As a follow up to our spring workshop on cavity nesting bees, members of CVHS were privileged to spend a couple of hours with a local mason bee expert. Gord demonstrated the fascinating world of the mason bee apiary, right from how he stores over 700 filled nest boxes all summer, to harvesting and cleaning cocoons, and then maintaining them until spring.
We learned how to identify some of the many enemies that attack our hard working pollinators, including houdini flies and pollen mites, and how to best minimize these pests. We ended the day by trying our hand at scraping cocoons out of the nest tubes, and all were amazed at how sturdy the cocoons are!
For anyone that was not able to attend the workshop, Mason Bee Central is holding their fall cocoon harvest on October 23, 24, 27, 30 from 9 AM- 4 PM and are seeking volunteers for whatever time you can spare. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the interesting life of Mason Bees!
contact info@masonbeecentral.com
or June at cvhsworkshops@gmail.com
