02-04-2019 14:44 - edited 02-04-2019 14:53
02-04-2019 14:44 - edited 02-04-2019 14:53
From last year they were Sleeping Beeuties 2018 to
This year 2019 again these little kind and sweet bees have caught me unaware and when I opened
the sleeping box there were a few anxious looking faces! So up went the boxes sharpish
and they were put on top to feel the fresh air and off they flew ~ they'll be back always
to the same spot they first remember.
These are the boxes facing South in the hot sun.
This is a box with an emerging bee under the release box top.
Wildlife have no respect for photographers!
on 03-04-2019 12:39
on 03-04-2019 12:39
Thanks for updating on the Red Masons @TallTrees ! I've been waiting all winter to see the next step in the cycle. You'll have to keep us updated with pics as they emerge and grow!
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on 03-04-2019 13:50
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on 03-04-2019 13:51
on 03-04-2019 13:51
Well now @liggerz87
you may have got me started on this, I will see how it goes
I have got a Camcorder. They are never there when I am there and I
stand around waiting and waiting and as soon I decide I can't wait
any longer ~ they have a laugh and come in.
on 04-04-2019 00:17
on 04-04-2019 00:17
@TallTrees wrote:My bees and most other bees are solitary bees. They do not produce honey in a comb.
They put pollen and nectar in with their egg and seal it up. So their off spring have
the food to develop. Each tube 7 to 10 bee cells.
These bees Red Mason Bees are essential pollinators they are the best pollinators
of all bees because they carry lots of pollen on their "woolly" bodies and distribute
this between all plants as they fetch and carry for their off-spring.
They are specialists in Fruit Orchards for pollinating all the fruit, very popular with big
fruit growers. Some put up these Bee Hotels in the farm along side their orchards.
They are Bee Hotels my hotel has the exact size of tube to attract the Red Mason Bee
Other hotels have different sizes to attract a number of different bees.
Thanks for the explanation @TallTrees ^^
Do you think they sleep in bushes or so then? I recently googled how birds sleep outside XD
on 04-04-2019 08:59
on 04-04-2019 08:59
I have seen them return to the nesting boxes but I don't know where they sleep, probably in a tube during cold/wet weather.
Where do birds sleep then?
on 04-04-2019 20:33
Thank you for the information @TallTrees ... it's wonderful to know of the 'woolly' bees carrying pollen on their bodies as they go to and fro to the nest boxes to feed their young
Does a solitary bee go back to it's original tube when sheltering from the cold night-time Spring weather?
Your nest boxes look so modern ... what are they made of please?
on 05-04-2019 00:58
on 05-04-2019 00:58
@TallTrees wrote:
I have seen them return to the nesting boxes but I don't know where they sleep, probably in a tube during cold/wet weather.
Where do birds sleep then?
@TallTrees on branches in trees and shrubs. They have a mechanism in their legs holding the feet fix. So there were even bird skeletons found which still were in place
on 05-04-2019 10:31
on 05-04-2019 10:31
Hi @Anonymous
I think they shelter in the release box (not easy to see as at top of box) but I think they use any of the tubes or shelter in undergrowth. It has been cold so I haven't seen them about.
The boxes are home made to suit ~ I painted them on the outside with water-based garden paint non-toxic to keep them from sucking in the damp or rain. They are made of wood and are quite heavy.
They keep the inside tubes warm from any late frosts and dry too.
on 05-04-2019 10:34
on 05-04-2019 10:34
Thank you @ComaChameleon
That makes sense. I used to keep parrots and of course they slept on their perches and never feel off!
unless they were frightened! Always kept a part of their home covered so they could feel safe.
on 05-04-2019 12:12