Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Mason Bee Links

 A local Mason Bee expert who sells houses, books, and DVD's: Dr. M. Dogterom. She also answers questions about mason bees on her website.
https://id408.van.ca.siteprotect.com/beediverse/catalog/home.php  

 Creative Designs for Mason Bee Houses:

A London design competition for insect hotels: http://pul.se/A-Luxury-Hotel-for-Londons-Bees-Yes-Bees_Startups-Small-Business-hiR9GXzTfwR,9GY6q4g5QZME

Creative mason bee houses by Toronto artists:

 A mason bee enthusiast who has developed a visible hive using transparent tubes. He has a blog and even tweets when his bees emerge!

Plans for an observational mason bee house using plastic tubes and PVC foam board http://www.cozybee.com/beehouse.html

A very interesting conversation on mason bee house design:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bees/msg0315524720712.html

Using tube liners to prevent mite infestations:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5682490_make-mason-bee-tube-liners.html

A system using water-resistant cardboard tubes that are too thick for parasitic wasps to get through. These are lined with disposable paper tubes which are removed to clean the cocoons.
http://masonbeecentral.com/

This rustic design would work if lined with cardboard tubes: http://www.henandhammock.co.uk/products/product_detail.asp?121,0,6,0,2

Interesting use of a milk carton to house cleaned cocoons and a good description of the mason beekeeping calendar:
http://ournativebees.com/content/season-season-instructions

Commercial mason bee house designs including a teardrop design and some that have been "toasted" to show the wood pattern: http://www.crownbees.com/store/category/mason-bee-houses
Mason bee houses with industrial chic, including houses made specifically for leafcutter bees: http://www.pollinatorparadise.com/market/Pricelist.htm

An artist's rustic style mason bee homes made of found objects:
A patented design of mason bee homes made on Vancouver island:
Mason bee houses made of repurposed fir in a minimal style:
http://andrewsreclaimed.blogspot.com/2010/08/orchard-mason-bee-house-mason-bee-box.html

Cleaning Cocoons:
A revolutionary way to clean the cocoons by using sand. Sand and Tube cleaning by Hutchings Bee Service  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tZu4o7nwj4

Here is the info on the Hutchings Bee Service "Peek-a-Boo" System which looks like the best design I have seen so far: http://sites.google.com/site/hutchingsbeeservice/mason-bee-condos-for-sale 

Extra Info:
A friend of mine, Brian Campbell who sells mason bees and mason bee houses:
A beautiful artist's rendition of a mason bee:

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