The red mason beeis an extremely useful insect. It is distinguished from other bees by greater gentleness and high intensity of pollination of plants. That is why it is worth providing good living conditions in our garden. See whatmasonry breeding looks likeand how easy it is to make a house that is a shelter for this bee.
Red mason bee - Eight stern
The genus of red masonry (Osmia) includes 18 species of bees. The most common species ismasonry(Osmia stufa), which occurs throughout our country.This species is an example of solitary bees that live in colonies but, for example, do not exchange information where to get food. The red mason is a medium-sized bee. Males are 8-10 mm and females 10-12 mm body length. The body is mostly rusty.Red bricklayeris a spring species. This means that it bursts out of its cocoons in the spring and is active all summer until the flowers fade, when it goes into a dormant state and waits in a cocoon for the return of spring.
A very important feature ofgarden masonryis their total lack of aggressiveness and overall calm character. This is due to the fact that the bricklayer does not have the habit of defending her nest, so even very close to the nest, the presence of a human is completely indifferent to the bricklayer. It is also worth mentioning the high activity of masonry masonry in pollination and the fact that it can collect pollen even in foil tunnels. It is also important thatmasonryhas a small range of searching for food (radius approx.300 m from the nest), so bees should set up a nest in our garden.
Red mason bee breeding
Breeding masonryis relatively easy. In fact, it is enough to prepare houses suitable for these bees, place them in the garden and wait for the first mason bees to appear. This is possible due to the previously mentioned common occurrence of this species.
Reed pipes inhabited by bricklayers
However, if someone is too impatient, instead of waiting for the spontaneous appearance of the mason bees, he can buy mason bees cocoons and put them in the garden next to the prepared houses in the spring. Throughout the growing season, the bees will do well without our help. However, for the winter, it is worth taking them out of the houses and overwintering the cocoons in a dry and cool room, e.g. a closed gazebo or an unheated garage.It is enough if we hibernate cocoons every two years. This is important because we do not expose our bees to parasites such as mites.
In the new yearwe start breeding red mason beesby placing cocoons outside, next to their new homes. We can do this at the end of March. Remember that mason bees attach very much to the place where they will chase from cocoons in spring. Therefore, if we are late, it may turn out that the bees have started to settle in, for example, in a gazebo or garage, even though they had houses suitable for them outside.
How to make a house for a brick masonry
What to consider if we want to makea house for a masonry garden ? First of all, you should start by choosing the right location for your cottage. Red mason bees prefer dry and sunny places. Their house cannot in any way be in contact with rain or even excessive moisture.
Red mason bee house
The most suitable for houses are pipes with a diameter of about 6-8 mm, but if the diameter is slightly smaller or larger, nothing should happen. It is also very important to plug the tube on one side so that the inlet is only on one side. It must be done very tightly, otherwisemasonrywill not sit on the pipe. Also point the tubing inlet / outlet to the south, west or east. Midnight is not right. This is so important because of the sun.Breeding of red mason beessucceeds the better, the more sun they get. If we want our colony to develop, we must remember to expose more and more nesting material every year.
Useful wild bees near the insect house
Fig. pixabay.com
To make amasonry housethe best, cheapest and easiest way is to use reed pipes. Reed is the most frequently inhabited material by red mason bees. Only too thin or too thick tubes should be avoided. Let's stick to the already mentioned diameter of 6-8 mm. A single tube should be approximately 20 to 25 cm long. Each tube should be cut just after the elbow, so that it is tightly closed on one side and open on the other. Tubes prepared in this way should be placed in bundles of a dozen or several dozen. It is a good idea to put them in a band after a plastic bottle, e.g. in water. Such packages are best placed horizontally, although vertical or diagonal orientation is also acceptable to bees.
You can also make tubes from hollow stems of other plants, e.g. knotweed. However, reeds make up to 98% of the inhabited tubes, while other plants only have approx. 20% of the infestations.
If making a house for a red mason bee yourself seems too complicated, we canbuy ready-made insect houses , which are more and more often available in gardening stores.However, it is worth paying attention to the correct implementation of such a ready-made house so that it not only serves as a decoration, but also favors the nesting of wild bees.Properly made houses for mason bees and other useful insects , coming from a proven manufacturer, are available in the shop of our guide. To see the offer, click on the image below.
