Wanting to take better care of the bees I have in my garden, I've found a design that's good for letting solitary bees make homes inside and a way for me to clean out these homes between seasons.
Using a wood router, I got a rounded bit that carved out channels inside the wood planks. When stacked on top of each other the bees will climb inside and make cells inside for their cocoons.
Once the bees lay their eggs inside and leave the homes for the season, I can take them in my workshop and remove the cocoons. This is done to inspect them for mites or other parasites that compete with the cocooned Mason bees. In some cases running the cocoons through said will remove mites or other unwanted pests.
I've left a dozen or so planks out in my bee home, curious to see if they get populated by second generation leafcutter bees. Otherwise they should be prime homes for next springs emergence.
I also got some clear plastic to fit to a few of the planks. That way I can observe them building homes inside. It will be fun to see them working inside their homes.
Well I got a bunch more boards to make.. I'm going to try two different sized holes, waiting for my smaller round tip router bit to show up. So we will see what the bees prefer for hole size. My plan is to fill these cubbie holes with my bee boards. So by next spring I will have more than enough homes for all my bees that hopefully emerge from the bamboo homes.
Sure makes alot of sawdust, and have to take breaks to let the tool cool down and to air out the garage. I'm making a dozen or so boards a day so should fill up those cubby holes in a week or so.
#woodworking carpentry #beekeeping #diy #garden
