Mason bees

The first of my mason bees hatched on Sunday afternoon!

   

They're really small - that's 5mm dot grid paper under the plastic tub! Admittedly the females will be a bit bigger, but none of them have hatched yet - the males hatch first, as in the wild they are usually situated closest to the mouth of the nest tunnel, while the females are further back.

Five more males have hatched since I took this first photo, and I have 40 cocoons in total, so soon my garden will be abuzz with tiny bees!

Are they honey bees Eyren ? Is there something special about them having the same name as one of my grandsons?

Are they honey bees Eyren ? Is there something special about them having the same name as one of my grandsons?

No, they're a type of solitary bee - they don't form a colony, each female has her own nest and there are no worker bees foraging for extra food to turn into honey. Like many other insects, the adults die in autumn and the larvae overwinter in their cocoons to form the next generation.

They're called mason bees because they use clay to build the cell walls of their nests, instead of secreting wax.

You could think of them as a more primitive (and smaller) version of the honey bee; the honey bee's ancestors were probably very similar, before they evolved into social insects.

On the subject of bees. In late summer we get masses of bees circling around the edges of the veg patch soil, burrowing into single bee sized holes. Going quite deep as the spoil from their burrows is subsoil colour. They are very busy and benign. Anyone know what type of bee they are?

JJB we have them in our lawn, from what I've read they're called Mining or digger bees. and are good pollinators. I love watching them

JJB we have them in our lawn, from what I've read they're called Mining or digger bees. and are good pollinators.  I love watching them

Thanks Bren,you're right they're fascinating  and quite friendly.  I find they also like going underneath the cabbage mesh and sit on the inside looking out, possibly sunning themselves or contemplating their imprisonment.  They have to be rescued frequently.

On the subject of bees.  In late summer we get masses of bees circling around the edges of the veg patch soil, burrowing into single bee sized holes. Going quite deep as the spoil from their burrows is subsoil colour.  They are very busy and benign.  Anyone know what type of bee they are?

I second Bren's guess. They're solitary bees that like to nest in groups - each female digs a vertical burrow with several cells branching off in which they lay their eggs.

Here's a female tawny mining bee (Andrena fulva) that I photographed a couple of years ago:

   

The males are harder to identify as they're a buff colour, similar to several other species.

I'm happy to give them a name and a home, are they good pollinators? Not that it matters, I'm still happy to have them, especially as they don't seem to sting. I will spend some time researching them.

I'm happy to give them a name and a home, are they good pollinators? Not that it matters, I'm still happy to have them, especially as they don't seem to sting. I will spend some time researching them.

No, they don't sting. Every summer, our golf club puts up a notice warning visitors that some of the bunkers have miner bees in them and to just ignore them as they are harmless.