Glossary
A man-made structure designed to provide nesting habitat for solitary native bees, such as mason bees and leafcutter bees. Unlike honey bee hives, bee houses do not contain colonies; instead, individual female bees use the tubes or cavities to lay eggs and provision them with pollen.
Solitary bees do not live in colonies like honey bees. Each female is a solo operator: she finds or creates a nesting tunnel, collects pollen to form a provision for each egg, lays the egg on the pollen mass, and seals the cell with mud or leaf material before starting the next cell in the tunnel.
A bee house replicates the natural cavities these bees would use in the wild, such as hollow stems, beetle holes in dead wood, or gaps in stone walls. Well-designed bee houses provide tubes of various diameters (typically 6 to 10 mm for mason bees, 5 to 8 mm for leafcutter bees) at least 6 inches deep.
Place your bee house on a south-facing wall at least 3 feet off the ground, protected from direct rain. The structure should be firmly mounted (not swinging on a hook) and positioned near a source of flowers and mud or clay soil. Mason bees in particular need access to damp clay to build their cell partitions.
Maintenance is important. Bee houses should be cleaned annually to prevent the buildup of parasites and mold. Some designs use removable tubes or trays that can be opened, cleaned, and replaced each season.
No. Bee houses are designed for solitary native bees, not honey bees. Honey bees nest in cavities much larger than bee house tubes and live in colonies of thousands. The two types of bees have fundamentally different nesting requirements.
Mason bees (Osmia species) and leafcutter bees (Megachile species) are the primary users of bee houses. Both are gentle, efficient pollinators that rarely sting. A single mason bee can pollinate as many flowers as 100 honey bees in certain crops.
When properly maintained, yes. However, poorly maintained bee houses can become breeding grounds for parasites and diseases. Regular cleaning, proper tube sizing, and correct placement are essential for bee houses to provide a net benefit to local bee populations.
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