Shopsmith Forums

I'm planning on making another mason bee house and I was wonder if anyone or everyone would like to get your beginners feet wet and make one too.

Since we live all over the country there are places that many not have mason bees, I'm no expert but then maybe you would like to build one as a gift or maybe to sell or hey what ever you want to do with it is none of my business.

I can provide a plan including a drawing of what will be needed and provide at least one way of doing the project. I'd be willing to provide details as we go so it will truly be a beginners project and just about anyone here can do.

I can provide a list of the tools I'm planning on using and give a few alternative ways of doing things for those who are interested. It is likely that you will need to buy a few items like a router bit and chuck if you don't have one, and of course wood. The outer case will need to be painted or stained to protect it but it is a pretty flexible as to how you finish yours, including just letting it weather and replacing it next year.

I'm presently finish up the plans in sketchup and should be ready to start in a few days. If people are not interested that fine too as my project can go a lot faster but I don't mind sharing the build if it will help you and the bee's.

I'd also like people to share picture of their build, its not a contest but a learning tool.

Mason bees are the early ones that come out first and do a lot of pollination before the regular bees appear. They are a solitary bee and make use of of hole as a home rather then a hive. Make sure you read up on them before dismissing the idea of making one of these houses. Here is but one place for general details:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_bee

The box I'm planing will have 49 homes but you can start with just one level of 7 holes or go beyond the 7 rows and make it a place for 70 bees.

You can also customize your bee house to make it your own or follow the plans I'm working on for a very basic design.

Let me know if you are interested in the next couple of days or I'll start without you.

Ed

I am interested. I think we may have them. Ours are smaller than a honey bee and not aggressive at all.
We do like them so, building little house for them would good.

Ya we need are Bees
The page "Sweat bees" does not exist. You can ask for it to be created, but consider checking the search results below to see whether the topic is already covered.

Sweat bee
Sweat bee is a common name for various bees that are attracted to the salt in human sweat. It can refer to: Small bees in the family Halictidae, common
640 bytes (84 words) - 23:55, 7 November 2015
Halictidae (redirect from Halictid bee)
pattern widespread among the various families of bees. They are commonly referred to as "sweat bees" (especially the smaller species), as they are often
12 KB (1,126 words) - 03:41, 8 February 2016
Bee
carpenter bees, sweat bees, mason bees, polyester bees, squash bees, dwarf carpenter bees, leafcutter bees, alkali bees and digger bees. Solitary bees are
72 KB (7,811 words) - 15:49, 14 February 2016

This is what I wanted.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halictidae

In case you want to see my first attempts and final design of my current one here is the thread:

http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/gener ... 12735.html

This is the one for the back yard that I mentioned and who would believe this was back in 2013....... my how time goes by.

Ed

I'd bee interested. Oh boy.
I keep honeybees but we need all the pollinators we can get. I have a neighbor who might enjoy it as a gift.

I dont know what series it was, on PBS, maybe Ask This Old House, where some one bought a hive with a Queen and workers and set it up in there back yard in a Boston suburb, and had a Professional Bee Keeper help/consult and they did a follow up, it was nice.
I was getting interested in it and at Fleet Farm Store this winter and taking orders for hives and a Queen ect, I think it was around $75.00 ish.
I have a friend who has a friend here in WI that over the years had 7 hives, and each year over the past 5, keeps loosing one each winter, to that Bee disease thing.
I have also read how Butter Flys, which are pollinators, especially the Monarch, populations are way down.
It is scary, how us humans, "With Better Living Through Chemistry" Dow Chemical slogan, have freak up the environment/ecology.
I will not start on what is or is not global warming.

Lots of bee problems. Colony collapse (no real known cause), American Foul Brood, lots of mite infestations. Those are just the major ones.

I'm pretty sure there was a time when we didn't know why eagle populations were severely declining. And then scientists figured out that the DDT in their food chain was making their eggshells too fragile. Following the DDT ban, eagles have made a comeback.

I'd be surprised if it's not a similar issue with the bees.

BuckeyeDennis wrote:I'm pretty sure there was a time when we didn't know why eagle populations were severely declining. And then scientists figured out that the DDT in their food chain was making their eggshells too fragile. Following the DDT ban, eagles have made a comeback.

I'd be surprised if it's not a similar issue with the bees.

Right on BD, they think from I have read and seen on the subject on PBS, they are confused because of a Chemical Mix of pesticides that that they have ingested on there routes that they have picked up with the Pollen and bring back to the hive. But they have not confirmed it.