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Our bees are gentle and powerful pollinators, helping your local vegetation thrive.

  • SPRING

    Hang your bee house and release mason bees once daily temperature are a high of 55°F and a low of 30°F.

    Spring

  • SUMMER

    Release leafcutting bees when high temperatures reach 75°F.

    Summer

  • FALL

    Harvesting bee cocoons in the fall gives them a safe and healthy place to stay during the winter before they emerge next year.

    Fall

  • WINTER

    To extend the life of your Bee House, bring it indoors in the winter.

    Winter

As spring nears, it’s time to hang your Bee House. Finding the ideal spot for your bees will yield the best results. For easy installation, use a nail or screw and the built-in keyhole to attach the Bee House to a sturdy post or wall.

Spring

Setting Up Your Bee House

  • Area: on or near a distinct landmark such as a building or fence line.

  • Cover: under an awning or overhang to protect from wind and rain.

  • Height: about 5 feet above ground

  • Direction: facing southeast, so the front receives direct sunlight in the morning and midday shade.

  • To extend the life of your Bee House, bring it indoors in the winter.

  • Finish setting up according to the directions below that correspond with your Bee House model 👇

The Original Bee House Setup

Your Original Bee House is packaged and ready to go for your mason bees when they arrive. After hanging your bee house, ensure the mason bee nesting block (the one with the larger nesting holes) is flush with the back of the Bee House. Do not remove the rubber bands or cardboard backing — these pieces are necessary for keeping your blocks together and giving bees a surface to build against. Use nesting reeds to fill in empty space. Ensure the nesting reeds are facing outward, and the closed back ends are flush with the back of the Bee House.

The Cottage Bee House Setup

Your Cottage Bee House is packaged and ready to go for your spring mason bees when they arrive. All you need to do is pick a spot to hang your bee house and check that the nesting reeds are stable and won’t move around. Ensure the empty nesting reeds are facing outward, and the closed back ends are flush with the back of the Bee House.

The Eco Bee House Setup

Your Eco Bee House is packaged and ready to go for your spring mason bees when they arrive. All you need to do is pick a spot to hang your bee house and check that nesting reeds are stable and won’t move around. Ensure the empty nesting reeds are facing outward, and the closed back ends are flush with the back of the Bee House.

Mason Bees

If you’ve ordered bee cocoons, they will be shipped according to temperatures in your area. Mason bee cocoons ship in March and April. You’ll receive an email with tracking information once your bees ship. It’s important to attend to the package as soon as you are able, so please plan accordingly.

1. Arrival. When your bees arrive, keep cocoons inside the emergence tube. Don’t worry if some bees have emerged during transit and are buzzing around inside the tube. Remove the ice pack and place the box with the emergence tube in the door of your refrigerator. The refrigerator cools down the bees as soon as they arrive, which keeps them in a healthy, hibernation-like state called diapause while you wait for the right time to release your bees.

2. Planning. First, there must be floral resources available for your bees. Check that the earliest flowering trees are in bloom (i.e., willow, maple, crabapple, and cherry). This can include herbs such as waterleaf, baby blue eyes, and even dandelions to provide pollen and nectar for mason bees. Ensure your Bee House is placed within 300 yards of flowering plants -- the mason bees’ typical foraging range (although these bees have been known to travel 800+ yards from their nests to visit flowers).

Second, weather conditions should be favorable for your bees when you release them. Check your local 10-day weather forecast. Mason bees are ready for release once temperatures reach a daily high of 55°F and a low of 30°F. Release bees in early morning or late evening when temperatures are coolest; this encourages them to stay nearby and nest in your Bee House, improving your chances for a successful season.

3. Release. Remove your emergence tube from the refrigerator door and set it out at room temperature for 1 hour to help the mason bees gradually warm up. Then, carefully transport the emergence tube outdoors to your Bee House. Insert the emergence tube into the cardboard cylinder of the Bee House. Remove the end cap to free the bees. Mason bee activity should begin within 7-14 days of sunny weather.

4. Collect.  6-8 weeks after emerging, spring mason bees should be finished nesting. Carefully remove filled reeds, place them in your blue BeeSafe bag, and store it in an unheated garage or shed, out of reach from insect and rodent pests. Fill in empty areas with fresh nesting reeds for the summer leafcutting bee season.

  • Original Bee House users:  6-8 weeks after mason bees emerge, it’s time to transition to the summertime house setup. Carefully remove the mason bee nesting block and filled nesting reeds from the Bee House. Place these items in your blue BeeSafe bag, and store it in an unheated garage or shed out of reach from rodent pests. Place your leafcutting bee nesting block inside your Bee House. Do not remove the rubber bands or cardboard backing — these pieces are necessary for keeping your blocks together. Ensure the empty nesting reeds are facing forward and the closed back ends are flush with the back of the Bee House.

If you’ve ordered bee cocoons, they will be shipped according to temperatures in your area. Leafcutting bee cocoons ship in May and June. You’ll receive an email with tracking information once your bees ship. It’s important to attend to the package as soon as you are able, so please plan accordingly.

