Bee Box

We've all heard the sad story of how honeybees are declining at an alarming rate.  Honeybees play a critical role in pollination of various plants and crops and their decline across the globe means a growing risk of food shortages. It is still a mystery as to why these bees are disappearing, but the good news is that other types of insects can serve as pollinators, too. One of these is the solitary bee, or Mason Bee.

In the world of bees, there are many species. Each type is classified as either social or solitary. Social bees, like honeybees, live together with thousands of others and have specific job duties. Solitary bees, like Mason bees, spend their entire life living alone.  Every female bee is both a queen and a worker bee.

To help increase the number of bees on our farm, Tom built a couple of boxes especially made to attract these solitary bees and increase their population.  The boxes are simple to make and look like this.

They are filled with rolled up paper tubes in which the bees lay their eggs.  To make the tubes, cut sheets of paper into fourths.  

Next, take a pencil and roll the paper lengthwise around it.

Tape each end of the paper roll to keep it closed.

Next, fold one end of the paper tube and staple it closed.

Finally, put the paper tubes in the bee box with the open end facing outward.

The box should be hung so that it faces east or southeast so that the morning sun will help warm the bees.

We got the directions for building the bee box from the website Growing a Greener World.  This is a fantastic site with all sorts of information on sustainable living.  There is also a program on our local PBS station by the same name hosted by Joe Lampl. The website contains links to all the program episodes.  The specific episode that talks about Mason Bees and how to build the bee box above is:    Solitary Bees