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Take the Sting Out of Bee Keeping
Native Orchard Mason Bees are widespread throughout North America. They are superb early season pollinators of fruit trees, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries-and better than honeybees, because they're active in colder temperatures and their hairy bodies carry more of the pollen that fertilizes your blossoms. Each female Orchard Bee makes her own nest in a series of tubes, sealed with mud. They are useful, small and docile-and they hardly ever sting unless severely provoked.
You can attract them to your garden with our nesting kits that provide exactly the right size holes the Orchard Bees are seeking in early Spring, in which to lay their eggs. Place the nest kit in a sheltered, sunny spot facing East or South.
The Small Orchard Bee House has 54 separate 6" nesting tubes in a sturdy, weatherproof PVC tube. Each tube is made from strong PVC pipe, containing a smooth, paper inner liner that can be replaced with a fresh paper insert, after the new generation has hatched each year. Extensive research by USDA has found that smooth 6" paper-lined tubes are preferred by the bees over short 4" holes drilled in wood blocks. The 6" tubes also insure a higher female ratio among the eggs produced.
Each nest comes with an informative leaflet. The Nest Kits were originally designed for the USA by Oxford Bee Company, in association with Oxford University in England.
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