Best Bee Brothers Bee Blog — Mason Bees

Is it a mason bee, carpenter bee or wasp? Our handy guide will help you know friend from foe. Learn what benefits or risks each creature brings and what to do about them if you notice them on your property.

How Do Mason Bees Pollinate and How To Attract Them To Your Garden Mason bees are truly wonderful, gentle bees. Like carpenter bees, they are solitary bees, meaning they do not live in hives or colonies. Instead, a single female will build a nest in a pre-existing crevasse or a hollow stick. True to its name, the mason bee uses mud and other natural materials to construct its nest. The male mason bees die shortly after mating. The female mason bee will go on to lay her eggs in several different nests over the season.1 Mason bees are even better...

When you think of bees, images of a beehive teeming with honey might come to mind. But the reality is that most bees do not make honey or live in hives. In fact, 85% of the world’s bee population is made up of bees that do not live in hives or colonies. These creatures are also known as solitary bees. The most commonly known solitary bee is the mason bee.   Luckily, we can tell the difference between mason and carpenter bees because there are many physical and behavioral differences between the two. There are many different types of mason...