Mason Bee
Isn't he gorgeous?
This is a Mason Bee House.
A friend made this for us as a Christmas present. Since Spring is almost here in Northern Michigan we can put it up outside soon. He spent loads of time on these (he's made several) and they are delightful. Not only their natural appeal but the fact they help pollinators to stay safe.
The link is the Michigan State Extension's instructions for building your own
as well as how to manage these "bee hotels". Interesting stuff.
Without intending to the first two posts have been insect related. Hummm.
Tomorrow will be different.
I have a bee hotel (actually, I named it AJ's Bee & Bee) which is very similar for the Aussie native bees.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link! I'm always interested in "natural" things in other places.
DeleteThat is hilarious! May have to riff on that for ours. What are the Aussie bees called?
ReplyDeleteRiff away :) We have over 1700 species of native bee(!), so too many to name here, but this website lists the 10 major bee groups with photos (some are really pretty). The most common bee using our hotel is the masked bee, though.
ReplyDeleteAustralian Native Bees
Lovely bee, looks like more like a bumblebee than a bee, but I like it! We have Bee Hotels too in France, poor little ones need shelters.
ReplyDeleteQuilting Patchwork & Appliqué
Wow! So cool! I think we have a hive on our roof. Which is fine!
ReplyDeleteI always tell myself to build a mason bee house, but haven't listened to myself yet. They are pretty even if bees never move in.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I think it was a labor of love for our friend. Rather time consuming, not to mention gathering all the components he used.
DeleteThat is really beautiful!
ReplyDelete