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I've never baited the bees. I put my houses out last year and some 'just found them'. This year I put the tubes from last year right under the boxes and they moved from one to the other. It does...

Definitely have hatched. I lifted the lid on the shoebox and 5 or so flew out. I looked up at the two next boxes above on the wall and there were another few coming and going.

It's been unseasonably warm here in Michigan (all over too I suppose) and I've had my bees outside in a shoebox, by their home to be.

Today, when I checked, there was a distinct chewing,...

yeah, there was about an inch left over when the fronts were flush so I bent that down before attaching the back strip.

My holes are a little staggered but that's due to my pathetic skill with a...

2x6 in 2x8 house.

I used parchment paper and cut them so they hang out about an inch or two on the back.


Will

Hi Dave. I'll take them down ASAP, thanks for the info. I tried to sign up for your bee-mail but the link just opened the main page of the site :-(

Will

I think my mason bee season is indeed ended. I haven't seen any in a while and there is a dead bee upside down in one of the tubes.

Oddly, some of the mud caps on the ends seem to have opened up...

I did some searching online (the web is always right) and they do pollinate flowers. Kind of thought they did as...well...they are on the flowers in the picture :)

It says they don't really...

I have a few of these guys buzzing around a hanging plant by the mason bee houses.

Not sure if they are Carpenter or Bumble bees. All-black abdomen and a yellow mid section.

They seem to be...

Hey Dave. I looked up the "Cuckoo Bee" online and the pictures are what I was thinking was the small black wasp. I think I may have one of those bees too.

as of tonight I would say 1/3 of the tubes have bees in them and 6 are now mudded over.
I have a small, thin, black wasp looking fella living in one of the tubes too. Not sure how to get rid of him...

Cool, thanks for the replies : - )

I now have 4 mudded over tubes and about 4 to 6 bees coming and going while I'm on the deck (garden).

I suppose it varies but I have a drilled 2x6 per Dave's instructions and the first tube is mudded over at the opening.

About how many larva are in there?

I grabbed a flashlight and took a look down a few of the tubes. 4 in the 2x6 blocks I drilled out are in use so far. Of the tubes I purchased, only one is in use, but they are hard to examine. ...

I'll keep an eye on (in) their tubes and see what they are doing. I haven't seen them carrying mud but not sure what that would look like.

Both times the two types were carrying yellow stuff. I...

Ah yes...the larger bee DOES look like the leaf cutters who live/lived in the front yard (old chipmunk hole) last year.

Bee number 2 has arrived and yes, it was carrying a yellow glob when it flew past.

Here's the thing. The first bee I saw yesterday looked a lot like a honey bee, or what I think a honey bee...

So I've had my houses up for a few weeks now. Today is the first activity I've seen. There is a single tube in use by a single bee.

It is larger than I thought they would be but looks just like...

we are back in the 50's to low 60's at the moment. I think, however, I saw a BOB yesterday while picking rocks out of my flower bed. It was small, black or dark blue..and flew up and out of a...

That's cool :)

What are your daytime temps these days?

wow! Very nicely built. I need you drill holes for my houses. I was all over the place :(

Where did you get your straws?

It reached 65 today, but supposed to be in the 40-50 range the rest of the week.

I hung them in what I believe will be the best location where I plan to have my garden. They might be happier in...

That is a beautiful picture :) Thanks for sharing.

To be politically correct (which I rarely am) she is not a big, fat queen...she is merely 'big winged' :)

I hope to share some nice picts...

I don't have any bees to put out this year, being my first. I just wondered when the best time to put my houses out. I don't want the local bees going elsewhere because I didn't get my houses out in...

Nope. Definitely 2x. Has funky rounded edges which might make it look different.