How it works
Four steps to help the bees
Whilst success cannot be guaranteed, these easy steps will help us make a difference
1. Prepare your bee box
Your bee box should be placed with the opening facing South/ South East - solitary bees love the early morning sun!
The opening should also not be shaded by foliage, and should be tilted at a slightly downward angle to help keep it dry.
And siting near fruiting trees or pollen rich plants will be highly beneficial as well.
If you wish to send tubes to us to be overwintered, they must be cardboard tubes double tubes (so have an outer and an inner tube). These are available on the internet - we use ones from here: https://www.birdfood.co.uk/replacement-mason-bee-tubes
2. Watch out for capped tubes
Through the summer months, both Mason and Leafcutter bees will be feeding and breeding.
Keep an eye to see if bees are entering and exiting the tubes - if they are then they are starting to nest!
Once a tube is blocked off or capped with mud, then you have cocoons starting to develop.
Wait 24 hours to make sure the mud is set, then bring it indoors (a shed will be fine) and store it with the capped end facing upwards.
You can replace it with another tube if you have any spare.
3. Send your tubes to us
If you have registered with us you will recieve an email in September to tell you it's time to send us your tubes.
Your baby bees will have developed inside the tubes, and will have built their own cocoons.
Pop them in a jiffy bag, and it's perfectly safe to put them in the post.
We will then check them for parasites and store them until Spring, at which point they will be released, ready to start the cycle over again.
4. Keep in touch!
As the project grows we intend to develop to the stage where we can send cocoons back to our subscribers in the Spring to spread the love around the country.
Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter to find out more about the project, and how well we are growing!
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