On Mon, 5 Oct 1998, Russell Vreeland wrote:
 
> I'm new to this discussion group and would appreciate any response to two
> questions.  My husband and I have been keeping hornfaced bees for
> pollination for 3 years now.  We live in Coatesville, Pennsylvania and the
> bees seem to be doing well. Does anyone know if they are susceptible to the
> varroa and tracheal mites of honey bees? Also, we would like to switch from
> cardboard tubes to wooden bee houses -- does the type of wood used make a
> difference with the bees?
========================
I have been keeping _Osmia lignaria_ for 14 years in a variety of nests.
The wood does not really matter as long as the holes are smooth. In
nature, these insects nest mostly in smooth beetle holes in dead trees.
They WILL use almost any hole between 1/4 and 3/8 inch in a pinch.  I have
a problem with them filling my outside electrical recepticals with brood!
 
These bees can not get Varroa mites as they have a very different life
cycle.  Not sure about tracheals.  The mites that cause me the most
problem are the _Chaetodactylus sp._.  They can be controlled by
alternating nest blocks every year.
 
There are some good links on the WSU Gardening home page
(http://gardening.wsu.edu).  Do the keyword search for "mason" to get the
the publication.
 
cheers,
Dave Pehling
 
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