| Homes for solitary bees - how to provide places for solitary bees in your garden |
Above, a male Blue Mason Bee, Osmia caerulescens, emerges from a hole in a bee post. |
Make the most of
solitary bees - give them a place to live Many solitary bees nest in cavities in wood. In nature such holes are formed by beetles that live in the wood as larvae, then tunnel out as adults. Woodworms are probably the best known for this. The beetles leave behind a ready made nest hole for bees and wasps that prefer to nest in cavities. It is easy to recreate these ready made nest holes. Simply drill timber with holes and stand back and watch the bees take up residence. Just follow the tips on this page to give yourself the best chance of attracting solitary bees to nest in your patch. |
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Step by step - make a bee post: 1. Take any old piece of timber. An old fence post is ideal. It does not matter if it's old and battered. In fact this will look more like the natural, weather worn wood that many solitary bees nest in. Avoid wood that has been treated with preservative. 2. Use an electric drill and a standard set of drill bits for wood. Drill a range of sizes up to 10mm diameter. Make sure that there is a good variety of hole sizes, particularly in the range 5-8mm diameter. Drill LOTS of holes. |
 3.
Make
sure that holes are drilled slightly upwards into the wood. This prevents
rain water from collecting in the borings. Don't make the borings too steep
though. 4. Dig the post into the ground, or attach it to standing posts with wire ties. If you are using blocks of wood just put them anywhere convenient. 5. Make sure you place your posts in a sunny position, facing the sun. |
Other ways to make homes for solitary bees Any type of cavity is likely to prove attractive to solitary bees. Try putting up old, dry, hollow stems of plants like bramble and hogweed. you can use bamboo canes or even drinks straws. Try using an old baked bean can, or something similar. Melt some candle wax in the bottom of the can, then stuff it full of hollow stems, or straws. the drinks straws from places like MacDonalds are an ideal size. Hang the can up somewhere and make sure the stems/straws are pointing slightly down, so that water does not collect inside them. |
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What
about solitary bees that don't nest in cavities in wood? Many solitary bees nest in the ground. They usually need loose, crumbly and exposed soil or sandy banks. Try to leave patches of bare earth in places that catch the sunshine. If you have sandy banks these are great. Just leave these undisturbed, or even try starting a few inviting holes by poking a pencil into the bank. |
 Left, a soil mound formed by a ground nesting solitary
bee.
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 Left,
a male Osmia leaiana inspects a bee post
Food for bees: |
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Can't someone
make bee homes for me? If it's not easy for you to make bee posts yourself, do not despair. Wiigly Wigglers sell handy nest boxes for Mason Bees. There are two types available for both Red and Blue Mason Bees. Click on the link on the right to visit their web page. You can even take a look inside their Mason Bee nests! Watch a video of Mason Bees in a North American "Bee Hotel"
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Wiggly wigglers |
 Ernst Charles
Gardenopoly
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