News

During the 2022 harvesting season, some mason bee raisers in the pacific northwest noticed that a few mason bees had already emerged from their cocoons. Early emergence tells us that the bees have already consumed most of their stored fats (energy), which usually doesn't occur until spring. The early emergence of mason bees is likely due to the higher-than-average, extended summer temperatures we had in the summer and fall of 2022. When we have higher-than-average summer temperatures, the speed of development increases, and the new bee becomes an adult quicker than usual. Once the bee becomes an adult, it shifts...

Each month our Bee Informed Blog highlights current news, science, and research related to solitary bee conservation, food insecurity, and sustainability. 1. "Students raising mason bees at Orcas School" (The Islands' Sounder) Orcas Master Gardeners Dray Longdon, Laura Walker, Tony Suruda and Nancy Forker visited the Orcas School Garden on Oct. 6 to help the 5th-grade students harvest cocoons of mason bees and prepare them for winter storage. Mason bees are native pollinators that nest in cavities. They harvested nesting tubes that have been at the school from April through October. Mason bees, along with bumble bees, are important early spring pollinators...

Just as you winterize your home to make it more efficient, you can do the same for your garden. Properly winterizing your garden will help your plots rejuvenate naturally and reduce the amount of work you'll have to do in the spring, allowing you to jump right into the fun part, PLANTING! Before we jump into our tips, you may wonder if sustainable gardening is essential for small backyard gardens. Using sustainable gardening practices, we become examples for future generations of gardeners by showing them that growing food or creating space for new gardens does not have to mean harming...

Each month our Bee Informed Blog highlights current news, science, and research related to solitary bee conservation, food insecurity, and sustainability. 1. "These Are My Most Trusted Native Plants For Restoration And Here’s Why" (Anna Murray, Xerces Society) I am a pollinator habitat specialist, which means that I plant a lot of plants. In my 15 years of growing native plants in nurseries and restoring habitats in national parks, college campuses, home gardens and farms, I estimate that I have personally grown or planted over 90,000 native plants and facilitated the planting of over 260,000. Here are a few native plants that...