If you like fruits and berries, then mason bees are your friends. These native bees are super pollinators – 97 per cent of flowers they visit are pollinated, and one female mason bee does the work of 100 honeybees.
Mason bees are one of over 400 species of native bees in B.C. These species are in decline due to a combination of stressors, including habitat loss and fragmentation, pesticide use, invasive species and climate change.
The Sunshine Coast Wildlife Project is encouraging the installation of mason bee homes to provide more habitat for native bees and assist with monitoring pollinator populations. These gentle, non-aggressive bees are easy to raise, and are happy to be observed by humans. Unlike honeybees, which live communally in hives, mason bees are solitary and live in tunnels.
Those interested in caring for bees can join the Wildlife Project for free workshops at the Sechelt Legion on Nov. 14 and 15. If you already have mason bees, bring your blocks or tubes to learn about cleaning and winter care of bee cocoons. If you don’t yet have bees, come build a bee house.
The workshops are part of a Homes for Wildlife weekend, which also includes workshops to build bat houses or owl nest boxes. For more information, see www.facebook.com/coastwildlife or email [email protected], or call 604-989-1007.
Bee stewardship efforts on the Sunshine Coast are generously supported by Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation and Public Conservation Assistance Fund.
