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Each month our Bee Informed Blog highlights current news, science, and research related to solitary bee conservation, food insecurity, and sustainability.1. "New unusual bee species discovered with dog-like snout"(Phys.org) A new native bee species with a dog-like "snout" has been discovered in Perth bushland though Curtin-led research that sheds new light on our most important pollinators.Published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research, author Dr. Kit Prendergast, from the Curtin School of Mol …

Each month our Bee Informed Blog highlights current news, science, and research related to solitary bee conservation, food insecurity, and sustainability.1. "Students raising mason bees at Orcas School"(The Islands' Sounder) Orcas Master Gardeners Dray Longdon, Laura Walker, Tony Suruda and Nancy Forker visited the Orcas School Garden on Oct. 6 to help the 5th-grade students harvest cocoons of mason bees and prepare them for winter storage. Mason bees are native pollinators that nest in cavities …

We love mason bees for many reasons! They're early spring pollinators, a lot of fun to watch, and require very little maintenance compared to honey bees, making them perfect bees for busy gardeners and farmers.Traditionally, spring mason bee care included three simple steps. Step one, Install the mason bee house—step two, release mason bee cocoons. Step three, sit back and relax while these super pollinators do their thing. However, the Houdini Fly, an invasive parasite of the mason bee, has add …

Mason bees are susceptible to many parasites and diseases, increasing over time, especially when the same nest materials are used for multiple seasons. One of the most destructive diseases of cavity-nesting bees is chalkbrood, which is caused by the fungal pathogen Ascosphaera.Several species of Ascosphaera exist, including Ascosphaera torchioi (affects mason bees), A. larvis, and A. aggregata (affects alfalfa leafcutter bees). Chalkbrood disease also affects honey bees, but it is caused yet ano …

Each month our Bee Informed Blog highlights current news, science, and research related to solitary bee conservation, food insecurity, and sustainability.1. Bees Exposed to Pesticide Could Take Multiple Generations to Recover - Modern FarmerCalculating exactly what sort of damage certain pesticides pose to pollinators might be trickier than previously thought. New research from scientists at the University of California, Davis finds that repeated exposure to some pesticides could have an ad …