Release The Bees!

This is a much delayed post. The weather finally became beautiful and warm in the city so I took this opportunity to release the bees. Here's a photo-by-photo recap of how I did this and some tips on where to place your mason bee house.

Thanks BEE diverse for the cocoons!

 The Release Box

After removing the mason bee cocoons from the cool temperatures of my fridge, I crafted a little release box for the 10 cocoons.

Here they are looking like raisins nestled on tissue.

             Waterproofing... just in case

Because the release box was made from a cardboard I thought it would be best to cover it with something a little more waterproof.

Not the prettiest vessel to emerge from but it does it's job.

 Where to Place the Release Box

I had to figure out a way to attach the release box to the mason bee house. Gotta love string and tape. I wanted it to be close to the bee house so they would choose it as their nesting spot.

The release box is in the shade of the bee house, it should not be in direct sunlight. 







I put-up my mason bee house up in the south-west corner of my house, south-east would've been preferable but they will still get lots of sunlight here. It took 3 of us to put it up believe it or not... It was a very political process apparently. In the end it went up onto a post by our fig tree, about 5 feet off the ground which is the ideal height.

Hopefully I'll see one of my mason bees emerge!

Later this week I'll be opening the release box up to see what the empty cocoons look like, as well (and the sad fact) to see how many cocoons didn't made it through hibernation. Pictures and more tips on mason bee house placement to come.