Many a beekeeper will eventually come to wonder how to harvest bee pollen, and when, and even if they should. What do you need to know first?
Read MoreRegardless of whether we live a rural lifestyle, an urban one, or something in between, our existence and continuance of the world as we know it is dependent on an ecosystem of small insect pollinators and native pollinator habitat that most people rarely notice.
Read MoreThere are more than 20,000 species of solitary bees. Native to nearly every corner of the globe, they are adapted to a vast diversity of climates and habitats.
Read MoreRaising mason bees is as simple as buying or making suitable housing and placing it where it will be discovered by the bees that already live in your area. If you don’t buy mason bees, starting is a bit slower, but the results are worth the wait.
Read MoreShould you feed native bees? Josh Vaisman explains the whys and why nots.
Read MorePollinator Week — recognized internationally, observed the third week of June in the US — celebrates each and every pollinator on the planet.
Read MoreCommon throughout the mid to southeastern United States, the carpenter-mimic bee (or copycat bee) has earned its name.
Read MoreI want to make mason bee homes. I plan to try drilling a wood block, but also try bamboo. Since moisture is an issue with bamboo, has anyone tried drying the bamboo out in a low temp oven? Do they have suggestions about how long and at what temperature to dry the bamboo?
Read MoreAdd to Favorites Even before we began keeping bees, we tried to garden in such a way as to not harm bees and other pollinators. Now that we are keeping …
Read MoreMost Osmia mason bees are generalist pollinators, foraging on a wide variety of plants. As a rule of thumb, Osmia prefer tube-shaped blossoms or flowers with irregular shapes. Some of their favorites are various mints, penstemon, scorpionweed, and willows. They also like legume family plants such as indigo bush, clover, and vetch along with composites such as thistles.
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