News — harvesting

Each fall, Crown Bees buys back extra Mason bee cocoons from gardeners and farmers to expand pollination across the USA. Learn how your bees help support orchards, community farms, and organic growers through our Bee Buy Back program.

Every fall, Mason bee raisers harvest cocoons to prepare for spring. Jim from Indiana turned this task into a neighborhood tradition, hosting harvest parties that bring people together over bees, donuts, and laughter. Providing bee care is as much about community as pollination.

During the 2022 harvesting season, some mason bee raisers in the pacific northwest noticed that a few mason bees had already emerged from their cocoons. Early emergence tells us that the bees have already consumed most of their stored fats (energy), which usually doesn't occur until spring. The early emergence of mason bees is likely due to the higher-than-average, extended summer temperatures we had in the summer and fall of 2022. When we have higher-than-average summer temperatures, the speed of development increases, and the new bee becomes an adult quicker than usual. Once the bee becomes an adult, it shifts...