You’ll want to encourage these docile, no-sting, super pollinators into your garden.
We all know it ’s imperative that we havepollinators in our garden . Bees , butterfly stroke , other insects , and animals help to pollinate our flush and vegetables so that we can have blooms and food in our gardens . Somehow , one amazing , little pollinator seems to have get over - count and is n’t talked about very much .
The Blue Mason Bee ( Osmia lignaria ) or Orchard Mason Bee is not only excellent at pollination ; he ’s enchanting and aristocratical to have around . He ’s a North American aboriginal and lives across the United States and throughout Southern Canada . These bees are specially vulgar to the Pacific Northwest and they pollinate our bounce vegetables , yield tree and blossom .
The Orchard mason is an attractive little guy with his blue - black coloring and metal shininess . He ’s about 1/3 of an column inch long with two pair of wing . They front less bee - like than their cousins and are often mistaken for flies . The manful bees are smaller than the females and have a white , hairy face .

What Makes Blue Mason Bees unlike ?
Blue George Mason beesact like other bee in that they bombinate from efflorescence to flower amass pollen for themselves and their new . As they go about their commercial enterprise , they are happily pollinating your garden veggie , fruit , and flower . Blue mason bee are the perfect pollinator if you are a pocket-size land area or suburban James Leonard Farmer that does n’t desire to keep honey bee hive .
These garden helpers are unassuming , non - strong-growing , and completely safe to have around your kids and deary . They do n’t inhabit in hives ; they do n’t attack to fend for their home , and they do n’t make dearest . In fact , although they do have a cut ( which is really an testicle scout ) , they rarely utilise it unless they ’re genuinely pressured like purposely being caught in a someone ’s handwriting . So , go onward and have the kids get up cheeseparing and personal to get a near feel at the bees at work .

Cool deviation Between Blue Mason Bees and Other Bees
The idea of these bees had me so curious , that I did a short searching around . I find out that dispirited mason bees are nonsocial in that each female builds her nest by herself . She pose eggs , then seals the nest , and goes about her biography . Since there ’s no settlement or hive , as with other bees ( like honey bees or bumble bees ) , she does this alone . However , Orchard James Neville Mason bees are pull in to one another so they like to build their nests in a chemical compound situation .
The mason bees have also adapted to cool climates , and can fly about in stale temperature – even a little rainwater mizzle does n’t faze them . Often , you will see them severely at work with pollinating while the honey bee stay inside their hives .

While the mason bee will pollenate almost anything , they are especially pull to the stone fruits such as plum , cherry , and smasher . It would seem that they specialize in these plants , but like orchard apple tree tree heyday , too . Being solitary by nature , mason bees are shy fauna and , therefore , good to have around without the fear of being stung . Hey , sign up me up !
I also bump out that blue mason bees were named because each egg sleeping accommodation with a diminutive “ brick ” of mud that is used as a divider from the other egg William Chambers . Hence , “ mason ” bee .
After con all of this , I could n’t order a little James Mason bee house tight enough .

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