Urban Farm School

I love bees. Truly infatuted with them. My favourites are the bumbles. Big, lazing bumblebees with their oversized bodies and bumbling, bouncing way in the garden. It’s as if they aren’t interested in nectar at all, just happen upon a convenient place to sit and rest a spell. I could watch them in the garden and their slow antics for hours, and often times find myself laughing out loud watching them.

Bumbles are near and dear to my heart but there is a special spot for the workhorse of the bee world as well, the blue orchard bee, commonly called the mason. These little darlings are incredibly efficient pollinators, work in the rain and cold while others are asleep underground, and have mastered the art of pollination. We in the Pacific Northwest are lucky to host scores of native bees, mason bees among them, and with a little pre-planning can easily invite them into our garden worlds.

February is the perfect time to prepare for the arrival of these solitary bees. Mason bee tubes, blocks, or houses can be easily constructed and set into the garden to attract them. As the saying goes “build it and they will come.” (I really LOVE baseball and baseball movies too, another spring joy for me!) Mason bees like a hole approximately 5/16 of an inch, 6 inches deep, keep one end blocked as the queen will lay next year’s queen in the last cell for protection. Keep the entrance protected from rain and wind and remember mason bees like to stay within 150-200 feet of their nest when out pollinating. There are scores of plans on the internet ~ when looking at them consider that the queen lays a chain of cells each filled with eggs that will develop into adult bees over the winter. The deeper the chain of cells the more protection offered. Also consider the materials you use as parasitic insects often inject their eggs through paper, cardboard, and plastic into the bee cells. Think sturdy for survival!

We are very lucky this February to be host to two wonderful “ladies of the bees,” one discussing backyard honeybee culture and the miraculous world of these bees and the honey they create. The other is a resident expert in native bees in our region and is more passionate about bees than anyone I have ever know. Share this great event with us Tuesday, February 24 at the Rosemary Cafe, 1001 Main Street, Vancouver. See you there!