There are more than 150 species of native, non-imported mason bees, writes Amy Grisak. They are gentle and efficient pollinators who don’t have hives like the more familiar honeybees. Nesting* in wood piles, trees and other plant materials, they lay their eggs in existing gaps or tunnels. Their life cycle is like a butterfly with females laying only 15 eggs in their 4- to 6-week lifetime compared to the 1,500 or more eggs honeybee queens produce.
Mason bees are well-adapted to the climate. They fly in cooler temperatures and brave drizzly conditions allowing them to pollinate up to 2,000 flowers per day . . . the work of 100 honeybees.” – Thyra McKelvie
Source: Birds and Blooms, January 1, 2022. Link.
*NOTE: For a direct way to add them to your backyard, you can temporarily host them by ordering a bee house from Rent Mason Bees. It’s simple! You order a kit that includes bees to arrive in early spring. When the bees are done pollinating your yard, mail back the nesting block. Rent Mason Bees harvests, cleans and protects the cocoons over the winter and then provides bees to farmers and gardeners, who release them into their crops.