Bee News, Updates & Seasonal Tips — Mason Bees

The continuous blooming of native plants to provide pollen and nectar - check! Mud-rich clay source and deciduous leaves nearby for building nests - check! Bee-safe nesting materials - check! Bee hotel installed - check! If you build it, they will come, right? Well, not necessarily. "Why aren't my bees nesting?" is one of the most common questions we receive from our bee raisers. We understand how frustrating it can be to take the time to create safe nesting habitats for solitary bees only to have them struggle to reproduce or to fly off in search of more desirable nesting...

First and foremost, we hope you are staying well. Despite the challenging circumstances of 2020, it was a big year for Crown Bees - not only for our team but for our community of bee raisers who helped provide bee houses and spread awareness of the importance of our solitary bee species. Thank you for making this year possible and for being part of this incredible community. A glance at what you had helped us accomplish in 2020: This year, you installed 4,000 new houses and supplied over 1.2 million unique nesting holes for hardworking bee mothers across the U.S. You raised over 1.2 million...

Growing food in your own backyard is an excellent way to reduce stress, save money, lower pollution, and improve your community’s food security Working with soil has also been shown to reduce depression and enhance your mental health while you learn new skills. Gardening with children is full of opportunities to learn about many subjects like ecology, biology, chemistry, and art. Our goal is to cover the key decisions in the planning process to make building your own victory garden easy for new gardeners. Remember to relax and experiment as you learn what works best for you.   Garden Site Conditions Start...

Learn how to naturally deter social wasps from building a nest near your home. You may begin to notice and worry about social wasp nests in the late summer. Social wasps like paper wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets have similar life cycles and their nests become large enough to notice in the summer. Social wasps look for a protective overhang like a tree branch or unfortunately, your house's eave. There is a natural and free solution to keeping social wasps away from your home. Social wasps are territorial, and the queens are looking for a nesting location with the least...