opps. Forgot to mention, if you make the DIY leafcutter bee home I show in this episode, paint the bottle black or line the INSIDE of the bottle with some black paper, as the bees wont nest in places that are too bright.
John, A.) I would not recommend painting the bottle black, especially in hot areas, such as the southwest. A more neutral color, such as tan is better. Darker colors, but not black, work well in cool climates, such as the Seattle area. B.) The ideal tube size for leafcutters is 3.5 to 5 inches. The female leafcutter lays the female eggs first and she only lays about 1 to 1.5 inches of females before she switches to males. So long tubes just end up overworking the adult females laying male eggs. And the emerging males the following spring do less than 10 percent of the pollinating. Their sole purpose is to impregnate females. The females do almost all of the pollinating while they forage to provision the cells they build for each egg. Glad to hear you are getting returning bees from the original cocoons we provided! Tom MidasBees.com
We have let paper wasps make nests pretty much wherever they want on our property for the past 13 years. They are super docile and will never sting unless they feel like their hive is in immediate danger. I have noticed them to be great pollinators and also great insect predators. Thanks for the great video, John!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I have been looking for these types of tubes for 4 years. I live in an Apartment in Welland Ontario Canada. I have a 45 1/2 foot balcony and "had" a massive balcony garden of over 400 plants. Due to new Owners I had to cut back a little. I have videos of bees hatching, carrying leaves and more. I harvest and over winter "Mason and leaf cutter bees". Crown Bees has been my go to UA-cam channel to learn about the bees and am very happy with their teachings. Thanks Again. [200 Pack] Kraft Paper Drinking Straws 100% Biodegradable & Ink-Free Amazon Canada. $13.99 $0.07 per count($0.07 / count). Plugging the back end of the straws keeps pests from entering the back of the tubes, this is a must do. Parasitic wasps will enter the back and lay their egg in there.
I attended bee college a few years back and learned that the tubes need to be between 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 inches deep. So you have plenty of straws. just cut your bottle and straws in half. I have several bee motels on my property.
Double the capacity but in my experience mason/cutter bees are not that picky; you know those plastic political signs? Well, they can be up to 8 feet long, and I have found many broods in the sides of them.
One thing the Costco ❤️ house did was educate us we could help a few beneficial insects. Yes, we all found it was a little in adequate for most, but it started the ball rolling 👍🏻
My husband just bought me a leaf cutter bee house today. I'll be watching to see how it works. Mine looks like it's made with bamboo sticks/straws. Fingers crossed.🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Bought mine from Costco also. Fell apart before the first season was over. I kept it hopefully finding time to "fix" it. After your video I will fill it with paper straws.
Aloha from Naalehu in Hawaii again! Of course u hav a vid on solitary bee hotels! I luv them; I hav them nesting in my deck posts; not an immediate problem but with time an issue that needs attention. I am planning to hav a number of various domiciles for them spread out over the acre & a half. Great information & energy towards helping everything grow and heal. Peace, Linda
Perfect bee garden, no pesticides, very high nutritional plants and abundance of variety thank you for doing this John being an amazing example to the rest of the world. Thanks we are more and more acquiring more organic non gmo plants for indoors and out in garden and feeding them the right way. Mostly for us to eat but also for our essential pollinators , I felt enlightened recently at a park near to us in a secluded sectioned off part talking about avoiding using pesticides in order to take care of bees I really wished this was shouted from roof tops soo much more. I think a lot of food advertising is non organic gmo so guessing could be conflict of interest. Shame as the highest quality of produce ideally what we grow ourselves is so much better for our mental and physical health as much as for the other creatures too. It’s the only way to go IMO z once you have tasted this stuff no going back 😅
I use growsafe All my herbs and vegetables I've got 11,000 square feet of garden you would not believe the bees that are around I'm actually picking fruit and having them fly around my hand every year
We have native Black Mason Bees, Leaf Cutter Bees, and other solitary bees. All I had to do was put up a house for them, and they came to fill it. There are always hundreds of solitary bees out pollinating the gardens.
I found the Costco bee home to be lacking at well. If anyone buys one, I would suggest fortifying it will screws before setting it in place because rain and gravity will pull it apart in time... It's only made with staples. Thanks for the paper straw idea. Much appreciated.
