March 30 Mason bee update

March 30  Optimism is the word of the day.  I like to see more and more bamboo tubes filling up with clay.   It appears that the clay being used by the mason bees is the same
as the little pot of clay, I provided.

I checked the bees this morning. Nothing new. One bee was hanging out on the
condo-2.  Not much activity.  Count of filled tubes still stands a 6.
6 was this morning
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Now at 6:45 pm the count stands at 8 and a half.  The half-tube will probably be filled in a day or two.

If the typical cocoon tube contains 10 cocoons, then we are talking 80 plus bees for
next year.  I hope this represents only half because there remain up to four weeks left in the season.  We will see.

Judging by the activity, I should see several more filled tubes in a few days.

For sure next year condo-2 will be relocated to the south side of the house with
an eastern morning exposure.  The western wall gets absolutely no morning sun.

March 29, 2019 Mason Bee update

March 29

I just checked the bees.  Condo-2 has 6 filled bamboo tubes. Several other tubes have shown activity so I expect several other tubes to be filled in a few days.

Condo-1 has yet to display much activity.  I know my  paper diy tubes are simply too large in diameter,  I would say the diameters are 8 or 9 mm. Just too big.

The position of condo-2 is basically on the west side of the building.  The position of
condo-1 is on the southwest corner.   According to many sources, the condos should
be on a northeast corner of a building with full morning sun.

I was at a grocery store today. I purchased some paper straws. I will be installing them in vacant spaces, I hope they will attract some bees.

March 28 Mason bee update

Good activity on condo-2 today. The temperature was low to mid-60ºs. F

While only 3 bamboo tubes are filled, many bees are busy filling several tubes.  One weird mason-bee flew into a huge tube hole and stayed there. I think the tube is close to a half inch in diameter.

Then, I saw a few bees squeeze themselves into 5 mm holes.   I saw one bee back into her nest hole.  Most bees go in head first.  On the other hand, when the holes are viewed at night with a flashlight, I always see their heads.

I still see little or no activity on condo-1. The homemade tubes do not seem to attract any mason bees.  Maybe by the end of May, I will see some use.  Next spring the tubes in condo-1 will be better-crafted tubes.  I will make them much smaller.

I think a better way to use routed out wooden trays would be to make them then insert custom made paper tubes.

I wonder if anyone has ever done a study which offers a reason why mason bees approach the nest in a very erratic fashion. Another behavior which is interesting is that often a bee will approach the nest then do a power climb. Frequently they climb 30 feet straight up. Amazing.

March 27 installed a few "compostable" white straws

March 27
Just as a test, I installed a few "compostable" white straws

The straws seem like their made out of  plastic, but the package said the material was not plastic. Supposed to be made from compostable plant material.  I am not at all sure these straws are any good.

On the left side of condo-2, one of the bamboo tubes has been completely filled.
So as of this morning, there are two filled tubes.  There are a few bees working on
other tubes.  I am looking forward to completed holes in the removable wooden trays.
So far I have only seen activity on one hole in the removable wooden trays.
It looks like there is a third hole being used, but not nearly filled yet.
Moderate activity around condo-2 today. No activity around condo-1.

Temperatures in the mid-50s.

Put a plastic bottle filled with compostable straws on the fence today. The fence receives morning sun. It faces directly east🌞. Some people say the bee condo should face east. So  I put this up on the fence facing east. 

I went outdoors to check on the two condos after sundown.  It turns out that with the use of a flashlight I could see the faces of bees in 3 bamboo tubes. I checked the wooden trays.  I could see no bees in those holes.

It is 118 miles from Federal Way to the Canadian border.   So the activity of the mason bees here, should not be much different from Canada.

March 26 mason bee update (reaction to a bar magnet)

No new breaks. Of the 8 tubes, 6 have had bees emerge.
Condo-2  continues to be quite active.  Today a bee was quite busy
packing a bamboo tube on the left side of the condo.
No activity on condo-1.

I tried a little "experiment".  I took a magnet and set it on the sill at the
bottom of condo-2.  I was amazed to see a mason-bee hover with great excitement
in front of the bar magnet.  Very interesting observation.  I intend to investigate
this activity.
I need to take a video of this behavior.  Maybe some enterprising grad student has
done a thesis on this behavior.  It makes sense that bees use magnetic environmental
cues to fly.  I see studies regarding honey bees have been recorded.

I can say the mason bee's reaction to a magnet was amazing.
I bought some paper straws today. I have several spaces in the bee condos. I intend
to install them within the next few days.

March 25, 2019 Mason Bee update (& comments on Bumblebees)

Cool weather in the low 50s and extremely light rain(almost just a mist).
No bees were observed and no holes completed since yesterday.

I see in the news that Bombus affinis  (rusty patch bumble bee) has a stressed
population.  Experts are saying this.  (I am no expert.)   Although I know field identification is tricky, I thought I spotted numerous of the little critters
last year and especially in 2017.

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Now that Bombus affinis (the common name:  rusty patch bumble bee) has been declared U.S. Endangered Species Act Status: Endangered
as was reported by the Xerces Society (they are reputed to be experts).,
Xerces has requested field observations.   (B affinis was listed March 21, 2017
one week after Pi day)

So this summer I will have my little Cannon camcorder out in the yard and will be
taking both still and video pictures.  I look forward to July.  No question about it,
my amateur identification needs to be backed up with photos.  When I get some good photos, I will show them on this blog. I don't think I can responsibly just say I saw one.

The most common type of bee in my back yard during the summer are various species of bumblebee. By the middle of June, the mason bees will be cocooned. So from then on, I will be photographing bumblebees..

March 24 Sunday Mason Bee Update

According to several sites, the diameter for Mason and leafcutter bees
range from

Diameter

• 4/16 inch (6.35 mm) (or 1/4")
• 5/16 inch
• 6/16 inch (9.525 mm) (or 3/8")

So, the measurements will be from 6 mm to 10 mm I wrapped the paper around pencils. That turned out to be way too big. Bees seem to have avoided anything except the small holes.

I plan to use a variety of dowels to roll paper & ensure I get a range of sizes.

For next year, I will be preparing tubes in a range of diameters. The experts seem to
say that bamboo is not so good. That may be true, but the mason bees seem to prefer
the bamboo. The routed out wood trays have thus far only one bee.

Also, I intend to make some smaller ones because the first tube filled in my

condo-2 was a bit smaller than 1/4 inch.

I intend to make a few small ones and large ones as a test. 5 mm and 11 mm.

Of course, I will mark them with a black marker to indicate the "outlier" sized tubes.

I look at this effort partly following instructions and partly experimental.

on my "wonderful bees" youtube channel, I have posted a video showing the clay mud
I mixed up for the bees. It is a very light color of gray so maybe I will be able to tell which
bees actually use it for their cocoon nest tube.

observations.

I notice that sometimes a mason bee approaches the condo but just loiters around for a couple of minutes and then fly away.

In some cases, two bees will seem to engage in a dog fight and then one or both leave the area.