Mason bees do no produce honey or beeswax, but they are one type of bee that make great pollinators. They are peaceful insects and won’t sting or bother you (unless it’s being provoked).

To encourage Mason bees to pollinate your garden, why not build them a little house?

Here is a good example of a handmade Mason bee house. Looks like a birdhouse filled with bamboo reeds. Photo from Help Save Bees from UK.

If you have a block of wood and some drill bits, you can also make a Mason Bee house. Just drilled short holes in the block and hang them in a sheltered location. For more info and neat instructions on this method of bee house, check out Gardens for Wildlife.

And if you have access to lots of bamboo reeds, you are in luck.  Just take those and cut them about 5-6 inches. There is no need to put them in a house (like in the photo above).  Just gather the cut bamboo reed together, tie them with a string and place them between tree branches.  Especially in fruit trees, soon enough you’ll be rewarded with more fruits!

From a distance, the Mason bees look black, but is actually dark metallic greenish blue in color.

Photo from British Columbia (Canada) Ministry of Agriculture and Land.

Unlike Honey bees, Mason bees are solitary bees. Every female Mason bee is fertile and makes her own nest. They also have modified hind legs called corbicula to store and carry pollen. The pollen is packed underneath rows of stiff hair under the stomach area.

Also from British Columbia is the following info on Mason bees:

“Orchard Mason Bees are shy and fly away when disturbed. Even at their nests, female bees will not display defensive behavior even though, they are capable of stinging. Similarly to honeybees, Orchard Mason Bees gather nectar in their ‘honey sac’ while foraging. The nectar is used as energy source and to provision the tubular nest.”

Mason bees are becoming a popular way to improve pollination for orchard and small gardens. If making your own Mason bee house is too much, there are a few you can purchase.

The one pictured above is available at Gardener’s Supply Company, for $14.95. The outside is made with strips of bamboo weaved together. And the inside is filled with bamboo tubes. Perfect for the female bees to lay their eggs. I like the tear drop shape of it too.

Or you can still make your own, using a kit found at Kinsman Orchard Bee. Prices run between $14.95 to $25.

M and I visited Blackberry Farm in Cupertino, CA. It reminded me of the blackberry farm in Pescadero. Except we were not near the ocean. But it was nicely tucked in amongst the suburbs. And the entrance was free, plus eating tangy blackberries optional. There was also a small creek that ran through the park, complete with river rocks too.

The best part of this farm was the community garden and the local 4H club animal farm. There were even some real live bee hives! Even though I love bees, I was still very scared to get too close to the hives. Maybe if I had a bee suit.

The 4 H club had many animals. But I was particularity interested in the goats. There are three different breeds of goats, diary goats, meat goats, and other dual purpose (fiber) goats. There were goats with small ears and some with big ears. The small ears one were called La Mancha and the big floppy ears named Nubian. The La Mancha are a medium sized breed, developed in the USA from goats of Spanish origin. They are known to have an excellent dairy temperament (good for producing goat milk). And these La Mancha are considered to be very friendly, naturally healthy and sturdy animals.

My favorite type of goats was the Pygmy goat. They are small and cute. Pygmy goats are one of the most popular breed for meat, but now are more popular as pet. They are small goats of African origin. This one in the middle (looking at camera) let me pet it’s chin for the longest time! I would love to have Pygmy goats as pet some day. As well as other goats for the milk.