Exactly what I needed to know John; I’m going to start assembling my bee houses. I’m super excited. Looking forward to having a symbiotic relationship with some bees! Thank you! Excellent info
Mason bees emerge from their cocoons in early spring and are superior pollinators of apple, pear, almond, cherry, blueberry, and strawberry plants. Leafcutter bees emerge from their cocoons in early summer and are great pollinators of squash, melons, peas, and other summer fruits and vegetables. Both bees are in the same family Megachilidae. Honey bees are not native to the US these are and are a thousand times more effective on polinating. Honey bees well make honey so profitable.
You could make your own tubes with paper, freezer wrap, cooking parchment, and wax paper. You could just roll it but if you compress both ends then you have another use in mind :). The perk with rolling is you could unroll the tube and extract viable egg sacks. Mites will get in and eat the sacks. Another reason is to save the eggs and store in the fridge for cold regions. Strange on the Costco house I bought that one and it was fully populated on the first season. But I also added the eggs into the top section since they always return to where they were born. Your issue is only some have found it. I also had other species fill the tubes besides bees.
Hi John check out Crown Bees in Washington State. They have a wealth of information about solitary bees. They sell all the supplies needed for the bees. Even bees. The bee houses from Costco are not the best fit, as they are made with bamboo tubes which are bad for the health of bees.
Thanks for doing this. I have pretty cool bees, black with 2 white spots, that come right up to my face and check out who I am then take off. They are in my greenhouse and find holes that are already drilled in 2x6 boards.
Very nice video. I'm have long wanted to build bee habitat. Looking up the bees that are native to my state. Hope to encourage my local varieties using the DIY paperstraw homes.
Hi John the best place to learn about solitary bees is "Crown Bees" in Woodinville, Wa. They are wonderful and very helpful. They sell everything to set up the bee houses and the bees. The bees are very sensitive to the size of the tubes they lay their eggs in. Check out Crown Bees you will be amazed. Thanks for talking about the solitary bees. Love your channel.
Hi John, at the end of this vlog you were talking about pesticides. I was wondering if you have heard of JADAM method of making insecticides. It's a Korean method of making natural, from your garden insecticides. Just wondering what your take on it was, been reading on it. Looks Interesting. I like the idea of solitary bees, very interesting. I watched your original vid on it, glad you made an update. Do the backs of the tubes need to be open?
That's right, that's right; honey bees are non-native invasive species brought here by Spanish colonists, and we would do well to encourage our native pollenators
How can you prevent cutter bees from destroying plants before the plants flower? We have so many cutter bees here that when I put out my starts or they start sprouting, the bees absolutely demolish the plants in less than 72 hours. I want them around to pollinate but they destroy everything I try to plant before it's big enough to flower or big enough to take the damage. I need a large garden to provide for my family and animals and I'm hoping there's some ways to stop them early in the season until the garden is big enough to handle the damage that doesn't include netting because that would be immensely expensive and I can't afford it. I also can't afford to lose my entire garden before it reaches a foot high.
@5:25 I'm guessing it's to prevent disease. You talk about symbiosis but you aren't willing to replace the paper straws? If there's a good reason for replacing the straws and you're not doing it, it will seem more like you're trying to sabotage them through negligence. Lol @7:45 I like that you made your own
opps. Forgot to mention, if you make the DIY leafcutter bee home I show in this episode, paint the bottle black or line the INSIDE of the bottle with some black paper, as the bees wont nest in places that are too bright.
Where is the link for the straws you used?
Link for straws?
Can we please have a link to the straws you found ?
John, A.) I would not recommend painting the bottle black, especially in hot areas, such as the southwest. A more neutral color, such as tan is better. Darker colors, but not black, work well in cool climates, such as the Seattle area. B.) The ideal tube size for leafcutters is 3.5 to 5 inches. The female leafcutter lays the female eggs first and she only lays about 1 to 1.5 inches of females before she switches to males. So long tubes just end up overworking the adult females laying male eggs. And the emerging males the following spring do less than 10 percent of the pollinating. Their sole purpose is to impregnate females. The females do almost all of the pollinating while they forage to provision the cells they build for each egg. Glad to hear you are getting returning bees from the original cocoons we provided! Tom MidasBees.com
Yes straw link
We have let paper wasps make nests pretty much wherever they want on our property for the past 13 years. They are super docile and will never sting unless they feel like their hive is in immediate danger. I have noticed them to be great pollinators and also great insect predators. Thanks for the great video, John!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I have been looking for these types of tubes for 4 years. I live in an Apartment in Welland Ontario Canada. I have a 45 1/2 foot balcony and "had" a massive balcony garden of over 400 plants. Due to new Owners I had to cut back a little. I have videos of bees hatching, carrying leaves and more. I harvest and over winter "Mason and leaf cutter bees". Crown Bees has been my go to UA-cam channel to learn about the bees and am very happy with their teachings. Thanks Again. [200 Pack] Kraft Paper Drinking Straws 100% Biodegradable & Ink-Free Amazon Canada. $13.99 $0.07 per count($0.07 / count). Plugging the back end of the straws keeps pests from entering the back of the tubes, this is a must do. Parasitic wasps will enter the back and lay their egg in there.
