Facebook
X (Twitter)
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
Delicious
LinkedIn
StumbleUpon
Posts Tagged: leafcutter bees
Go Native! Be a Native Bee 'Beekeeper'
If you're yearning to be a backyard beekeeper, "go native." "Go native" with native bees, that is. Many folks are building or buying bee condos to provide nesting sites for blue orchard bees (Osmia lignaria) and leafcutting bees (Megachile...
Leafcutting bees heading home to their condo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, shows Danielle Wishon of the California Department of Food and Agriculture a bee condo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Blue orchard bees on display at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of bee nesting sites shown March 2 at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Meet the New Tenant
You can't always choose your tenants. Sometimes they choose you. Take the case of our two bee condos, which are blocks of wood drilled with holes for native bee occupancy. One, with the smaller holes, is for leafcutter bees (Megachile spp.) The other,...
Webweaver spun a web and then crawled into the mason bee condo to occupy a hole. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of webweaving spider occupying space in the bee condo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ten Tenants
Ten tenants.That's how many tenants are occupying our wooden bee block, aka "bee condo."It's "home, sweet home" for leafcutting bees (Megachile spp.).Daily we see these native bees tear holes in leaves (red bud, rose, catmint, gold coin, rock purslane...
Two leafcutting bees (Megachile spp.) at their bee condo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Leafcutter bee sipping nectar from a rock purslane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
