mason bees
Mud-nesting wild pollinators
Mason bees are solitary bees that build nests using mud or other materials to create partitioned chambers for their eggs.
Unlike honeybees, they don't live in colonies or produce honey.
They're gentle, rarely sting, and are efficient pollinators—often kept in gardens for this purpose: We put up a mason bee house near the orchard.
- cocoonsProtective insect casings
- pollenFloral reproductive grains
- mudWet soil mixture
- native pollinatorsIndigenous pollen-transferring species
- nectarFloral sugar water
hole · insects · orchard · foraging · larvae · tunnel · flowering plants · fruit trees · leafcutter · egg · tubes · nesting · cells · pollination · bamboo · reeds · garden · almond
- beeshoneybee, bumblebee, honeybees, bumblebees, drones
- pollinatorsbutterflies, butterfly, bumblebee, bumblebees, honeybee
- Hymenopterawasps, ants, hornets, sawflies, honeybees
- native gardeningwildflowers, native plants, wildflower seeds, rain garden, pollinator garden
sociality
mason beeshoneybees
Colonial insects producing wax
Apis mellifera · bumblebees · paper wasps · army ants · ants