The garden is starting to dwindle. The other morning I woke as the sun was coming up and, I couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked as though we had a bit of frost on the north side of the lawn. The tomato plants are turning black and there are dots of gold and red […]

Solitary cavity-nesting species such as mason bees are attracted to logs and dead trees, as well as hollow branches such as bamboo or sumac. Elderberry stems also are good because they have a soft pith that’s easily cleaned out. David Green of pollinator.com says don’t place elderberry stems out too late in spring because they […]

Attracting bees with the right plants is important, but what about inviting them to make a home nearby with attractive ready-to-move-in housing? A custom condo became my project in the winter for solitary mason bees and other native bees of all kinds who come knocking on my door for a place to lay their eggs. […]

There are two ways to acquire mason bees for your bee house. You can supply an alluring environment and draw native species to your yard. Or you can purchase mason bees from a supplier. Attracting mason bees to your yard As I’ve mentioned in previous posts you can attract mason bees by providing the following: […]

Honeybees tend to get all the attention when it comes to beneficial insects that help to pollinate our world. The sweet honey that they produce goes a long way in moving them up in the popularity contest. But did you know that there are over 4,000 bee species in North America? Many of these bee […]