Feeding Early Emerged Mason Bees

Feeding Early Emerged Mason Bees

How do I feed mason bees that emerged before my flowers are open?

Feeding Early Emerged Mason Bees 

Don't worry, you can provide early emerged mason bees inside of your HumidiBee with a couple of options. Mason bees have their own personalities and giving them a couple of different feeding options gives them the chance to choose what they like.  
  1. A cotton ball soaked in a 50:50 sugar to water solution
  2. Early blooms: a few dandelions, heather, etc
  3. Replace the cotton ball or flowers every day
  4. Darkness and cold keeps the bees sleepy, cover the HumidiBee with a paper bag and keep the bees in your fridge until your fruit trees are ready
  5. Release emerged bees as soon as possible

Releasing, or setting out cocoons into your bee house, is easy! The mason bees will chew out of their cocoons, fly, and return to the bee house to choose their nesting hole.

  1. Check your 10-day forecast: bees need consistent temps that are nearing 55F/13C, open blooms, and sun to fly
  2. Stagger your release: try setting out 1/2 or 1/3 of your cocoons, wait a week or two & repeat
  3. Set out a mix of small (male) + large (female) cocoons
  4. Protect bee cocoons from wind and birds with a Bee Cocoon Hatchery
  5. Always keep bee cocoons out of direct sunlight! 


    • Related Articles

    • What to do when mason bees do not emerge

      Mason bees emerge when the time and conditions are right for them - usually in the spring when temperatures are nearing 55F. Depending on your weather patterns it can take two weeks or longer for mason bees to emerge from their cocoons. ...

    • Troubleshooting why mason bees did not nest in your bee house

      Why are mason bees not nesting in my bee house? For first-time mason bee raisers, this is our most common question in the spring.  First, please be patient. It takes time for the mason bees to emerge from their cocoons and it can take up to two weeks ...

    • Troubleshooting why leafcutter bees did not nest in your bee house

      Why are leafcutter bees not nesting in my bee house? For first-time leafcutter bee raisers, this is our most common question in the summer.  First, please be patient. It takes time for the leafcutter bees to emerge from their cocoons and it can take ...

    • Moldy mason bee cocoons

      In most cases, a little bit of mold on the outside of mason bee cocoons is harmless. However, you should remove any excessive mold before it does damage your hibernating bees. About mold: mold is a spore that starts from a food source and typically ...

    • How to rescue bees from bamboo and drilled blocks of wood

      How do I harvest cocoons from bamboo and drilled blocks of wood? Bamboo, while low cost, is too structurally sound to easily open like natural reeds. Consider this solution: Place the entire house into a BeeGuard bag early spring and close the ...