the Beverley Garden Club flower show in May. It turns out that honeybees (who build hives) are European in origin. The several species of native bees do not build hives, do not produce much honey, but are great pollinators. One of the native species is the Orchard Mason Bee. I built a home for them from a block of untreated wood. The holes are 5/16" in diameter and 4" long. Maybe some bees will move in before Jane takes it to the flower show as part of her poster display.
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Nice bee house! I was thinking the girls would love a birdhouse in our backyard. Do you know what kind of house would be good for the birds in our area?
ReplyDeleteI guess having pollinators around is a good thing, but it seems crazy to want to attract bees to the side of your house. We've got a bunch of bees under one of bushes we wish would go away. Maybe they are useful and we shouldn't dislike them. Emily
ReplyDeleteNice bee house Dad. But if any bees move in tell Mommy not to take it down or move it, because the bees would be disoriented when they come out. They make a mental map of their area and can become confused if their hive moves.
ReplyDeleteEmily your comment made me laugh! Many species of native bees are very small and we wouldn't even recognize them as bees. Are you sure it isn't a yellowjacket (wasp) nest under your bush? They are a ground nesting species.
And Celia, Dad made me a "See Rock City" red barn birdhouse a few years ago which is very cute and has had a bluebird nest in it the past two years. I bet chickadees and titmice, which are suburban birds, would nest in one like that in your yard. You could try putting up a feeder too, just to see what kind of birds show up. Of course, you'd get a bunch of squirrels too.
Love, Margaret