Mason Bees for Sale

Mason Bees or Blue Orchard bees (BOB) are Native Bees and used to be found in huge numbers in every mainland state and Canada. One hundred sixty Mason Bees could do the work of 20,000 Honeybees.

Before the 1950s, Honeybees were used mainly for their honey; as a sweet treat, and to make honey mead.

In the 1940s, pesticides were developed to control mosquitoes in the Asia-Pacific Theater. After World War II, pesticides were provided by chemical manufacturers to North America’s farmers. Their success was instantaneous. Pesticides like DDT were cheap, effective in small quantities, easy to apply, and widely toxic. However, inadvertently farmers unwittingly also devastate North America’s Native Pollinators.

With “Colony Collapse Disorder,” Native bees are desperately needed again.

You can help.

Reintroduce them into your garden. One Mason Bee female will pollinate 20,000 blossoms a day. With food now on the table, sit in your garden and watch lavish butterflies and darting hummingbirds visit.

Mason Bees require only 20 minutes to set up and are inexpensive. And unlike Honeybees, they hibernate from July through February while you take the winter off.

Until we have reintroduced Mason Bees in every region of the United States and Canada, there will be Mason bees for sale through Rocky Pond Nursery.

Mason Bee cocoons are hand-sorted to ensure you are receiving a live Mason Bee in each cocoon. Our Mason Bee cocoons are for sale from November through April.

Mason Bees are not aggressive. They are safe around your children and grandchildren—they do not sting.

Place Mason Bee cocoons within three hundred feet of the crop you want to pollinate 2-3 weeks before bloom, which can double your harvest. Mason bees are super pollinators.

Don’t forget mason bees need water and mud; on our website, you can find instructions on how to provide both easily. Just place one of Rocky Pond Nursery’s cleanable and reusable mason bee nesting blocks within a 2-pound coffee can or a wooden box.

Bee Nesting Blocks in coffee can