Summer Leaf Bee Seasonal Care Guide
The development time for Summer Leaf bees is temperature-dependent. Because climate varies widely across North America, this calendar breaks down bee-raising tasks by season and temperature, so it’s useful no matter where you live.
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Late spring and early summer
Inspect and take inventory of your 6mm nesting materials. Under good conditions, female Summer Leaf bees can fill 2–4 nesting cavities in a single summer. Plan for at least two nesting cavities per female.
You may use the same bee house used for Mason bees, but remove Mason nesting materials first and clean out debris or pests before placing Summer Leaf nesting materials.
Each order includes about 200 cocoons. Summer Leaf bees disperse more than Mason bees, so not all will remain. Even so, you’ll still have plenty to pollinate your garden.
Summer
When blossoms are open and daytime temperatures consistently reach 75°F / 24°C, it’s time to release your cocoons. Unlike Mason bees, Summer Leaf bees cannot be stored in a refrigerator.
Choose a shipping date as close as possible to when you want pollination to begin. Bees arrive ready to emerge and fly.
If temperatures exceed 90°F / 32°C, consider letting cocoons emerge indoors in a breathable bag and releasing bees early in the morning.
Fall, winter, and early spring
When temperatures cool to about 60°F / 15°C, nesting is complete. Remove nesting materials and store them in a BeeGuard Bag or other tightly woven, breathable mesh bag with leaf-capped ends facing up.
Summer Leaf bees overwinter as delicate larvae inside leafy cocoons. Proper storage protects them from pests and parasites.
Store materials in an unheated, unconditioned space such as a garage, shed, or covered overhang. Outdoor storage is fine if protected from rain, snow, and predators.
Early spring
If nests were filled the previous year, you can harvest cocoons in early spring. Harvesting helps prevent disease and reduce pest populations.
Because development is temperature-dependent, cocoons must be incubated to complete development into adults. If you incubate your own cocoons, time emergence with summer blooms and weather.