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Autumnal Bucket
Talking recently about the autumn bucket list ~
This is part of my October must do
Clean my Osmia Rufa (Red Mason Bees)
Solitary bees nesting in tubes (or naturally in holes in brickwork/trees etc.)
I keep them as a hobby and they are great early pollinators for apple, pear, plum trees
They are sweet and gentle do not sting
I take each tube and carefully remove each silk cocoon one by one for cleaning (34 tubes this year)
average bees in tubes 7
Each Cocoon now contains a fully developed bee in hibernation/sleeping for waking up in Spring.
This is one of nature's miracles
I clean them to save as many from pollen mites or may have fly predators putting in their eggs in the tube.
They have a sand bath in kiln dried sand to remove dirt and debris
This year they had a mild bleach bath because they all have to stay in one box so can't
let any other cocoon be infected with anything as I would lose the lot.
Photos of the bees
Happiness is Bee Shaped
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That's amazing @TallTrees albeit very time consuming.
Once you release them in the spring to pollinate, do they return to the nesting tubes at all?
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Of course ~
They would stay in the tubes or natural holes until spring when they wake up come out and fly around a bit then look for pollen / nectar to feed on.
Fascinating!
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Hi @Cleoriff
Yes they are all put out just near my boxes with new tubes in
All the bees that come out stay at home
and use my tubes again ~ this is home for them and the next generation.
The bees don't forage far away they keep a map in their head and forage
about 300 feet ish around the release site.
They are very popular in the US as these little bees are very early so they are
used commercially to pollinate the Almonds Peaches etc. They have a furry
ginger colour body which is perfect for pollination as they carry the pollen from
tree to tree.
Thank you for your interest
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Hi @Anonymous
~ yes they do! well if I do it that is
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With the big chemical companies creating pesticides that kill bees, you are to be commended @TallTrees More people should be doing this. If we kill the bees, the human race dies. I don't know if people are aware of this.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/neonicotinoid-pesticides-slowly-killing-bees
Unfortunately, the idiot masquerading as President of my country is contributing to this too.
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Hi @Bambino
Thank you very much ~ what you say is very true. Everyone can make a difference even in a small way ~ in fact small changes by lots of people are the best. All "front and rear gardens" are very important small or large with help and consideration to little creatures and our native birds too can make a big difference to our lives, they depend on us.
I read both your articles.
Very upsetting ~
President Trump is not considering the wider implications which will only bring disaster~ very sad
Thank you for your interest
