{"id":10728,"date":"2021-11-06T09:09:43","date_gmt":"2021-11-06T09:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmandanimals.com\/?p=10728"},"modified":"2021-11-06T09:09:46","modified_gmt":"2021-11-06T09:09:46","slug":"how-to-make-a-bee-house-with-bamboo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farmandanimals.com\/how-to-make-a-bee-house-with-bamboo\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Make A Bee House With Bamboo?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Although honey bees<\/a> and bumblebees are probably the most well-known, did you know other species of solitary bee are even better pollinators? With the current global decline in bee populations, it is becoming ever more critical to protect them. One way of achieving this is by making a bee house or bee hotel that can be a home to solitary bee species like the Mason bee. In this article, we will discover how to make a bee house with bamboo.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Bamboo Bee Houses Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Do<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bamboo bee houses do work. There are just a few things you need to know to make them really successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Always make sure the end of the bamboo pieces you use are capped off at the back. You can do this by using the natural nodes of the bamboo or by plugging the hole with some clay.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    1. The bamboo tubes should be replaced each year to help prevent disease, mold, and other potential problems from building up. We will look more at this later in the article.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      1. The size of the holes in each of your bamboo pieces is very important. If the holes are too large, then the bees won\u2019t use them.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        1. If you choose to paint or varnish your bamboo bee house, then you\u2019ll need to do it a couple of months in advance. This is because bees can be put off by the strong scents that these products emit.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
          1. Location, location, location. If your bee house is not situated in the right place, then it won\u2019t attract any bees.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            When left to their own devices, mason bees will build their nests in wood piles, under the eaves of roofs, or in someplace where there is a gap of the right size. They use mud, preferably clay, to seal up their homes and like certain plants more than others to use for food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Without these elements present in the environment, you won\u2019t get a successful colony.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

            What Kinds of Bee uses a Bamboo Bee House?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
            \"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

            Several kinds of solitary bees, such as mason bees, leafcutter bees, or white-faced bees, are likely to take up residence in your bamboo bee house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            There are well over 100 species of mason bee<\/a> in North America and many more worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Mason bees are close relatives of the honey bee, but they don\u2019t make any honey. Keeping them is a great, very low-maintenance way of helping to protect bee populations and maintain all the benefits we get from our top pollinators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            You\u2019ll find mason bees around from spring until late summer. They only live for a few weeks, and the following season a new generation emerges to take their place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Life Cycle<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

            A mason bee\u2019s lifespan is only weeks long, but the life cycle<\/a> takes a year to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            When temperatures start to exceed 50\u00b0F for a sustained period, the hibernating mason bees begin to chew their way out of their nest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            After emerging, the male mason bee will fly around for approximately two to three weeks mating with females before he dies. The female bee will appear a short time after, feed, make a new nest, mate, and lay up to 35 eggs before her death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            1. Once the female emerges, she mates, and within three days, starts building her nest. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
              1. She collects pollen and nectar to store in each of the cells she makes in the hole she\u2019s chosen. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                1. As she progresses, she stocks each cell with food, lays an egg, seals the cell, and then begins on the next one until the nest hole, or bamboo tube, is filled and finally capped off with mud.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                  1. Some species of mason bee line their cells with flower petals.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                    1. Nest building takes between seven to eight weeks to complete, after which the female dies.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                      1. The eggs are placed in a specific order so that the young male bees can emerge before the females when they\u2019re ready to break out of the nest tube. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                        1. The female bee achieves this by storing the semen she received during mating. To produce a female offspring, she fertilizes the egg she has laid. To produce a male, she leaves the egg unfertilized.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                          1. The newly hatched bees emerge in early spring, sooner than honey bees which require warmer conditions to fly. An adult bee can take up to two weeks to fully emerge from its cocoon, and once it has, it quickly finds a mate. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                            1. After all the eggs have been laid, they begin to hatch, and the larvae eat the store of pollen and nectar the mother bee left for them. In around ten days, they spin a cocoon, become a pupa, and grow into adult bees that stay dormant over the winter months.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                              1. Just as their parents did before them, they emerge in the spring and carry on the cycle.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                How Do You Build a Natural Bee House?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                                Making a natural bee house isn\u2019t too tricky. It\u2019s a project easy enough for someone with very few DIY skills, or for those who are more ambitious, a bee palace can be created. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                The example below is for a small bee house, but the size you make is constrained only to how large or small you want it to be. What\u2019s important is the depth: six inches is the minimum and nine the maximum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                You will need:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n