Summer

Leafcutting Bees

1. Arrival. When your bees arrive, keep cocoons inside the emergence tube. Don’t worry if some bees have emerged during transit and are buzzing around inside the tube. Remove the ice pack and place the box with the emergence tube in a cool place, out of direct sunlight, for up to 24 hours.

2. Planning. Leafcutting bees are active in summer once daily high temperatures reach 75°F.  Release bees in early morning or late evening when temperatures are coolest; this encourages them to stay nearby and nest in your Bee House, improving your chances for a successful season.

3. Release. Carefully transport the emergence tube outdoors to your Bee House. Insert the emergence tube into the cardboard cylinder of the Bee House. Remove the end cap to free the bees. Bee activity should begin within 7-14 days of sunny weather.

4. Collect. 6-8 weeks after emerging, summer leafcutting bees should be finished nesting. Carefully remove filled reeds and the leafcutting bee nesting block (Original Bee House only). Place them in your blue BeeSafe bag and store it in an unheated garage or shed, out of reach from insect and rodent pests.

Keep mason and leafcutting bee cocoons separated by bundling nesting reeds with a rubber band. The nests can also be identified from the front end – mason bees typically use mud to seal their nests, whereas leafcutting bees use leaves and sometimes flower petals.

Harvesting bee cocoons in the fall gives them a safe and healthy place to stay during the winter before they emerge next year.

Fall

Left unchecked, parasites and pathogens can hurt your bee population. For example, pollen mites and the fungal pathogen chalkbrood can spread when healthy bees must walk through an unopened and infected nesting chamber. To avoid these problems, harvest your bee cocoons at the end of each season. Here’s what you’ll need to get started 👉

  • Paper towels

  • Baking sheet

  • Bowl of water

  • Strainer 

  • Ventilated storage container

  • Bleach

  • Nesting reeds with mason bee cocoons

  • Nesting reeds with leafcutting bee cocoons

  • Leafcutting bee nesting blocks (Original Bee House)

  • Mason bee nesting blocks (Original Bee House)

Harvesting Materials

REMOVAL

  1. Remove nesting reeds from your blue BeeSafe bag. 

  2. Open the reeds over a baking sheet to catch the cocoons and debris. Do this by pinching the mud-capped end between your fingers and the reed will start to split. There is no cocoon at the open end of the reed.

  3. Gently pry the reed apart along the split and remove cocoons with your fingers. Always peel the reed from the top down. 

  4. Discard used and opened nesting reeds after harvesting.

  5. If you have an Original Bee House with nesting blocks, start by removing the rubber bands and pulling the trays apart. Gently remove the cocoons with your fingers. Remember, the rubber bands and cardboard are not extra packaging, and are necessary to keep your blocks together during the bee season.

WASHING

  1. Fill a bowl with cold tap water and add a small amount of bleach (1 tsp per cup of water). A mild bleach solution is needed to control the deadly fungal pathogen, chalkbrood, from spreading in your bee population.

  2. Add mason bee cocoons. Gently agitate them, using a strainer to ensure that the surface of all cocoons have contacted the bleach solution for 1 minute.

  3. Remove the mason bee cocoons using a strainer and place them on paper towels to dry overnight. Discard the debris and compromised cocoons that sink. Repeat with leafcutting bee cocoons, keeping them separate from mason bee cocoons. Note: mason bee cocoons are typically brown, whereas leafcutting bee cocoons are typically green. 

  4. If you have an Original Bee House with nesting blocks, brush off debris and follow a similar process as above to sanitize the wooden laminates. Once the wooden trays are dry, reassemble them for next season. Repeat with leafcutting bee cocoons, keeping them separate from mason bee cocoons.

STORAGE

  1. Once dry, place cocoons into a ventilated storage container to protect and humidify your cocoons. Moisten a paper towel with a splash of water and place it in the bottom of the container, underneath the cocoons. Keep mason and leafcutting bee cocoons separated.

  2. Place your ventilated storage container in the door of your refrigerator until next spring.

  3. Check on your cocoons once a week to remoisten the paper towel when it dries out.

To extend the life of your Bee House, bring it indoors in the winter.

Winter

FAQs

  • Orders ship in 3-5 business days. Bee cocoons ship in the spring and summer when the weather is right. Look for a shipping confirmation via email once an order is placed. We ship domestically through USPS. Shipping times vary by location.

  • Bee cocoons are sold and shipped separately from other products. Mason Bees ship in the spring when temperatures reach 50°F. Leafcutting Bees ship in the summer when temperatures reach 70°F.

  • Place your Bee House southeast so it’s facing morning sun. The warmth of the sun will help your bees take flight. If possible, place your bee house under an overhang to protect your bees from wind and rain. Distance your bee house from any existing bird houses and avoid attaching it to tree trunks. We recommend storing your Bee House inside during winter and setting it up in early spring.

  • Don’t worry! If the temperatures drop or it’s rainy for a few days, everything is okay. Your bees will feed on the nectar and pollen provisions they have collected, staying warm and dry in their nesting reeds or blocks.

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info@osmiabee.com