I attended bee college a few years back and learned that the tubes need to be between 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 inches deep. So you have plenty of straws. just cut your bottle and straws in half. I have several bee motels on my property.
Double the capacity but in my experience mason/cutter bees are not that picky; you know those plastic political signs? Well, they can be up to 8 feet long, and I have found many broods in the sides of them.
One thing the Costco ❤️ house did was educate us we could help a few beneficial insects. Yes, we all found it was a little in adequate for most, but it started the ball rolling 👍🏻
My husband just bought me a leaf cutter bee house today. I'll be watching to see how it works. Mine looks like it's made with bamboo sticks/straws. Fingers crossed.🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Bought mine from Costco also. Fell apart before the first season was over. I kept it hopefully finding time to "fix" it. After your video I will fill it with paper straws.
I naturally have leaf cutter bees in my backyard... of all my trees, they love cutting the leaves of my jujube tree
Aloha from Naalehu in Hawaii again! Of course u hav a vid on solitary bee hotels! I luv them; I hav them nesting in my deck posts; not an immediate problem but with time an issue that needs attention. I am planning to hav a number of various domiciles for them spread out over the acre & a half. Great information & energy towards helping everything grow and heal. Peace, Linda
Perfect bee garden, no pesticides, very high nutritional plants and abundance of variety thank you for doing this John being an amazing example to the rest of the world. Thanks we are more and more acquiring more organic non gmo plants for indoors and out in garden and feeding them the right way. Mostly for us to eat but also for our essential pollinators , I felt enlightened recently at a park near to us in a secluded sectioned off part talking about avoiding using pesticides in order to take care of bees I really wished this was shouted from roof tops soo much more. I think a lot of food advertising is non organic gmo so guessing could be conflict of interest. Shame as the highest quality of produce ideally what we grow ourselves is so much better for our mental and physical health as much as for the other creatures too. It’s the only way to go IMO z once you have tasted this stuff no going back 😅
Hey John thanks for that info on leafcutter bees home. I will definately make make one. Your awesome!
Perfect info on a topic I was just becoming curious about.
I use growsafe All my herbs and vegetables I've got 11,000 square feet of garden you would not believe the bees that are around I'm actually picking fruit and having them fly around my hand every year
We have native Black Mason Bees, Leaf Cutter Bees, and other solitary bees. All I had to do was put up a house for them, and they came to fill it. There are always hundreds of solitary bees out pollinating the gardens.
I found the Costco bee home to be lacking at well. If anyone buys one, I would suggest fortifying it will screws before setting it in place because rain and gravity will pull it apart in time... It's only made with staples.
Thanks for the paper straw idea. Much appreciated.
Interesting I've never heard of leaf cutter bee's. I've seen those house with bamboo. Sounds like a fun project! Thanks
Exactly what I needed to know John; I’m going to start assembling my bee houses. I’m super excited. Looking forward to having a symbiotic relationship with some bees!
Thank you! Excellent info
Just had a friend do this! Great information, thanks John!
Wow! You really put alot of work & time into bring us great information. You are greatly appreciated brother. 🙏
I counted 7 bee species one day in my yard one day like a month ago. All native but the honey bee.
I enjoy watching your vids and learning from them.❤
Mason bees emerge from their cocoons in early spring and are superior pollinators of apple, pear, almond, cherry, blueberry, and strawberry plants. Leafcutter bees emerge from their cocoons in early summer and are great pollinators of squash, melons, peas, and other summer fruits and vegetables. Both bees are in the same family Megachilidae. Honey bees are not native to the US these are and are a thousand times more effective on polinating. Honey bees well make honey so profitable.
