[Christopher D]

Hello people,

I'm Chris and my wife is Hellen, and we live in central Portugal.
We have a 4 acre Quinta with mostly grape vines & cherry trees. We keep sheep (as grass cutters) and chickens (for eggs) and grow most of our own veg.
We do not keep bees. Not does anyone in our small village.

So,
How do we come to have a bee that appears to be trying to make its own hive in the garage?

To be more precise, we have a Stihl chainsaw hanging up which has recessed screw holes. They are about a quarter of an inch deep.
Our bee has filled 3 of these holes so far, two yesterday and one today. This morning it was waiting outside the garage and went in when Hellen opened the door!

So, a) what is it doing?
b) what do we do about it?

We have no intention of harming it but we will need to use the chainsaw at some point and we really can't have a bee as a lodger.

Any suggestions would be very welcome,

Chris

 

[Christopher D]

Not very good photos!

 

[Old Goat]

I don't believe that is a honey bee. At least not Apis Mellifera.

 

[Akademee]

Looks like some sort of mason bee. They are solitary and this is how they reproduce. They find a hole, lay eggs and pollen inside, and plug it up with mud. Single honey bees would not be able to do this. I'm not sure what species you have in Portugal, but it definitely looks like a solitary bee.

 

[MajorJC]

Try hanging something like this around your home to give the bees another option and maybe they will leave your chainsaw alone.

You can do a web search for "solitary bee house" to find local shopping options to buy one of these. But if you have a block of wood and a drill, you can easily make one yourself.

 

[Christopher D]

Looks like some sort of mason bee. They are solitary and this is how they reproduce. They find a hole, lay eggs and pollen inside, and plug it up with mud. Single honey bees would not be able to do this. I'm not sure what species you have in Portugal, but it definitely looks like a solitary bee.

Excellent, thank you,
So, if we made a small bee house, a block of wood with holes drilled in it, and hung it next to the saw, if our bee used it, do you think that we could then take it and hang it on a tree on the land?

 

[mtnmyke]

We have a bee house like the one Major posted. We keep it under the eave of our house and the solitary bees love it. It's protected from the rain so from the activity is a great spot.

Your chainsaw may be out of use for a while if you don't want to harm the larvae inside - at least until they emerge. You could certainly put out some wood with various sized holes drilled in it and place a few around your property to keep them off your chainsaw. Perhaps find a place like mine where they won't need to be moved and can be protected from the elements.

 

[crofter]

There are quite a few people deeply involved in these bees. Do google searches on "solitary bees" 'mason bees" and "leafcutter bees". They work a very small territory unllike honey bees who often do nothing for your own gardens. Give them the suitable homes and a source of the sandy clay kept wet, and you have a very cheap and entertaining garden helpers.

 

[Rader Sidetrack]

Beesource has a subforum dedicated to 'Alternative Pollinators' such as these bees:

Alternative Pollinators

The raising, keeping and other issues of concern for pollinating bees, other than the honey bee.

www.beesource.com

 

[LAlldredge]

Gotta say. I love that bee. In my world I would find another way to cut wood and let the bee have what it wants. And buy it another choice of home.

 

[Christopher D]

We have a bee house like the one Major posted. We keep it under the eave of our house and the solitary bees love it. It's protected from the rain so from the activity is a great spot.

Your chainsaw may be out of use for a while if you don't want to harm the larvae inside - at least until they emerge. You could certainly put out some wood with various sized holes drilled in it and place a few around your property to keep them off your chainsaw. Perhaps find a place like mine where they won't need to be moved and can be protected from the elements.

Thanks, we're going to try a bee hotel outside the garage and see what she does next 😯

 

[Christopher D]

😂😂😂

Gotta say. I love that bee. In my world I would find another way to cut wood and let the bee have what it wants. And buy it another choice of home.

😂😂😂
Yes, we're going for a bee hotel option outside the garage and we'll see what she does next 👍

 

[Christopher D]

Gotta say. I love that bee. In my world I would find another way to cut wood and let the bee have what it wants. And buy it another choice of home.

Hi, yes, we are making a bee hotel 👍
We have lots of bamboo plants which we harvest every year for plant stakes so we are using some to make the hotel 😉
But she can't keep a €300 chainsaw 😣