Bee Wayfinders - Summer Leaf Bees

Summer Leaf bees use visual cues to help orient themselves to their nests.

After emerging from their cocoons, females take an orientation flight. During this flight, they search for a suitable nesting site and learn about the surrounding area to help them relocate their nests. After selecting a nesting hole, the female bee will fly in a zigzag pattern before the nest entrance, memorizing its exact location.

Bee houses with large numbers of nesting holes that all look the same make it difficult for the females to relocate their nests—sometimes, this results in females nesting elsewhere. To avoid confusing the bees, we offer reeds that naturally have slight size variations and char the front of our wood trays to give each hole a unique look.

To make it even easier for the females to relocate their nests after foraging, we've created Bee Wayfinders! These "signposts" add visual hints to help females locate their nesting cavities quickly.

Bees base their color combinations on ultraviolet light, blue, and green, which is why they can't see the color red. They can, however, see reddish wavelengths, such as yellow and orange. Each Bee Wayfinder is a unique bold color that bees can easily see.

Specifications:

• 6 Bee Wayfinders per package
• Bee Wayfinders for Leafcutter Bees fit in our 6mm nesting materials in wood trays.