Absolutely. I have a mason and leaf cutter bee house. You can purchase them in the garden stores.
Also, I don’t use any pesticides in my yard.
You could make your own tubes with paper, freezer wrap, cooking parchment, and wax paper. You could just roll it but if you compress both ends then you have another use in mind :). The perk with rolling is you could unroll the tube and extract viable egg sacks. Mites will get in and eat the sacks. Another reason is to save the eggs and store in the fridge for cold regions. Strange on the Costco house I bought that one and it was fully populated on the first season. But I also added the eggs into the top section since they always return to where they were born. Your issue is only some have found it. I also had other species fill the tubes besides bees.
Thank you for this, I will do it for my terrace garden. I live in the city on a terrace flat so it's hard to have pollinators.
This should be perfect for you.
I think the best moments of John's videos are his quick side comments, truth bombs at any second. 1:53
Thanks. This was the video I was looking for.
Feeling okay John? Don't seem like your normal high energy video. Wishing you well
Great info!!! Looking forward to getting some leaf cutters!!!
I love your content. Thank you for all the amazing info
Hi John check out Crown Bees in Washington State. They have a wealth of information about solitary bees. They sell all the supplies needed for the bees. Even bees. The bee houses from Costco are not the best fit, as they are made with bamboo tubes which are bad for the health of bees.
Thanks for doing this. I have pretty cool bees, black with 2 white spots, that come right up to my face and check out who I am then take off. They are in my greenhouse and find holes that are already drilled in 2x6 boards.
Carpenter bees?
Very nice video. I'm have long wanted to build bee habitat. Looking up the bees that are native to my state. Hope to encourage my local varieties using the DIY paperstraw homes.
Question about your paper straws, what is the inside diameter? I see on the internet two choices 8mm and 6mm, which do you use?
Ever get any stink bugs making homes in the bee houses during winter? Here in Maryland, stink bugs take over any small openings in the fall winter.
I'm in Northern Virginia. When should I put out my bee house?
I have a ton of leaf cutter ants. I'll have to try the leaf cutter bees.
Did you hear that? @6:57, the foam is Bee-ten-up
I had a mason bee in my backyard I never heard of one but it was beautiful I had to research it.
Hi John the best place to learn about solitary bees is "Crown Bees" in Woodinville, Wa. They are wonderful and very helpful. They sell everything to set up the bee houses and the bees. The bees are very sensitive to the size of the tubes they lay their eggs in. Check out Crown Bees you will be amazed.
Thanks for talking about the solitary bees. Love your channel.
Put strows inside the big holes.
Hi John, at the end of this vlog you were talking about pesticides. I was wondering if you have heard of JADAM method of making insecticides. It's a Korean method of making natural, from your garden insecticides. Just wondering what your take on it was, been reading on it. Looks Interesting. I like the idea of solitary bees, very interesting. I watched your original vid on it, glad you made an update. Do the backs of the tubes need to be open?
JADAM is my thing now. I haven’t made an insecticide yet but I feel confident it will work well.
That's right, that's right; honey bees are non-native invasive species brought here by Spanish colonists, and we would do well to encourage our native pollenators
cool i will try this
Maybe the paper straws will fit inside of the tubes in the costco house?
I don’t see the link to the cutter bee sftaws from Amazon. Could you please help?
Your the man !
How can you prevent cutter bees from destroying plants before the plants flower? We have so many cutter bees here that when I put out my starts or they start sprouting, the bees absolutely demolish the plants in less than 72 hours. I want them around to pollinate but they destroy everything I try to plant before it's big enough to flower or big enough to take the damage. I need a large garden to provide for my family and animals and I'm hoping there's some ways to stop them early in the season until the garden is big enough to handle the damage that doesn't include netting because that would be immensely expensive and I can't afford it. I also can't afford to lose my entire garden before it reaches a foot high.
5:30 I think putting in new ones might be good cuss that's what nature would provide.
Neat
Don’t forget the mason bees.
Awsame sauce
@5:25 I'm guessing it's to prevent disease. You talk about symbiosis but you aren't willing to replace the paper straws? If there's a good reason for replacing the straws and you're not doing it, it will seem more like you're trying to sabotage them through negligence.
Lol @7:45 I like that you made your own
Are leaf cutter bees aka. Mason bees? Ok I should have watched longer 😆
first!