I built this simple bee house in the summer of 2008, and it has consistently attracted insects – despite an attack from a woodpecker last summer. Well, the bees are back. About two weeks ago, I noticed that some of the holes were being filled with mud, a sure sign that some pollinating insect was laying eggs in the box. The chambers are all filled now, with the exception of the woodpecker hole, and in a few weeks the bees will emerge and begin pollinating my raspberries and all of the other plants in the neighborhood.
Welcome back!
What a great sight! Now I’ve got Thin Lizzy ‘the boys are back in town’ stuck in my head!
What a cool idea!
Are these what are called Mason bees? I have lots of bees in the bee balm and thyme, but they are not honeybees, alas. However, I do give thanks for all pollinators.
Pat — the house was intended for orchard mason bees, but the tubes in my house are a little too shallow for female mason bees. (I didn’t know that at the time.) What I get are leaf cutter bees, which are great pollinators, but a little destructive to some plants.