There is a new company in the UK - Oxford Bee Co. - manufacturing nest boxes
for Osmia rufa for people to install for interest and study, and also for
pollination of commercial crops in orchards. They have a leaflet, from which
I have copied the text, omitting the illustrations. This will answer many of
the questions that Bee-Liners are asking, particularly about Osmia in the UK.

Matthew J Allan

Pollination Pets for the Garden

Sweet Bees from the Oxford Bee Company


·   Native UK bees enhance your garden but they need homes!
Besides the honeybee, Britain has more than 250 species of native bee, all of
which help your garden by pollinating flowers. But these bees are becoming
scarce as modern agriculture has produced a landscape that is rarely
bee-friendly these days. With fewer wild flowers and suitable nest sites,
about 25 per cent of our native bees are now endangered species.




The good news is that some of these bees rapidly adapt to using nest boxes
placed in gardens. The Oxford Bee Company has designed bee nest boxes
specifically for the Red Mason Bee - a gentle beast that is a very effective
pollinator. All you need to do is place the Oxford Bee Company bee nest boxes
in sunny, sheltered, south-facing position in the garden and you will attract
nest-seeking females of the Red Mason Bee in early spring.

No work is required - if the nest boxes are in the garden at the right time
the bees will find them.


·   More about the Red Mason Bee (and relatives)
The Red Mason Bee (Osmia rufa) is widespread in England and Wales and
particularly likes the range of flowers and trees found in domestic gardens.
It is a more efficient pollinator of fruit crops than the honeybee and by
attracting them to your garden not only will you notice improved fruit crops
- apples, plums, pears, strawberries and raspberries - but the bees also
visit a wide range of garden flowers.




The bees are active from late March to the beginning of June.



The Red Mason Bee is not aggressive, a female will sting only if very roughly
handled between the fingers and even then, it is a puny thing compared to a
wasp or honeybee.
Because they like similar nest sites you could be lucky and also attract the
Blue Mason Bee (Osmia coerulescens) and two species of Leaf-cutter bees
(Megachile spp.) when you use Oxford Bee Company nest boxes.


·   How do the nest boxes work?
The nest tubes mimic the natural nest sites of these bees: beetle borings in
dead wood and hollow plant stems. Each kit comes with a complete set of
instructions, together with an outline of the life history of the Red Mason
Bee.




·   Life history of the Red Mason Bee (Osmia rufa)
The Red Mason Bee is a solitary bee. That is, each nest tube is the work of a
single female working alone; unlike the honeybees and bumblebees, there is no
worker caste of  sterile females.

The species has an annual life cycle. Males and females emerge in early
spring (late March to April) and mate. Females then seek out suitable nest
sites usually beetle borings in dead wood, hollow plant stems, or irregular
cavities in stones and old walls. Each nest tube comprises a series of cells.
The female starts her first cell at the back of the nest. She makes 10 to 15
foraging trips to collect sufficient pollen to provision each cell. The
pollen is mixed with a little nectar and this acts as a food source for the
single egg, which she lays immediately before sealing the cell with a mud
partition. The process is repeated until the tube is filled with a row of
about 6 to 10 cells.

Females finish nesting in early June. Being a solitary species they will
never live to see their offspring.  However in the comfort of their nests,
the eggs hatch into larvae, which feed on the pollen/nectar mixture. After
moulting 4 or 5 times, the full grown larvae spins a tough brown silk cocoon
and pupates. The new adults form in September and remain in the cocoon until
the following spring when the new generation of adults emerge and the cycle
begins again.

Females tend to nest close to where they emerge and the design of the Oxford
Bee Company nest box is such that it will attract a number of nesting
females, many of whose daughters will re-use their natal nests the following
season. Thus a permanent nesting population will be established in your
garden. This can be enhanced by adding further nest boxes if desired.


·   How you can help the Oxford Bee Company (OBC)
OBC exists to raise the profile of our native bees and to encourage their
support and management in the environment.  You can help by providing
feedback on your experiences with OBC products. You can contact us on:-
01509 261654 (phone)
01509 261672 (fax)
e-mail: [log in to unmask]

 Chris O'Toole
Director, Bee Systematics and Biology Unit, Oxford University Museum of
Natural History.

Chris O'Toole has written many books on insect natural history including Bees
of the World and Alien Empire.